*From: Fiqhi Ahkām wa Masā'il – Volume 1, Page 37
By Shaykh Mubashshir Ahmad Rabbani
Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"السِّوَاكُ مَطْهَرَةٌ لِلْفَمِ مَرْضَاةٌ لِلرَّبِّ"
“The miswāk cleanses the mouth and pleases the Lord.”
Musnad Aḥmad 6/47, 62; Sunan al-Nasā’ī – Book of Ṭahārah, Chapter: Encouragement of Miswāk
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"الْفِطْرَةُ خَمْسٌ أَوْ خَمْسٌ مِنَ الْفِطْرَةِ: الْخِتَانُ، وَالِاسْتِحْدَادُ، وَتَقْلِيمُ الْأَظْفَارِ، وَنَتْفُ الْإِبِطِ، وَقَصُّ الشَّارِبِ"
“Five acts are from the fitrah (natural disposition):
• Circumcision
• Removing pubic hair
• Trimming nails
• Plucking armpit hair
• And shortening the moustache.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī – Kitāb al-Libās, Ḥadīth: 5889
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim – Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Ḥadīth: 257
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما reported:
"أَحْفُوا الشَّوَارِبَ وَأَعْفُوا اللِّحَى"
“Trim the moustaches and let the beards grow.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī – Kitāb al-Libās, Ḥadīth: 5892
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim – Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Ḥadīth: 259
From these and other related narrations, the scholars of Fiqh have deduced the following rulings:
① Using the miswāk is a strongly recommended Sunnah and a means of attaining Allah’s pleasure.
② The five fitrah attributes are essential principles for personal hygiene and cleanliness in Islam.
③ Growing the beard and trimming the moustache is a clear and direct command of the Prophet ﷺ.
④ Removing pubic and armpit hair is an important act of hygiene and natural purity.
⑤ Trimming nails is also part of the natural disposition (fitrah) and maintains personal cleanliness.
The external cleanliness and natural sunnahs are among the radiant principles of Islam through which a Muslim’s personality, physical purity, dignity, and spiritual refinement are perfected.
Practices such as:
✔ Using the miswāk
✔ Trimming the nails
✔ Removing pubic and armpit hair
✔ Performing circumcision
✔ Growing the beard
—all preserve a person’s physical, natural, and sharʿī purity.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not classify these merely as acts of hygiene, but rather as acts of fitrah (natural disposition), embedded within the human creation.
Whoever revives these sunnahs not only achieves external purity but also attains the pleasure of Allah, as is clearly mentioned regarding miswāk:
“It pleases the Lord.”
These acts emphasize that Islam upholds cleanliness, discipline, and beauty in every aspect of life.
May Allah grant us the ability to act upon these luminous sunnahs. Āmīn.
By Shaykh Mubashshir Ahmad Rabbani
✦ The Virtue of the Miswāk ✦
Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"السِّوَاكُ مَطْهَرَةٌ لِلْفَمِ مَرْضَاةٌ لِلرَّبِّ"
“The miswāk cleanses the mouth and pleases the Lord.”
Musnad Aḥmad 6/47, 62; Sunan al-Nasā’ī – Book of Ṭahārah, Chapter: Encouragement of Miswāk✦ The Five Attributes of Natural Disposition (Fitrah) ✦
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"الْفِطْرَةُ خَمْسٌ أَوْ خَمْسٌ مِنَ الْفِطْرَةِ: الْخِتَانُ، وَالِاسْتِحْدَادُ، وَتَقْلِيمُ الْأَظْفَارِ، وَنَتْفُ الْإِبِطِ، وَقَصُّ الشَّارِبِ"
“Five acts are from the fitrah (natural disposition):
• Circumcision
• Removing pubic hair
• Trimming nails
• Plucking armpit hair
• And shortening the moustache.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī – Kitāb al-Libās, Ḥadīth: 5889 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim – Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Ḥadīth: 257✦ Command to Trim Moustaches and Let Beards Grow ✦
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما reported:
"أَحْفُوا الشَّوَارِبَ وَأَعْفُوا اللِّحَى"
“Trim the moustaches and let the beards grow.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī – Kitāb al-Libās, Ḥadīth: 5892 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim – Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Ḥadīth: 259✦ Fiqhi Rulings Derived from These Aḥādīth ✦
From these and other related narrations, the scholars of Fiqh have deduced the following rulings:
① Using the miswāk is a strongly recommended Sunnah and a means of attaining Allah’s pleasure.
② The five fitrah attributes are essential principles for personal hygiene and cleanliness in Islam.
③ Growing the beard and trimming the moustache is a clear and direct command of the Prophet ﷺ.
④ Removing pubic and armpit hair is an important act of hygiene and natural purity.
⑤ Trimming nails is also part of the natural disposition (fitrah) and maintains personal cleanliness.
❖ Conclusion ❖
The external cleanliness and natural sunnahs are among the radiant principles of Islam through which a Muslim’s personality, physical purity, dignity, and spiritual refinement are perfected.
Practices such as:
✔ Using the miswāk
✔ Trimming the nails
✔ Removing pubic and armpit hair
✔ Performing circumcision
✔ Growing the beard
—all preserve a person’s physical, natural, and sharʿī purity.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not classify these merely as acts of hygiene, but rather as acts of fitrah (natural disposition), embedded within the human creation.
Whoever revives these sunnahs not only achieves external purity but also attains the pleasure of Allah, as is clearly mentioned regarding miswāk:
“It pleases the Lord.”
These acts emphasize that Islam upholds cleanliness, discipline, and beauty in every aspect of life.
May Allah grant us the ability to act upon these luminous sunnahs. Āmīn.
