What Are the Wisdom and Benefits of Using the Miswak (Tooth-Stick)?
Answered by Shaykh Muhammad Fayez Awad
Question
What are the wisdom and benefits of using the miswak (tooth-stick)?
Answer
Sacred Law’s Holistic Care for Well-being
The Sacred Law cares for the human body just as it cares for the heart and is concerned with the well-being of the body, just as it is with the well-being of one’s faith and morals. Therefore, the texts on manners and refinement are as numerous as those on judgments and legislation.
Universal Etiquettes and Cleanliness
There are etiquettes dictated by healthy dispositions, called for by a sound nature, and recognized by intelligent people, such as adorning oneself with cleanliness and caring for one’s appearance. Cleaning oneself from impurities, washing hands before and after eating, removing harm from the path, and maintaining the cleanliness of the body, clothing, workplace, and home are matters agreed upon by all humans. Both a Muslim and a non-believer may perform these actions, as they are habits of a rational and healthy individual who dislikes filth and loves cleanliness.
Spiritual Rewards for Hygiene
However, Islam, with its care for aspects of life that people may consider habitual, has associated great rewards with these practices and encouraged them until they have become Sunna (prophetic teachings). If a believer practices them sincerely, they will earn a tremendous reward and abundant merit.
Oral Hygiene in Islam
The care for the mouth, its cleanliness, and the sweetening of its smell, both for one’s own sake and out of consideration for others, is inseparable from the care and attention given by the Sacred Law. Thus, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) legislated the use of the miswak and encouraged it emphatically, making it an established sunna (Prophetic practice)
Scholarly Consensus on the Miswak
Ibn Qudama (Allah have mercy on him) on him, said: “The people of knowledge agree that it (the miswak) is an affirmed Sunna, due to the Prophet’s – peace be upon him – encouragement, his continuous practice of it, his urging towards it, and his designation of it as part of the natural disposition.” [Ibn Qudama, Al-Mughni, 1/69]
Benefits of the Miswak
The most important benefit of the miswak is reflected in the statement of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace): “The miswak is a purification for the mouth and pleasing to the Lord.” [Ahmad; Nasa’i]
The author of “Mughni al-Muhtaj” also stated that “Among the benefits of the miswak are: it purifies the mouth, pleases the Lord as mentioned before, whitens the teeth, sweetens the breath, straightens the back, strengthens the gums, delays graying, clarifies the complexion, sharpens intelligence, multiplies rewards, eases the extraction of the soul at death, and reminds one of the testimony at the time of death.” [Al-Khatib Al-Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1.185]
Miswak and Prayer
The wisdom in the use of the miswak (tooth-stick) being recommended when standing for prayer is that the prayer is a communion with the Lord. Therefore, it necessitates being in a state of completeness and cleanliness, showing reverence for the honor of worship, which is the prayer.
Also, among the benefits is that the matter relates to the angel who listens to the Quran from the person praying; it has been narrated in a hadith by Ali (Allah be pleased with him) that we were commanded to use the miswak. He said: “When a servant stands to pray, an angel comes to him and stands behind him, listening to the Quran, and gets closer until he places his mouth over the person’s mouth. He does not recite a verse except that it enters the inside of the angel.” [Al-Dhahabi, Al-Mughni, 580; Al-Bayhaqi, 163; Al-Bazzar, 603; ‘Abd al-Razzaq, 4184]
Therefore, so that the angel is not discomforted, the miswak benefits, in addition to being courteous with God, being courteous with the angels.
Miswak: A Prophetic Practice of Natural Disposition
Let us not forget that the miswak is one of the natural practices mentioned by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) in what was narrated by Aisha, who said, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Ten are the acts according to fitra: trimming the mustache, letting the beard grow, using the miswak, snuffing water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing the knuckles, plucking the underarm hair, shaving the pubic hair, and cleaning oneself with water.” Zakariya said, Mus’ab said: “I forgot the tenth unless it is the rinsing of the mouth.” Qutayba added: “Waki’ said cleaning oneself with water means istinja.” [Muslim, 261; Ibn Khuzaymah, 88; Al-Nasa’i, 1.5055; Abu Dawud, 53; Al-Tirmidhi, 2757]
We ask Allah Most High to grant us perfection in following the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), and all praise be to Allah Most High, the Lord of the Worlds.
[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad.
Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad, born in Damascus, Syria, in 1965, pursued his Islamic studies in the mosques and institutes of Damascus. A graduate of the Islamic University of Medina in 1985, he holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Bahauddin Zakariya University in Pakistan.
He has extensive experience developing curricula and enhancing the teaching of various academic courses, including conducting intensive courses. Shaykh Awad has taught Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Quranic sciences, the history of legislation, inheritance laws, and more at several institutes and universities such as Al-Furqan Institute for Islamic Sciences and Majma‘ al-Fath al-Islami in Damascus.
He is a lecturer at the Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih Waqf University in Istanbul, teaching various Arabic and Islamic subjects, and teaches at numerous Islamic institutes in Istanbul. Shaykh Awad is a member of the Association of Syrian Scholars, a founding member of the Zayd bin Thabit Foundation, a member of the Syrian Scholars Association, and a member of the Academic Council at the Iman Center for Teaching the Sunna and Quran.
Among his teachers from whom he received Ijazat are his father, Shaykh Muhammad Muhiyiddin Awad, Shaykh Muhiyiddin al-Kurdi, Shaykh Muhammad Karim Rajih, Shaykh Usama al-Rifai, Shaykh Ayman Suwaid, Shaykh Ahmad al-Qalash, Shaykh Muhammad Awwama, and Shaykh Mamduh Junayd.
