If you’ve ever seen a Muslim praying in public or at your job, you may notice them washing up before they pray and being very careful to protect their prayer mat from being stepped on or touched by their shoes. Maybe you’ve seen them in the bathroom washing up before they pray and wondered what they were doing.
Physical cleanliness is a fundamental part of Islamic practices; there are rituals and rules about what Muslims must do throughout their day, especially before prayer, in order to remain pure in Allah’s eyes and have their prayers accepted by him.
First, Christians need to understand what Muslims have to do to be physically clean, but then we’ll move on to the heart of the matter and why it is so important to understand why Muslims worry about hygiene so much.
What makes a Muslim unclean? Why Islam has cleansing rituals
Muslims are subjected to two different states of uncleanliness which would restrict them from participating in prayers, entering mosques, or even touching the Quran.
First is the muhdath, or the affects, where certain things immediately taint a Muslim. The “affects” are going to the bathroom, breaking wind, coughing, touching a person of the opposite sex with sexual desire, or touching one’s own genitals. After a Muslim has fallen asleep, they often assume that they might have broken wind and must be cleansed from it. Certain Islamic teachers even include violent laughter and fits of anger in this category.
Second, there are preclusions (janābah) that are considered major impurities for a Muslim. These include sexual intercourse, seminal emission, menstruation, and childbirth.
In addition to restricting a Muslim from praying, entering mosques, and touching the Quran, someone who is under a preclusion cannot recite the Quran, fast for Ramadan, or perform a small dhikr (personal prayer).
Some Islamic leaders say that the sweat of a menstruating woman will disable a man under preclusions, contact with non-Muslims, touching water drunk by a non-Muslim, or even touching an unclean animal like a dog.
If a Muslim is unclean by one of these preclusions, then they add washing their whole body with water to the list of things below.
The cleansing ritual of Islamic ablution (Wudu)
The cleansing ritual that purifies a Muslim from any of these previous things is called ablution (or wudu in arabic), and goes as such:
Intend to perform the ablution
Wash the hands to the wrists three times
Rinse out the mouth and snuffing water into the nostrils three times
Wash the face from the hairline to the neck, the chin, and the openings of the nostrils
Comb the beard with wet fingers (if applicable)
Wash the the hands and arms up to the elbows three times
Rub the head with both hands from the forehead to the nape of the neck, including the ears
Rub the feet, especially the tops and ankles
Say the shahadah (Islamic confession of faith): “I bear witness that there is no God but God, the unique, who has no partner. I bear witness that Muhammad is his servant and his Messenger.”
Now that we know what makes a Muslim unclean and how they must “fix” it, why is cleanliness so important in the first place? Where does this belief stem from?
Why physical cleanliness is so important in Islam
The value of physical hygiene and purification stems from Islam’s teachings and understanding of sin. While the Bible states that sin is a corrupt state of the heart and soul, Muhammad believed sin was exterior and disconnected from the human soul. It is caused by the touch and temptation of Satan, not the corruption of humans. We see this in their beliefs about children; Islam claims every baby is born pure of sin until the devil touches them after birth.
If sin is disconnected from the real person and rather a conditional state of being that can come and go, Muhammad stated the way to get rid of it is by cleansing. Muslims spiritually cleanse themselves by fulfilling the mandated Five Pillars of Islam, and they physically cleanse themselves through the purification rituals.
Christ-followers can recognize how this is a tool of the enemy, Satan, who ensares Muslims with rituals so they feel clean and pure, but this feeling is temporary and a lie.
The demoralizing views of women’s uncleanliness when it comes to cleansing rituals in Islam
Talking about the importance of purification in Islam would not be complete until we acknowledge something you’ve probably already noticed: women are much more disadvantaged and put down under this system than men are.
There are certain states of preclusion, the major impurities, that are only applicable to women: menstruation and childbirth. Often a Muslim woman is considered unclean for up to 40 days after birth, and can only be cleansed after that.
If a man has sex with a woman who is menstruating, he often has to pay a small monetary penance to atone for this along with the physical ablution of his impurity.
And even without menstruating or childbirth, women are still considered less clean than men. If a woman, dog, or donkey passes by a man praying, then his prayer is canceled and he must cleanse himself again. In Islam, a woman is no cleaner than a dog!
Conclusion
Why Christians should understand cleansing rituals and rules in Islam when sharing the Gospel with a Muslim
The practice of ablution and constantly monitoring one’s physical cleanliness is directly tied to the works-based nature of Islam. There is no promise of salvation for a Muslim, rather they must spend their whole life spiritually atoning for their evil deeds with good ones, and physically cleansing themselves in order to have their good deeds accepted by Allah!
When you are sharing the gospel with a Muslim, you are telling them that there is a free gift of salvation waiting for them. There is nothing they have to do to be saved but accept Christ and repent; He has done the rest! Many Muslim background Christians report they finally experience peace for the first time in their life after accepting Christ, because the weight of their salvation was not on their shoulders any more!
“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10
You can learn more about what Muslims believe about salvation and women in the following posts:
Prayer for sharing the truth with a Muslim
Dear Lord, please break the chains of fear from my Muslim friend’s heart. Please open their hearts to hear the truth that Jesus died to cleanse them of their sins, once and for all. Amen.
