germs and did he use soap or lotus leaves? Doctors nowadays tell us
that weshould wash our hands often and use soap and water. But soap at
the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was
not like it is now. Shouldwe follow the modern ways for protection or
is water sufficient, as it was at the time of the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him)? If germs are a cause of anxiety and
we have to follow what we are told, then can we use lotus leaves or
potash instead of soap, as was done at the time of the Prophet
(blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him)? Will our reward be greater
if we follow the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in
everything, such as using potash and a little soap and water, and not
to change often or own a lot of clothes?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Islamic sharee'ah is a flexible way that is based on general
principles and holistic foundations governing human conduct. At the
same time it allows roomfor new developments that occur with changes
in time and place. For example, it does not put undue restrictions on
people with regard to customs and purely worldly actions; rather
itgives them the freedom to act in accordance with what is
appropriateto their desires and interests, and what will benefit them,
so long as any given custom is not contrary to the text of the Qur'an
or Sunnah. This is the meaning of what was affirmed by the fuqaha' and
scholars of usool when they said: The basic principle with regard to
customs is thatthey are permissible andare allowed.
Based on that, there is nothing wrong with the Muslim benefiting from
what has been invented or discovered in moderntimes, such as cars,
airplanes and electricity… and modern means of cleaning the body or
clothes.
The Muslim is not required to go back to riding camels or using the
kind of cleaning agents that were used by the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him), because these are not worship in which he
is required to follow the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him); rather these are customs and traditions.
Ash-Shaatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to customs, the Lawgiver focused onthe idea of achieving a
given purpose, not on a literal following of a shar'i text, unlike
acts of worship which must be based on a shar'i text.
End quote from al-Muwaafaqaat, 2/523
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) encouraged
cleanliness and that which will protect good health in general terms,
and for that purpose he used the means and things that were available
at his time (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). If something
new is introduced and it leads to the same purpose (i.e., cleanliness
and maintenance of good health) without causing any harm, then there
is nothing wrong with the Muslim using it and benefiting from it.
In Islam there are many teachings that are indicative of paying
attention to cleanliness of the body, clothing and place where one is.
To confirm that, it is sufficient to note that wudoo' – which
involveswashing the hands, mouth, nose, and face – is one of the
conditions of prayer, which is the foundation of the faith, being
valid.
Using cleaning agents with water was not widely practised at the time
of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) because of
the scarcity of these cleaning agents and the scarcity of wateritself.
Yet despite that it is proven in the Sunnah that lotus leaves may be
used in some cases where ghusl is done thatrequire extra attention to
care and cleaning, such as washing the deceased prior to burial,ghusl
for a woman whose period has ended, and ghusl for thekaafir who
becomes Muslim. The fuqaha' also mentioned using saltwort as well for
the purpose of cleaning and bathing.
Saltwort (salsola) is a plant that grows in sandy ground; it or its
ash is used for washing clothes and hands.
Al-Mu'jam al-Waseet, 1/91
With regard to lotus, thisis a plant that grows on water. Its fruit is
the lotus fruit (nabq) and its leaves are used for washing. See:
Lisaan al-'Arab, 4/354
It was narrated that Umm 'Atiyyah al-Ansaariyyah (may Allah be pleased
with her) said: The Messengerof Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) entered upon us when his daughter died and said: "Wash her
three times, or five, or more than that, if you see fit, with water
and lotus leaves, and put camphor in the last time,or a little
camphor".
Narrated by al-Bukhaari,1253; Muslim, 939
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This indicates that it is mustahabb or encouraged to use lotus leaves
when washing the deceased. There is unanimous agreement that it is
mustahabb.
End quote from Sharh Muslim, 7/3
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Al-Maymooni said: I read to Ibn Hanbal: Is it acceptable for the woman
whose menses has ended to do ghusl using only water?
He dictated to me: If she cannot find anything butwater on its own,
then she should do ghusl withit. The Prophet (blessingsand peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "Your water and your lotus leaves," and this
is more than ghusl in the case of janaabah.
I said: What if she did ghusl using water only, then she found (lotus leaves)?
He said: I prefer that she should repeat it, becauseof what he said.
End quote from Fath al-Baari, 1/471-472
It was narrated from Qaasim ibn 'Aasim (may Allah be pleased with him)
that he became Muslim, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) instructed him to do ghusl using water and lotus leaves.
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, 605. He said: It is hasan. It was classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.
It is obvious that using lotus leaves when doing ghusl does not come
under the heading of acts of worship; rather itis the matter of
customs that change with time and place. Whoever usesany cleansing
material inthe place of lotus leaves has fulfilled the spirit of the
Sunnah and has fulfilled the purpose for which the Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed people to do
ghusl with lotus leaves.
On our website, in a number of answers, we have explained that it is
not mustahabb to imitate the actions of the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) that he did on the grounds that theywere
customs or personal habits or preferences, and doing so does not bring
any greater reward than other customary matters.Rather reward is
attained by adhering to Sunnahs of worship and related matters.
Shaykh Dr. Muhammad al-Ashqar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The ruling on these matters of custom and similar issues is that
theyare indicative of something being permissible, and no more, except
in two cases:
1. Where there is a report of words enjoining or encouraging
something,in which case it seems that it is something prescribed in
Islam
2. Where it seems that it is connected to Islam by circumstantial
evidence other than words, such as placing the deceased in his grave
facing towards the qiblah. That is obviously connected to something
that is prescribed in Islam.
End quote from Af'aal ar-Rasool, 1/237
See also the answer to question no. 69822
Secondly:
With regard to what youmentioned about not owning a lot of clothes,
what is required of the Muslim with regard to food, drink and
clothing,and the house in which he lives and the furniture on which he
sits, and other such matters, is that he should not go beyond what he
needs. So what he has of clothing and furnishings should be in
accordance with what he needs and no more than that. If it is more
than what he needs, then he comes under theheading of
extravagancewhich is condemned in Islam. Allah, may He be exalted,
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allah)
likes not Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)"
[al-An'aam 6:141].
As-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Extravagance may mean having more than is sufficient and consuming too
much of food that is harmful to the body; or it may meangoing to
excess in luxuryin food, drink and clothing; or it may mean
overlooking what is halaal and favouring what is haraam.
"certainly He (Allah) likesnot Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by
extravagance)" means that Allah hates extravagance and it is harmful
to the individual's body and livelihood, because he may end up being
unable to meet his financial obligations. This verse commands us to
consume food and drink and it forbids us toneglect them or be
extravagant with them. End quote.
Tafseer as-Sa'di, p. 311
Ibn Maajah (3605) narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "Eat and drink, give charity and wear
clothes, so long as that does not involve any extravagance or vanity."
Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.
And Allah knows best.
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