Wash your hands and do not forget your face!

Introduction

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon His Messenger, the master of the formers and the later, and upon his purified family.

"All praise and thanks are Allâh's, Who has guided us to this, and never could we have found guidance, were it not that Allâh had guided us!" [Surat Al A`raf: 43].

Our Generous Lord says in the Glorious Qur'an: "Allâh does not want to place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete His Favour to you that you may be thankful." [Surat Al Ma'idah: 6].

Allah (Glory be to Him) commanded us 14 centuries ago to wash our hands and faces in ablution when we want to perform Salah. Moreover, He commanded us to offer Salah five times a day which means that a Muslim washes his face and hands at least five times a day. Allah explained to us in this Ayah that all these commands were given as a favor to His Servants to purify them, and they should thank Allah (Glory be to Him) for that blessing. All these divine commands contain a wisdom, reward, and a benefit in the past, in the present, and in the future.

Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) exhorted Muslims to do Nafl Salah in other times to be more pure by performing ablution many times. It was the habit of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to renew ablution for every Salah, but he broke that habit on the opening of Makkah and when `Umar asked him, he said: "I did it intentionally, O `Umar so as people would not think that it is obligatory and becomes difficult for them."

On the fifteenth day of October, celebrations here and there are held on the face of the globe to mark the World Day for washing hands to motivate millions of inhabitants of the earth to wash their hands. The World Health Organization said that many diseases that cause the death of five thousand children a day can be avoided, most of them are bacterial, parasitic, and viral diseases that are contagious. Moreover, infection in the health community; such as hospitals, clinics, and even in restaurants multiplied dramatically due to contamination of the hands and the presence of remnants of wastes under the nails. Of the diseases that can be easily transferred are: Viral hepatitis "A", acute bacterial diarrhea, meningitis, intestinal parasites, influenza, typhoid, etc. The health authorities everywhere in the world call for washing the hands when touching someone who is likely to be sick or anything suspicious in order to avoid the incidence of these diseases in general, and to avoid the swine flu in particular. In addition to that, the media helped in spreading this preventive news since the beginning of the disease and its causes, but the disease has expanded from one country to another infecting thousands of people and causing hundreds of death cases.

These bodies concerned with the global health do not know the existence of a divine command came to us by the master of mankind, since 1432 years ago, which recommended washing of the hands, the face, the nose and the mouth, as he recommended continuing cleanness, but the strange thing is that the majority of Muslims worldwide forget that.

It was possible to avoid many of these infections in an easy, inexpensive, and quick way by following the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger, who left it to us and his Companions reported it to us; but who will consider and who will follow the Sunnah of our honorable Prophet (peace be upon him)?

Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "And the Messenger (Muhammad peace be upon him) will say: O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur'ân (neither listened to it, nor acted on its laws and teachings)." [Surat Al Furqan: 30]. Allah Almighty says: "(Allâh) will say: Like this: Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) came to you, but you disregarded them (i.e. you left them, did not think deeply in them, and you turned away from them), and so this Day, you will be neglected (in the Hell-fire, away from Allâh's Mercy)." [Surat Taha: 126]. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "Has not the time come for the hearts of those who believe (in the Oneness of Allâh - Islâmic Monotheism) to be affected by Allâh's Reminder (this Qur'ân), and that which has been revealed of the truth." [Surat Al Hadid: 16].

So, frequent ablution and purification are part of the miraculous aspect of the Glorious Qur'an in the field of fighting diseases and germs. Allah the Almighty did not send down His Commands to punish us but for our best interest whether physically or psychologically because cleanliness has a positive impact not only on the body, but on the soul and spirit as well. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "Verily, this Qur'ân guides to that which is most just and right." [Surat Al Isra: 9]. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "Do they not then consider the Qur'ân carefully? Had it been from other than Allâh, they would surely have found therein many a contradiction." [Surat An-Nisa': 82]. Allah the Almighty says: "And We have also sent down to you (O Muhammad peace be upon him) the Dhikr [reminder and the advice (i.e. the Qur'ân)], that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought." [Surat An-Nahl: 44].

The idea of hand-washing to avoid the transmission of infectious diseases —which spread these days— is incomplete because hands are not the only the bodily organs which are in direct contact with air, but there are the nose and the mouth which are more susceptible to infectious diseases, especially those which are transferred through air and food, therefore our Lord commanded us to clean them during every ablution. Those two organs play a basic role in the transmission of disease into the body because they are the major transit point for air and food, as they are important hosts for microorganisms which live naturally and mandatory within humans, and act as a guard against dangerous living organisms. If these organs are not consistently and regularly cleaned, the impact of these microorganisms will be inversive because they multiply rapidly; therefore we need a way to control their reproduction until equilibrium is achieved.

Since the discovery of microorganisms in the nineteenth century, and after discovering their different impacts on man and the environment, scientists interested in organizing and rationing the multiplication of these microorganisms in their outer environment as well as inside the human body by using detergents (liquid or gaseous) and antibiotics of all kinds, and even by the use of some radiations which have a fatal effect or inhibitor. Germ diseases do not occur except under certain conditions, including: The number of microorganisms present in a place or in a particular organ, so a disease will not occur except there is enough number of germs to attack.

What should be notable is that all these used methods have side effects that vary according to the type of the used material. In some cases, it is useless especially if the microorganisms are present in large numbers and cannot be controlled. Excessive use of these materials may reduce the immune system in some way.

Of Allah's Wisdom is that He commanded us to perform ablution to wash certain organs in some certain times. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "If I were to put a hardship against my nation, I would have commanded them to perform ablution at every Salah." And exhorted to perform the complete ablution in some other days so as the body would be able to get rid of the useless microorganisms. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Ghusl on Friday is an obligatory duty on every adult exactly as using Miswak, and a person should apply perfume as much as he can."

All this purification is done by a simple vital substance which is water, the secret of life which is not a harmful substance, and has no side effects provided that it should be used regularly to achieve the benefit.

Our former scientists followed the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Prophet (peace be upon him) and benefited from them, therefore they fascinated the whole world in a time the European were ignorant. Nowadays, Muslim scientists have discovered the benefits of the divine orders given in the form of instructions in the Qur'an and the Sunanh, such as the benefits of ablution and cleanliness which eliminate infectious diseases. Allah has said the truth when He said: "O you who believe! Answer Allâh (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he (peace be upon him) calls you to that which will give you life." [Surat Al Anfal: 24].

"Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us. Verily, You are the All-Hearer, the All-Knower." [Surat Al Baqarah: 127].

And our final invocation is: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!

Sources:

• The Glorious Quran.

• Al Azhar fatwas, chapter on renewal of ablution for every Salah, vol. 8, p. 458, (Al Shamela library, version II).

• Ihya' `Ulum Ad-Din, chapter on how to perform Tayammum (Dry ablution), vol. 1, p. 145, (Al Shamela library, version II).

• Ahkam Al Qur`an of Al Jassas, chapter on purification for Salah, vol. 5, p. 290, (Al Shamela library, version II).

• www.unisef.org

• Brisset C. et Stoufflet J., 1988, Santé et Médecine, l'état des connaissances et des recherches. Ed: La découverte / INSERM / ORSTOM.