Friday Sermon in Norwegian: Cleanliness in Islam

Praise be to Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is His servant and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Prophet, his family, his companions and followers.

Many of us think of ibadah (worship) as a process of performing ritual acts. Ritual acts can include the five daily prayers, fasting during Ramadan, the pilgrimage to Mecca, or reciting the Quran. However, we can easily overlook the value of other acts that may seem small to us but can actually bring great rewards. Voluntary acts, charity, and good behavior are central to Islam.

Sayyidah Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that she heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: “A believer, through his good conduct, will attain the same reward as a person who fasts frequently and prays nafl (voluntary prayers) during the night.” [Abu Dawud]

Cleanliness in the Light of the Quran and Hadith
Today we will consider the importance of cleanliness in Islam. Let us begin with a verse from the Quran:إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
Indeed, Allah loves those who repent a lot, and He loves those who purify themselves! (2:222)

We are all humans created by Allah. We love Him, and want to achieve His closeness and love. But we cannot always know from our actions whether we are successful or not. However, there is a category of people whom Allah Himself loves. It is not possible to discern a difference between these two categories of people. But based on the verse above, we want to be among those whom Allah loves, we can achieve that by being clean, among other things.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) describes cleanliness as part of faith. He says: الطحور[النظافة] شطر الایمان Cleanliness is part of faith.

In another hadith it is stated: “Indeed, Allah is Tayyib, He accepts only that which is tayyib.” (Muslim: 1686) That something is “Tayyib” implies that it is both pure and good.

وعبد الله bin Masoud, may God be pleased with him عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم, said: “He who has in his heart an ounce of pride will not enter Paradise.” A man said, “Does a man like his dress to be good and his soles to be good?” He said: “Allah loves the beauty of pride, but it is true and sad for people.” (Muslim)
وعبد الله bin Masoud, may God be pleased with him عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم, said: “He who has in his heart an ounce of pride will not enter Paradise.” A man said, “Does a man like his dress to be good and his soles to be good?” He said: “Allah loves the beauty of pride, but it is true and sad for people.” (Muslim)

The whole earth is a “masjid”
There are conditions for the validity of the ritual prayers. One of the conditions is cleanliness. In addition to having wudu, the ritual purification, the body, clothes and the place itself must also be free from impurities. One can in principle pray anywhere on the globe. The hadith reads: جعلت لي الارض مسجدا وطهورا “God has made the whole earth a “masjid” and “tahura” for my sake.” Masjid here means a place where one performs sajda (kneeling). Tahura is something that can be used to acquire purification. Earth can also be used in special circumstances to achieve ritual purification (tayammum).

Denne hadithen er nok til å forklare viktigheten av å holde våre omgivelser rene. Det er allerede blitt kjent at selve stedet hvor man ber må være fri for urenheter. Og når denne hadithen indikerer at hele jorden, selvfølgelig med noen unntak, egner seg til bønn, er det viktig at hele jorden holdes ren.

Removing adha from the roads
A companion Abu Barzah narrated that he said to the Prophet: “Messenger of Allah, guide me to an action that will send me to heaven. He said: ‘Remove or remove adha from the roads of the people.’” (al-Adab al-Mufrad). Anything that can be harmful, troublesome and unpleasant, both physically and emotionally comes under adha. Examples of adha are thorns, stones or waste.

Subhan Allah, praise be to God, only by removing the adha, one can secure peace and blessings from God. According to another hadith, a man came across a branch lying in the way and he said: ‘By God, I will remove it from the way so that it does not harm or bother anyone’. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: He was sent to Jannah” (Muslim)

Neighbors’ Rights
Another very important reason why we must help keep our neighborhood clean is the rights of neighbors in Islam. It is our duty to show kindness to our neighbors. Littering the neighborhood, dirtying the entrances or streets is not compatible with this responsibility.

Miljøvennlighet
Helping to keep streets clean is also good for the environment. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) placed great emphasis on activities that today can be characterized as environmental measures. One such activity is planting and caring for trees. Even during war, it is not permissible for Muslims to cut down trees or destroy fields. A famous saying from the prophet is that even if one is certain of one’s death within an hour, and holds a seed in one’s hand, one should plant that seed.

This story also emphasizes the importance of thinking about future generations and being of service to others. “Egocentricity” or thinking only about oneself is incompatible with Islamic teachings. This is also good enough reason to make an effort to keep one’s surroundings clean. According to a report from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), one is not a believer if one does not love for others the same as one loves for oneself.

Ergo, if you love beautiful, clean surroundings, it is in light of this hadith your responsibility to contribute to an environment free from litter, tagging and vandalism. A Muslim must work to keep the environment of his neighborhood and country clean and decent.

Najeeb ur Rehman Naz

Read also: Now the imams will speak Norwegian in the mosques. (External link)