Cleanliness
The Arabic word for cleanliness is taharat. Cleanliness is a part of our faith. A Muslim is required by Allah to keep himself clean. The Holy Quran says that Allah loves those who keep themselves clean and pure. The Holy Prophet(sal,lal,la,ho,alai,he,wasalam) also told the people to keep their bodies, clothes and houses clean. He specially stressed upon the cleanliness of teeth, hands and hair. The Holy Prophet(sal,lal,la,ho,alai,he,wasalam)“” never neglected cleaning his teeth with miswak. He used to say: “If I had not feared that my people would find it hard, I would have ordered them to brush their teeth with miswak before every prayer.” We offer prayers to remember Allah and to be close to Him. To say our prayers, we must be clean and pure.
In order to achieve cleanliness,
we can:
1) Wash the whole body with pure water. This is known as ghusl or bath.
2) Wash certain parts of the body.
This is known as wuzu or ablution. A Muslim knows that his prayer will not be accepted by Allah unless his body, clothes and the place where he prays are all clean. The Arabic word for impurity or dirt is najasat. If your body or dress becomes impure, you should at once wash it with clean water.