PURITY AND NEATNESS

Allah's favorites are those who make constant efforts to remain pure and neat. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has observed : " Purity and neatness are half of faith". In other words, Faith partly consists in cleansing one's soul and partly in keeping physically clean and pure. The purity and neatness of soul implies cleansing the soul of all impurities such as infidelity, Polytheism, sin and vice and embellishing it with righteous beliefs and pure morals. The purity and neatness of the body denotes keeping it clear of all external filth and adorning it with neatness and good manners.

One waking up, clean your hand before putting it in a pot of water. You never can tell where your hands lay during sleep.

Do not discharge urine on the floor of the toilet, especially when it is made of soil.

When passing stools or urine, do not sit facing the direction of Qiblah, nor with your back to Qiblah. Having relieved yourself, use a clod or water to clean the private parts or purify yourself with water only. Do not use the dung, bone or charcoal for cleaning purposes. When the private parts have been cleaned, scrub your hands with soap or earth and wash them.

Do not sit down to eat when your bowels are under pressure. Relieve yourself of urine or stool, before eating.

Use your right hand in eating as well as in performing ablution. For cleaning the private parts of the body or for cleaning the nose, use your left hand only.

Discharge urine on soft ground, so that its drops do not splash around. Always pass the urine in a sitting posture. However, if the ground or some real hardship prevents from sitting down, you may urinate in a standing posture. Otherwise, in normal circumstances, it is a very dirty habit and should be strictly avoided.

Do not sit down to answer the call of nature on the riverside, the quay, no the thoroughfares or in shaded places. Such a practice causes inconvenience to others and is derogatory to rules of propriety and good manners.

Put on shoes and cover your head with a cap etc. before going the lavatory and read the following prayer on your way:

Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal khubthi wal khaba'ith.
"God ! I seek thy Protection against the devils of the masculine as well as the feminine species."(Bukhari-Muslim)

On emerging from the lavatory, read this prayer :

Alhamdu lillahi-l-ladhi adhaba 'annil adha wa'afani.
" I thank the lord who relieved me of the burden and granted me ease. " (Nisai. ibn-e-Majah)

Discharge your nose or phlegm with care in a spitoon, or do so in a place out of the sight of people.

Avoid putting your finger in the nostrils and clearing the wax of your nose too often. Clear the nose and clean it well out of the sight of people, whenever the need arises.

Strictly avoid the practice of spitting phlegm into the folds of a handkerchief and rubbing them together. This is a despicable habit and must be avoided except when it cannot be helped.

While chewing betel leaf. do not talk in such a manner as to splash saliva on the person you are talking to, thus causing discomfort to him. if you chew tobacco or betel leaf frequently, you should take great care in observing the rules of oral hygiene. Beware also, lest you should talk with your mouth too close to the person addressed.

Perform ablution with great care and try to keep in a state of ablution most of the time, if not at all hours. Where water is not available, you may perform Tayammum. Recite :

Bismillah hirrahma nirrahim.
In the Name of Allah, the Most beneficent, the Most Merciful.

at the beginning of ablution and say the following prayer in the course of its performance

Ashhadu an la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lahu wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu. Allahumm aj'alni minat-tawuabina awj'alni min-al-mutathhirin.
" I bear witness that there is no god save Allah and He has no partner. And I testify that Muhammad is the servant of God and His Messenger. God ! join me with those people who repent most and take great care in keeping themselves pure and clean ".

When the ablution is over, say the following prayer :

Subhanak-allahumma wa bihamdika ashadi an la ilaha illa anta astaghfiruka wa atibo ilaika.
"God ! Thou art Pure and Supreme in Thy Praiseworthiness. I Testify that there is no deity beside Thee. I seek Thy forgiveness and I appeal to Thee. (Nasai)

You must bathe at least once a week. Make it a point to bathe on Friday and join the congregation in clean and neat dress.

Do not go into or pass through the mosque in a state of impurity If no alternative the mosque or passing through it.

Dress your hair with oil and comb. Trim the overgrown hair of your beard with scissors ; apply collyrium to your eye ; and clip your nails and finger-nails clean. Adorn yourself with propriety, simplicity and moderation.

Cover your face with a handkerchief on sneezing, so that the excretion is not splashed on to anyone else. After sneezing say : Alhamdu lilah " Praise be to Allah" !
the listener should say: Yarhamukallah " May Allah show you Mercy " !
In response to this, you should recite: yahdikallah " May Allah guide you " !

The Holy Prophet ( Peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) was very fond of perfume. After performing the toilet on arising from sleep. the Holy prophet ( Peace and blessing of Allah be upon him)
invariably used perfume.

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