KHUTAB III - 40. CLEANNESS AND PURITY

40. CLEANNESS AND PURITY

Brothers in Islam,

          There are two Arabic words for “cleanness”,  النَّظَافَة and الطَّهَارَة  . The word  النَّظَافَة means “cleanness, cleanliness, neatness and tidiness.” For something clean, neat or tidy we use the word نَظِيْف .  The word الطَّهَارَة  means “cleanness, cleanliness; purity, cultic purity (purity based on Islamic law), chastity, sanctity, holiness, and circumcision.” Something clean, pure, chaste or modest is calledطَهُوْر  and طَاَهِر.

The Prophet used both words النَّظَافَة  and   الطَّهَارَة and their derivatives, whereas Allah in the Qur’ān used the term  الطَّهَارَة only and its derivatives. This is probably because it is easy to say the word الطَّهَارَة  than the word   النَّظَافَة;  نَظِيْف (naz.īf) meaning “clean”, should not be mispronounced as نَزِيْف (nazīf) meaning “bleeding”; the word  النَّظَافَة  has more to do with physical cleanliness, whereas الطَّهَارَة  indicates both physical and spiritual cleanliness. The examples from the h.adīth is the Prophet’s statement, النَّظَافَة مِنَ الإيْمَان   (“Cleanliness is a part of īmān, faith”), and this is similar to the English proverb, “Cleanliness is next to godliness”. “Godliness” means “piety”. Allah’s command to the Prophet to convey the message of Islam to people, and to purify his clothes. Allah said:

يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ.قُمْ فَأَنْذِرْ. وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ. وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ. (المدثر: ١-٤)  

O thou wrapped up (in a mantle), Arise and warn, And Thy

Lord glorify, And Your clothes purify (Q. 74:1-4)

From that moment Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was not only a nabī (a prophet), but also a rasūl (a messenger), to call and preach Islam to people. He was also ordered to purify his clothes and to keep them clean. This is physical cleanness. However, it could also mean spiritual cleanness. The word ثوب (thawb) and its plural formثياب  (thiyāb) meaning clothes could also be metonymically applied to what it covers, namely, the body, the self. For this reason, Muhammad Asad translates وثيابك فطهر (“And Your clothes purify”) as “And thine inner self purify,” so that this verse indicates Allah’s order to the Prophet to purify himself physically and spiritually besides calling people to Islam.

          A person who has to give something good must be himself good. A person who is to preach purity and virtue must be himself a pure and virtuous person. The Prophet had been known for his good character before he became a prophet. A good salesman must wear clean clothes and speak honestly to attract the buyers. Long, long ago I read  in a guide book for travelers to Indonesia, that if you go to a small restaurant or food stall (warung) to eat, see if the owner (or the waiter or waitress) is wearing clean clothes. If so, it is an indication that the food is also clean.[1]  

            Among the people who are loved by Allah are those who keep themselves clean physically and spiritually.  Allah said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ  (البقرة : ٢٢٢)

... Surely Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance

And keep themselves clean (Q. 2:222)

As Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance and those who keep themselves clean. The Prophet taught us to pray to become among them. After performing our wudū’ (ablution) we raise our hands and say this du‘ā’ (supplication):

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِيْ مِنَ التَّوَّابِيْنَ وَ مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِيْنَ وَاجْعَلْنِيْ مِنْ عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِيْنَ

O Allah, make me one of those who turn to You in repentance, of

those who keep themselves (physically and spiritually) clean,

and  make me one of Your pious servants.

  لَمَسْجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَى مِنْ أَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ أَحَقُّ أَنْ تَقُومَ فِيهِ فِيهِ رِجَالٌ

 يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَتَطَهَّرُوا وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُطَّهِّرِينَ  (التوبة :  ١٠٨)

Certainly, a place of worship which was founded on piety from the very

first day is more deserving that you should stand to offer s.alāh (prayer)

in it; for in it there are men who love to purify themselves; and

Allah loves those who purify themselves (Q. 9:108).

This verse is referring to Qubā’ mosque, the first one built on taqwā, obedience to Allah and His Messenger, frequented by people whom Allah loved, as they loved to purify themselves. This verse also encourages us to join the prayer with other pious Muslims, so that Allah will include us among those whom He loves.

Another term used many times in the Qur’ān meaning “purity” is zakāt. His word also means “honesty, integrity, growth”, and later also means the obligatory ‘alms tax”. The term زَكىَ  , َيزْكُو ,  is an intransitive verb meaning “to grow, to be pure in heart, to be just, to be good, to be righteous,”  whereas the term زَكَّى , يُزَكِّي is a transitive verb meaning “to purify, to justify, to make grow”. The expression غُلامٌ زَكِيّ  “a pure son” meaning “a holy son” is applied to Prophet ‘Īsá (Jesus) a.s. when the angel Gabriel told Mary,

 قَالَ إِنَّمَا أَنَا رَسُولُ رَبِّكِ لِأَهَبَ لَكِ غُلَامًا زَكِيًّا (مريم : ١٩)

He said, “I am only a messenger from your Lord to tell you

 about the gift of a holy son” (Q. 19:19).

