“Cleanliness is half of faith“
By Salman Ali
“Cleanliness is half of faith” (Sahih Muslim)
This is a beautiful saying of the Holy Prophet (sa). Cleanliness is the state or quality of being clean or being kept clean. As human beings it is a key element of our lives. From waking up in the morning and having a cold shower before school to brushing our teeth before going to sleep. It is all around us.
Furthermore, as Ahmadi Muslims it is a huge duty of ours to fulfil. We must perform wudhu before praying our five daily prayers and we must wear clean clothes to Friday Prayers. Wudhu is the Islamic way to clean your face and body before your prayers. This is also a way for us to follow the Holy Prophet’s (sa) sunnah (practical example) and to attain Allah’s love and mercy.
In Surah Al-Baqarah verse 223, Allah the Almighty states:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ یُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِیۡنَ وَیُحِبُّ الۡمُتَطَہِّرِیۡنَ
“Allah loves those who turn to Him and loves those who keep themselves clean.”
In this verse, Allah states two things that he loves us for: turning to him and praying to him and cleaning ourselves which shows how important cleanliness is in Islam.
To become Allah’s beloved we must strive to keep ourselves physically clean in order to make a spiritual connection with Allah. I pray that Allah the Almighty will enable us to understand the sheer significance of this topic and for us to act upon it. Ameen.
