Sunan-ul-Fitra : Islamic Personal Grooming

One of the most important parts of being a Muslim is cleanliness. Keeping ourselves pure is considered one half of our faith, aaccording to the Prophet ﷺ. A good Muslim is clean, neat, and presentable. A good Muslim tries to look and smell good.

There are several ways to keep
ourselves clean and pure. The Prophet called these ways of cleaning ourselves Sunan-ul-Fitra.This refers to our personal hygiene. Hygiene means cleanliness and freedom from impurity.

Good hygiene is importantbecause not only does it keep uslooking, smelling, and feeling good, but it is pleasing to Allah Allah is happy when we take good care of the bodies He has given us. Another effect of good hygiene is that it protects us from germs that might otherwise make us sick.

Abu Malik Al-Ashaari , narrated that the Prophet said:"At-Tahouru Shatrul-Iman." Reported by Muslim

This means, "Cleanliness is half of the faith.

The Categories of Sunan-ul-Fitra

The Mouth

It is important for Muslims to keep their mouths clean. This means we should remember to brush our teeth at least two times a day. The best times for teeth brushing are right before we go to sleep and right after we wake up.

This keeps our gums, tongue,and teeth free from harmful bacteria. It also helps us to have a nice and fresh smelling breath.

Have you ever forgotten tobrush your teeth? What happenswhen the people around you smell your breath if you haven't brushedyour teeth? How do you feel whenyou smell other's bad breath?

Brushing your teeth and cleaning your mouth is also good for people around you, because they are spared from bad breath.

We use a toothbrush to cleanour mouths. The Prophet used a siwaak.


A siwaak is a twig from a special tree. If you ever use a siwaak, you'll notice that it has a nice, fresh flavor. It is a very goodthing to clean your teeth with a siwaak like Rasoolullah used to do.

The Body

These days, most people are fortunate enough to be able to shower every day. During the Prophet's time, there wasn't enough water for everyone to bathe every day. Therefore,Rasoolullah recommended his followers to take a special shower on Fridays, before Jum'uah prayers. This special bath is called ghusl.

Alhamdulillah today we have running water, so it is easy to take a shower every day. Taking a shower every day will keep us clean..Even if we only shower every few days, it is Sunnah to take a shower on Fridays.

Taking a shower or bath is important because it keeps our bodies clean, healthy and smelling good.

What happens when you play for a long time on a very hot day?

When we work or play hard, our bodies sweat, and body odor is produced. Body odor is a bad smell that comes from places like our armpits and others. It is very important to keep our bodies smelling good, and taking a daily shower is a great start.

When we do shower, it is important that we scrub ourselves everywhere with soap, especially extra smelly areas. Different people smell bad in different places. It is important to know the areas you have to pay special attention to cleaning.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ always smelled wonderful. His companions said that he smelled like musk, or perfume. To follow his example,we should also smell nice and clean.One way we can do this is to use nice smelling shampoo or soap.

Wudoo'

Everyday, we come in contact with so many germs that even a shower is not enough to protect us from them. Our hands, arms,faces, and feet are always getting dirty, and they always need cleaning.

Wudoo' is not only something that purifies our souls, but it also purifies our bodies.we make sure that we are always in a state of wudoo', then we will always bein a state of purity. We will have more opportunities to wash dirt and bacteria off of different parts of our bodies throughout the day.

Also, being in the state of wudoo', or taharah, keeps us ready to worship Allah all of the time.When we are in a state of taharah,and make it for the sake of Allah,our deeds will make Him very happy with us.

Fingernails and Toenails

Our hands and feet do a lot of work during the day, and because of this, they also get dirty. But the parts of our hands and feet that catch the most dirt are our fingernails and toenails.

To take care of our fingernails,we should clip them around once a week. Rasoolullah never let his fingernails grow out long. We should not let ours grow too long either.

Because you eat with your hands, lot of bacteria can collect under the nails, it is really important to keep your nails well groomed. Imagine the germs that you would put into your mouth you had long nails that had a lotof bacteria!

What else might happen If awe keep long nails?

Remember, following Sunan-ulFitra will keep our bodies nice and healthy, and it will please Allah.We should remember that when we clean ourselves, we are doing it for the sake of Allah. This will give us many good deeds,inshaAllah. This way, our bodies will be clean, and it will help us keep our souls clean, too!

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