The expressio غُلَامًا زَكِيًّا n   is translated as “a holy son” “a faultless son” and “a son endowed with purity” by A. Yusuf, Pickthall, and M. Asad respectively.

The expressionنَفْسٌ زَكِيَّة    (lit. means “a pure soul”) is translated as “an innocent person or human being” in the following verse,

فَانْطَلَقَا حَتَّى إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلَامًا فَقَتَلَهُ قَالَ أَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةً

بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ لَقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئًا نُكْرًا. (الكهف :٧٤)

 So, the two men went on, until they met a boy, and he [the sage, Khid.r]

slew him [whereupon Moses] exclaimed, “You have killed

 an innocent human being, although he had  killed nobody!

 Surely, you have done a horrible deed.” (Q. 18:74)

This was about Prophet Moses a.s. and the sage (wise man, in tradition called Khid.r), where Allah wanted to teach Prophet Moses not to say that he was the wisest man in his time, and this wise man (by Allah’s order) killed an innocent boy because Allah wanted to give the parents of the boy a good and pious son in his place. This is also a lesson for us not to say we are the most knowledgeable in anything, but to be humble, and should say that we do not know, and Allah knows best  (اللهُ أَعْلَمُ). Allah says,

وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ  (يوسف : ٧٦)

… and over every lord of knowledge there is  one more knowing (Pickthall);

 … but above everyone who is endowed with knowledge there is

 One who knows all (Asad)  (Q. 12:76).

          Allah ordered the Prophet to take the zakat from the Muslims to purify them and to make their wealth grow. Allah said, 

  خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِمْ بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ

صَلَاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَهُمْ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ. (التوبة :  ١٠٣) 

   Take s.adaqah [i.e., zakāt al-māl] from their wealth, so that they may thereby

 be cleansed and purified (grow in purity), and pray for them; for your prayer

 will give them comfort.  Allah hears all and knows all.  (Q. 9.103)

The Prophet comforted people who fear the loss in paying zakāt. He said,

  مَا نَقَصَ مَالُ عَبْدٍ مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ (رواه التؤمذي)

 A wealth of a servant [of Allah] will not decrease with payed

 s.adaqah (zakāt).(Reported by Tirmidhī)

 As we know, there are two kinds of zakāt. Zakātu ’l-fit.r will purify our soul, and zakātu ’l-māl will purify our wealth. All belong to our religious and social duty at the same time to help the needy. A collector of zakāt is like a fighter in the cause of Islam. The Prophet said: “The official who collects s.adaqah (zakāt) in a just manner is like him who fights in Allah’s path till he returns home.” (Abū Dā’ūd, Sunan, h.adīth no. 1282)

The term zakāt and its derivatives are mentioned several times (more than seventy times) in the Qur’ān, especially after mentioning the establishment of prayer (s.alāt), such as, أَقِيْمُوْا الصَّلاةَ وَ آتُوْا الزَّكَاة  (see Q., 2:43, 83, and 110; 4:77; 22:78; 24:56; 58:13, and 73:20).

          Nowadays, in this 21^st century, people are more concerned with their physical well-being rather than their spiritual well-being. TV advertisements are full of these things: how to eliminate wrinkles in your face, how to fight baldness, how to look younger, may be you need plastic surgery, etc. A long time ago, the poet Abū ’l-Fatḥ ‘Alī ibn Muḥammad al-Bustī (330-400/941-1010) in his long poem lamented on people neglecting their spiritual being. He said,

ياَ خَادِمَ اْلجِسْمِ كَمْ تَسْعَى لِخِدْمَتِهِ *  أَتَطْلُبُ اْلرِّبْحَ مِمَّا فِيْهِ خُسْرَانُ

أقْبِلْ عَلىَ النَّفْسِ وَاسْتَكْمِلْ فَضَائِلَهَا *  فَأَنْتَ بِالنَّفْسِ لا باِلجْسْمِ إِنْسَانَ[2]

O you who are the servant of physical body, how much you care for it!

 Are you looking for a profit where there is only loss in it? Occupy

 yourself with your nafs (spirit, soul) and perfect its virtue,

 for you are a human being by soul, not by physical body.

What the poet means is that we are human beings and different from animals, not only because of our body, but mainly because of our soul, moral excellence, good character; in other words, with a pure heart. A bad person is worse than an animal. He could be a monster, terrifying and terrorizing a village, a town, a city and a country, killing people by hundreds and thousands.

Conclusion:

          There has to be a balance in purifying and taking care of our physical body and of our heart or soul, in order to have a healthy body and a healthy soul. (ANUMA, 4 May, 07)

 

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[1] In Indonesia a very small food stall where you can buy cheap food is called warung Tegal. Tegal is a small town in Central Java near Semarang. The first owner of this cheap food stall might have been from this town. Another expression dealing with Tegal is bodoh Tegal meaning “a person who pretends to be stupid”.

  [2] أبو الفتح البستي , الكشكول, ج١, ص ١١٦.