The Hygiene of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Note: Read this arabic text ﷺ as Sallallahu alaihi wa Sallam (May Allah’s Peace and blessings be upon him)

Before Islam the Arabs were not modest nor were they concerned about hygiene. A man would stand and urinate in full view of passersby and think nothing of it. But then Allah sent a caring Prophet [ﷺ] who loved all mankind just as a father loves his children. He patiently taught the most noble habits and most beautiful ways just as a father teaches his children.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would go out into the hills with a shield. He would fix it in the soft sand and sit down, hiding himself when passing urine. In this way no
one was able to see him and no urine would be able to splash back onto his clothing.

Some Arabs one day saw him doing this and found it most amusing. One of them remarked, “Look at him. He is relieving himself as women do.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ happened to overhear what they had said. As soon as he was done he walked up
to them and said, “This is the purer and cleaner way. In fact, in the past, some pious men were so concerned about urine splashing onto their clothing that they would cut off that part of the clothing on which it happened to splash.” This was so because they realized that Allah loves only those who remain pure and clean.

Once Nabi Muhammad ﷺ went to visit the graveyard, as was his habit. Here he would pray to Allah to forgive those who had passed away and grant them Jannah. His love and concern for all Muslims went far beyond this world.

As he passed by two graves he suddenly stopped and raised his blessed hands. He prayed and tears began to roll down his handsome cheeks. After some time he walked over to a green bush and plucked a branch which he broke in two. He then stuck one part on each of the two graves.

This was most unusual indeed. The Companions had often accompanied the Holy Prophet ﷺ to the graveyard but had never before seen him doing anything quite like that. “O Prophet of Allah, indeed we have witnessed you doing something very unusual . Please do tell us why you cried and why you placed those twigs on the two graves.”?

Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ replied in a sad voice, “Both of these men are being punished in their graves, but not because they were evil men. One was not careful when passing urine and did not guard himself against the little droplets splashing onto his clothing. And the other would sometimes carry tales, even though they were true. This would cause mischief and ill feeling between people. So I prayed to Allah to forgive them and to remove the punishment, at least for as long as the two twigs remain green.”

Moral of Story:

1. Islam taught people modesty and hygiene.
2. Nabi Muhammad ﷺ loved mankind more than a father loves his own child.
3. Teaching others the correct manner of living shows true love.
4. It is not permissible to relieve oneself in the presence of others.
5. It is not manly to be immodest.
6. Care must be taken that no urine falls onto the clothing when relieving oneself.
7. If impurity soils ones clothing it must be removed immediately. Washing the impurity away is sufficient.
8. Allah loves only those who remain pure and clean.
9. It is a noble Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ to visit the graveyards regularly and pray for the deceased.
10. Our love for others must extend beyond this world because we live beyond this world.
11. Nabi Muhammad ﷺ was able to see the unseen condition of the inmates of graves.
12. Reward and punishment begin in the grave.
13. The grave can either be a garden of paradise or a pit of hell.
14. We must guard themselves from minor sins too.
15. Being careless about hygiene and carrying tales are sins which warrant punishment.
16. By praying for the forgiveness of the deceased Allah removes their punishment or at least alleviates it.
17. Placing the twig was merely an indication of the time during which Allah would relieve the sinner’s of their punishment. It should not be made into a custom. Flowers too should not be placed on graves as this is the custom of the Christians and the disbelievers. Muslims should not follow their customs.