How Can a Muslim Maintain Purity (Tahara) Amidst a Busy Routine?

Answered By Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad

Question

How can a Muslim maintain purity (tahara) amidst the busy routines of daily life?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.

The Importance of Purity in Islam

Islam is a religion of beauty and perfection, aligned with the natural disposition (fitra) that Allah has created in humans. Allah has commanded or recommended everything that enhances a Muslim’s life, and He has forbidden or disliked anything that detracts from it.

Islam places great importance on both inner and outer cleanliness, combining physical and spiritual purity. So much so that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Purity is half of faith.” [Muslim]

Virtues of Purity and Ablution

There are many virtues related to purity, especially regarding ablution (wudu). Here are some of its key merits:

Ablution Erases Sins

It is narrated by ‘Uthman (Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Whoever performs wudu (ablution) excellently, his sins will leave his body, even from under his nails.” [Ibid.]

Also, Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“When a Muslim, or a believer, washes his face in wudu, every sin he has looked at with his eyes leaves with the water—or with the last drop of water. When he washes his hands, every sin they committed leaves with the water—or with the last drop of water. When he washes his feet, every sin toward which he walked leaves with the water—or with the last drop of water—until he emerges purified from sins.” [Ibid.]

Ablution Elevates One’s Rank

‘Uqba Ibn ‘Amir (Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“None of you who performs wudu, making it thorough, and then says, ‘I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger,’ except that all eight gates of Paradise will open for him, and he may enter through whichever one he wishes.” [Ibid.]

Additionally, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to Bilal after the Fajr prayer:

“O Bilal, tell me about the most hopeful action you have done in Islam, for I heard the sound of your footsteps in Paradise ahead of me.” Bilal replied: “I do not consider any act more hopeful than the fact that whenever I purify myself at any time of the day or night, I pray as much as Allah has decreed for me.” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Being Among the Pure

Through ablution, a person is counted among the pure, earning Allah’s love. Allah (Most High) says:

“Surely Allah loves those who always turn to Him in repentance and those who purify themselves.” [Quran, 2:222]

Referring to both physical and spiritual purity.

A Sign of Strong Faith

Thawban (Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Be upright, and you will never be able to do so (perfectly). And know that the best of your deeds is prayer, and none preserves wudu except a believer.” [Malik]

Maintaining Purity in Daily Life

It was part of the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) practice to perform wudu for every prayer. He would not sleep except in a state of purity, even performing wudu before sleeping if he was in a state of major ritual impurity (janaba).

The Sacred Law has emphasized cleanliness and purity, encouraging the acts of fitra (natural disposition), as mentioned in the hadith:

“Five acts are part of the natural disposition: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, plucking the armpit hair, trimming the nails, and cutting the mustache.” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Summary

Busy daily life does not prevent maintaining and regularly renewing one’s purity, especially when a believer understands its great reward. Striving for it as much as possible allows the believer to attain immense virtue and reward.

May Allah guide us to what pleases Him. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all 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.