The body of a human being is the foremost manifestation of their existence. The cleanliness and purification of the body are intrinsic to human nature. Ever since humans appeared in this world, they have always ensured their cleanliness and grooming instinctively, without any external pressure, guided by an internal inclination. This is why bathing, cleaning off dirt from the body, washing away various bodily secretions, and trimming hair have been inherent daily practices since the beginning. No era or region in human society has been devoid of these practices. They are universally prevalent among all tribes, nations, countries, and civilizations and are implemented as a general standard. A significant part of cultural and civilizational evolution comprises adopting increasingly better ways to maintain bodily cleanliness. Essentially, it represents the purity that Allah has innately placed in human nature. From Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), all prophets have deemed body cleanliness essential and have guided certain specific actions for it. These commandments for purifying the body were prevalent in Arab traditions as part of the Abrahamic religion prior to the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him). He endorsed these practices and established them as Sunnah in the religion.
Among these commandments, one is to keep the mustache trimmed, the second is to shave pubic hair, the third is to remove armpit hair, the fourth is to clip nails, and the fifth is to circumcise boys. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has referred to these as Sunnah al-Fitrah (the natural way) and deemed them requisite for purification and cleanliness.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) says:
“Five practices are of the fitrah: circumcision, shaving the pubic hairs, trimming the mustaches, clipping the nails, and plucking the armpit hairs.” (Bukhari, 5891)
My esteemed teacher, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, has clarified that the purpose of these religious commandments is to purify and clean the body. He writes:
“All these five things belong to Islamic etiquette. Large moustaches give the impression of arrogance and conceit in a person. Also edibles and drinks become contaminated through them when they are put in the mouth. Dirt often accumulates in elongated nails and such nails also have resemblance with savage animals. Consequently, the Almighty has directed us to keep our moustaches trim and to pare our fingernails whenever they grow. The rest of the three directives are aimed at one’s physical cleanliness and hygiene. So strict was the Prophet (sws) in observing these norms that for some of them he even stipulated a certain time limit.” (Meezan 644)
The sixth item is the cleanliness of nose, mouth, and teeth. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was so mindful of teeth cleaning that he said:
“Had I not found it hard for my Ummah, I would have ordered them to use Siwak (tooth-stick) before every prayer.” (Bukhari, 887)
Religion aims to foster a taste for cleanliness and purification among people, and with this requirement in mind, the Prophet (peace be upon him) has also ascribed the status of Sunnah for cleaning the nose and mouth. The traditions passed down in the Ummah concerning his ablutions show that on every occasion of ablution, he meticulously practiced ‘madmadah’ (rinsing the mouth) and ‘istinshaq’ (sniffing water into the nose), which means he would rotate water in his mouth for cleaning and pour water into his nose for cleanliness.
The seventh part is ensuring cleanliness after relieving oneself, which is termed istinja in technical terms. This too is included in the religious commandments that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has enacted as Sunnah.
The eighth, ninth, and tenth items are different forms of ritual washing (ghusl). They include ablution after menstruation and postpartum bleeding, ablution due to impurity from sexual discharge (ghusl janabat), and the washing of the deceased. It is obligatory for women to bathe and attain purity after the cessation of menstruation and postpartum bleeding. The Holy Quran has also emphasized this Sunnah. In Surah Al-Baqarah, it is stated:
الفطرۃ خم س: الختان والاستحداد و ق ص الشارب وتقلیم الأظفار ونتف ال ٰا باط۔
لولا أن أشق عل ی أ مت ي لأمرتہم بالسواک م ع کل ص ٰلوۃ۔
“And [now that the issue of marriage has been raised,] they ask you about the menstruation [of women]. Say: It is a kind of impurity. Therefore, keep away from women during their menstrual periods and do not approach them until they are in a state of purity; then when they are clean after having a bath, approach them from where God has enjoined you [about it]. Surely, God loves those who repent and those who keep themselves clean.”
After intercourse, both the man and woman are commanded to take a bath (ghusl), as well. The purpose of this is also to achieve purity. The bathing of the dead is an extremely high example of the concept of purification. When a human’s physical body is being entrusted to the grave in the presence of Allah, it is encouraged to bathe it with utmost perfection. This practice shows how much acquisition of purification and its psychological perception are coveted in religion. The esteemed teacher writes regarding the bathing of the dead:
Bathing a dead body is also from among the sunan of the prophets. [18] The directive stands fulfilled if water is poured all over the body. However, keeping in view the importance of purification and cleanliness in Islam, the spirit of the directive is that the body should be bathed with diligence and thoroughness.
The directives regarding bathing a dead body which the Prophet (sws) once gave are:
‘Bathe the [dead] body of this [girl] with water and berry leaves three times or five times – or even more if required and add camphor or [he said] some camphor to the water with which you bathe her.’ (Sahih al-Bukhari, No. 1258)
“Bathe this girl odd number of times: three or five or seven times and begin with her right side and from the limbs by which wudu is done.” (Meezan, 647-648)
These are all the commands concerning the purification of the body. Religion has not included them in the categories of permissible (halal) and forbidden (haram). Their nature is that of customs and etiquettes. These customs and etiquettes have been determined keeping in view the objective of self- purification of religion. Given this objective, these have extraordinary importance in religion. The prophets, peace be upon them, observed these practices diligently and emphasized their followers to
(Quran 2: 222)
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًۭى فَٱعْتَزِلُوا۟ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فِى ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ ۖ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ نِسَآؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌۭ لَّكُمْ فَأْتُوا۟ حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّىٰ شِئْتُمْ ۖ وَقَدِّمُوا۟ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُم مُّلَٰقُوهُ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
ad here to them. Most of these were prevalent in Arabia before the advent of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. He adopted them and set them as his Sunnah to be followed by his Ummah. The esteemed teacher has mentioned these etiquettes of the purification of the body, along with some other customs and etiquettes under the heading ‘Customs and Etiquettes’ in his book ‘Meezan’. In the introduction of the subsequent part of the book, he writes:
“The various manifestations of the conduct, mannerisms and pattern of living of a group of people are called customs and etiquette. No period of human civilization has remained devoid of them. We find them in currency in every clan, culture and nation. Civilizations are mostly distinguished from one another because of them. The religions revealed to the prophets of Allah also direct their respective believers to follow certain customs and etiquette. The objective of divine religions is purification of the soul. Consequently, these customs and etiquette have been chosen to fulfil this objective. When the Prophet Muhammad (sws) was called to serve the Almighty, all these customs and etiquette existed in Arabia as practices of the Abrahamic religion. Except for a few things, the Prophet Muhammad (sws) made no addition to them. They, obviously, existed before the Qur’an and their status is that of Sunan (plural of Sunnah) which were sanctioned by the Prophet (sws) and then transferred to the Muslim ummah through the consensus and perpetual adherence of the Companions (rta) of the Prophet (sws). Now their source is the consensus of the ummah and on this very basis are accepted and acknowledged everywhere as part of Islam.” (Meezan 642)