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Nitro Express
09-19-2006, 11:19 PM
Personal Hygiene in Islam

Fatima M. D'Oyen



The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said that ‘cleanliness if part of faith’. So we must take care to be well-groomed, keeping our bodies and clothing clean, especially at times of worship.


When visiting the toilet

Regardless of age, we should all take care that our underwear and private parts remain as clean as possible. Underpants, panties and socks should be changed daily in order to avoid unpleasant odours. Females may use pantiliners if necessary. If urine happens to splatter onto your clothing, you should wash it off until no colour or smell remains.

The Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) advised that we should clean ourselves thoroughly after using the toilet. This is called istinja'.

The proper way to make istinja' is to remove all traces of najasa (filth) - urine or faeces with something clean and dry, such as toilet paper. If you are in the countryside and paper tissues are not available, you may use smooth, clean stones or dried clay instead. In At-Tirmidhi it is mentioned not to use bones or dung when performing istinja.

Use your left hand, and wipe your private parts until no trace of impurities can be seen on the toilet paper. It is sunnah to do this an odd number of times. Then clean your private parts with water. Many Muslim homes have special spray hoses installed next to the toilet, or water jugs for this purpose.


After cleaning with water, it is best to dry off again with toilet paper. This is especially recommended for women and girls, in order to prevent infections that occur if your underwear remains damp. For this reason, women and girls should also be careful to wipe from front to back, rather than from back to front. It is also recommended to wear loose, cotton underwear which ‘breathes’ and dries more quickly than panties made from man-made materials such as nylon or polyester.

Take care not to be facing the direction of the Qibla, or with the back towards the Qibla when relieving yourself, and remember that it is sunnah to squat down when doing do.

Wash your hands after using the toilet, taking care that no unpleasant odour remains under or around your fingernails. Finally, it is sunnah to make wudu after using the toilet, so that you are always prepared for prayer and other acts of worship.

Do not relieve oneself at riverbanks, roads and shady places where people walk or rest, or stagnant water (water that does not flow).
[Bukhari and Abu Dawud]

It is recommended to enter the bathroom with the left foot, and to leave it with the right foot; contrary to the way you enter the masjid. It is recommended (sunnah) to enter the masjid with the right foot first, and to leave it with the left foot.
Also, before entering for one to seek refuge in Allah from Shaitan, and say the relevant du'a (supplicaions) when entering and exiting the toilet.



Removing Unnecessary Body Hair

The hair that grows under your arms and around your private parts can also be a source of bad odours, because hair, combined with darkness and moisture, provides and ideal environment for bacteria to grow. When this hair is removed, the body odour is reduced and there is less chance of catching troublesome irritants, such as ‘jock itch’ or body lice. It is also easier to keep the area clean.

The Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said;

Five practices are characteristic of the fitra (the natural state, or tradition of the prophets): circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, cutting the moustache short, clipping the nails, and removing the hair of the armpits.
[Sahih al-Bukhari]

It is permissible to remove the hair under your armpits and your pubic hair by any method that you do not find too difficult or painful: plucking, shaving, cutting it short, using wax treatments, ‘strip’ hair removers, or with any number of special depilatory creams and ointments that are available on the market for this purpose.
This hair should be removed at least once every forty days, or whenever it grows long.

It is also a good idea to use underarm deodorant, especially before participating in sports or going to the school or mosque, so that other people will not be offended by one’s body odour.

It is the custom for girls and women in some countries to shave their legs as well, or to remove all of the hair from their arms and legs with ‘strip’ hair removers or depilatory creams. This is mubah – neither recommended in Islam nor forbidden.

Nitro Express
09-20-2006, 01:06 AM
You're taking a shit in the desert. No rocks, no toilet paper, no water. Use left hand and don't point your ass towards Mecca while scraping the shit off your ass.

MERRYKISSMASS2U
09-20-2006, 01:32 AM
Originally posted by Nitro Express
In At-Tirmidhi it is mentioned not to use bones or dung when performing istinja.


Very profound, towelhead. Don't use shit to wipe your ass. Who'da thunk?

MERRYKISSMASS2U
09-20-2006, 02:19 AM
Originally posted by Nitro Express
You're taking a shit in the desert. No rocks, no toilet paper, no water. Use left hand and don't point your ass towards Mecca while scraping the shit off your ass.


No shit! Fuck those idiots.

Diamondjimi
09-20-2006, 02:38 AM
Why do many of them tend to reek?

Did they skip this chapter?

binnie
09-20-2006, 03:43 AM
Originally posted by diamondjimi
Why do many of them tend to reek?

Did they skip this chapter?

Now I shouldn't laugh, but some things are so damn funny!

sadaist
09-20-2006, 04:55 AM
There were several muslims at my high school. They all smelled like BO, cheap leather, and Drakaar. Nasty combination.

binnie
09-20-2006, 05:50 AM
Hey, as long as they don't smell like cemtex it's alright by me!

ULTRAMAN VH
09-20-2006, 07:32 AM
Maybe the leader of Iran should follow that little missive on hygiene. He arrived at the UN meeting disheveled and unshaven.

Mishar_McLeud
09-20-2006, 07:47 AM
Originally posted by Nitro Express
You're taking a shit in the desert. No rocks, no toilet paper, no water.

I guess that's what wild west cowboys were using, in absence of toilet paper and water.

Nickdfresh
09-20-2006, 08:01 AM
Originally posted by Mishar_McLeud
I guess that's what wild west cowboys were using, in absence of toilet paper and water.

What's up Mishar.

Nickdfresh
09-20-2006, 08:05 AM
Originally posted by sadaist
There were several muslims at my high school. They all smelled like BO, cheap leather, and Drakaar. Nasty combination.

That's funny, cause I had a Muslim friend (Syrian decent) in high school. And I never really smelled him, but I'm pretty sure he showered after football practice, thought fundamentalism was bullshit, and got very good grades to the point that he was thought of as a nerd, but a popular nerd.

Just substitute "black" for "Muslim," and that would be a pretty racist post. I guess they're "all" the same, huh pookey?

Nitro Express
09-20-2006, 01:28 PM
Originally posted by sadaist
There were several muslims at my high school. They all smelled like BO, cheap leather, and Drakaar. Nasty combination.

I went to college with a lot of Iranians and you nailed the smell. Now I don't know if they waxed or shaved their pubes and balls to cut down on the smell.

MERRYKISSMASS2U
09-20-2006, 02:03 PM
Pubes don't smell...


Drakaar, cheap leather, bo, and jet fuel does.

binnie
09-20-2006, 05:29 PM
Originally posted by MERRYKISSMASS2U
Pubes don't smell...



I know some girls who could disprove that!


Fishy, fishy, fishy!

MERRYKISSMASS2U
09-20-2006, 09:48 PM
Originally posted by binnie
I know some girls who could disprove that!


Fishy, fishy, fishy!

Well, if you wash them more than once a year, they're soft and shampoo-smelling.


Binnie, please tell me you wash more than once a year! ;P

Nitro Express
09-20-2006, 10:12 PM
As the article says, warm, damp, dark pubes is a mecca for nasty smelling bacteria and crabs.

MERRYKISSMASS2U
09-20-2006, 10:24 PM
Wouldn't it be cold to have none at all?