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The
Preventive and Healing Wonders of Ablution
“Nor
does he say (aught) of (his own) Desire. It is no less than inspiration sent
down to him” (Chapter 53, Verse 3 & 4).
I
have a confession to make. I never really took my time to make
‘ablution’ the way I ought to. By ‘ought to’ I’m referring to the
detailed care that was encouraged by our prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him). However, when conducting the research for this article, I felt
quite foolish, to say the least.
Not
only was I squandering the chance to get more reward for perfecting ablution,
but I was also wasting golden opportunities to enhance my health and general
well being.
A
Daily Ritual
Fourteen
centuries ago, our Prophet, a walking encyclopedia if I may so describe him,
gave us a prescription of 26 washing movements to be carried out 5 times a day,
a total of 130 daily washing movements, to grant us optimum health.
“O
ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and
arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the
ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But
if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or
ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for
yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah
doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to
complete his favor to you, that ye may be grateful.” (Chapter 5, Verse 6)
Before
a Muslim performs his prayers, he carries out the ablution movements mentioned
in the above verse as well as others, which the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) has added.
Thus,
the ablution comprises of washing the hands, arms right up to the elbow, face,
mouth, nostrils, and feet up the ankle, all three times each. The inside and
behind the ears, as well as the part of the head above the forehead is wiped
once.
Done
five times a day, it not only cleanses these vital parts of the body from dust
and dirt but also "softens" and refreshes them.1
Interestingly
enough, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also encouraged
doing ablution before going to bed. This same ritual is also encouraged by Yoga
experts who say that washing important motor and sensory organs such as the
hands, arms, eyes, legs, mouth and genitals before sleep using cool water
relaxes the body preparing it for a deep sleep.2
Stimulating
the Biological Rhythms
In
an article titled “Muslims Rituals and their Effect on the Person’s
Health”, Dr. Magomed Magomedov, assistant to the department of the Man’s
General Hygiene and Ecology in the Daghestan State Medical Academy, speaks about
how ablution stimulates the biological rhythms of the body and specifically
Biological Active Spots (BASes), very much like the idea behind Chinese
reflexotherapy.
Presently
we know that a man is a complex system of electromagnetic fields, meridians,
biological rhythms and so on. Man’s internal organs, in their turn, present a
no less sophisticated bioenergetical whole; they all have indissoluble
multi-channel bilateral connections with the skin, which hosts special spots,
whose functions resemble those of buttons on “control” and “ recharge
boards” responsible for particular organs. These spots are called biologically
active spots (BASes).3
While
pointing out to the similarities between ablution and the science of Chinese
reflexology in his fascinating article, Dr. Magomedov also states the main
different points. To become a doctor in reflexology, he says, one has to take a
15 to 20 year course of study, incomparable with the simple learning techniques
of ablution.
In
another comparison, reflexotherapy was primarily used to cure diseases and very
rarely for prevention, while, as we shall see, ablution has many preventive
benefits.
There
was also a negative side to reflexotherapy, he says, one that is not found in
ablution; a patient was exposed to traumas since doctors used cauterisation.
“The
majority of the most powerful BASes are being washed during the Muslim ritual.
It is not the doctor, who had studied for many years, who does it, but every
Muslim by himself. Besides, praying five times a day obliges a Muslim to take
the preventive measures against diseases beforehand.”4
According
to Dr. Magomedov, Chinese medicine says that there are more than 700 BASes, and
sixty-six of them have quick reflex therapy effects and are named the drastic
(or aggression or antique or prime-elements) spots.
Out
of these sixty-six spots, sixty-one of them are located in zones required for
ablution while the other five are located between the ankle and knee (an area
which is desirable, according to prophetic traditions, to wash).
Thus,
ablution becomes a kind of treatment complex, which includes the hydromassage of
the BAS, their thermal and physical stimulation.5
The
BASes in the face (which are washed during ablution) “recharge” such organs
as the intestines, stomach and bladder, in addition to having a positive effect
on the nervous and reproductive systems, says Dr. Magomedov in his findings,
adding that the BAS responsible for the osseous system, intestine, nervous
system, lumbar area, stomach, pancreas, gall-bladder, thyroid gland, solar
plexus and others are situated on the right leg, another area reached by
ablution.
The
left leg has the BAS responsible for the work of the pituitary gland, the brain
organ that regulates the functioning of the endocrine glands and controls
growing. In the ear’s cochlea are hundreds of BASes that “harmonize the work
of almost all organs, decrease high blood pressure and relieve tooth and throat
pain.” Ear ablution is considered Sunna (Prophetic tradition).
Another
aspect that Dr. Magomedov stresses on is that Prophetic tradition emphasized the
importance of massaging and applying pressure during ablution, which is
something that has a scientifically-grounded explanation.
Dr.
Magomedov said that his studies were triggered by his solemn belief that the
five-time-a-day Muslim prayers were bound to have not only an “indisputable
spiritual effect” but were also bound to “have a purely physical healing
effect as well.”
Former
research carried out in the Soviet Union regarding BAS was regarded unworthy
because they believed that “man was not supposed to have either soul or an
energy body, because the opposite would contradict the materialistic (atheistic)
ideology of those times,” says Dr. Magomedov.
Preventive
Cleansing
From a non-alternative medicine perspective, Mukhtar Salem, in his book titled
‘Prayers: a Sport for the Body and Soul’, speaks about the health benefits
of every aspect of ablution.
He
does not speak about the BASes in one’s body, but nevertheless, he describes
the preventive benefits of ablution.
Ablution,
he says, helps prevent skin cancer. This is his explanation: the areas that are
washed during ablution are the parts of the body that are most prone to be
exposed to pollution, whether it is pollution from the internal secretions of
the body on to the skin surface, such as sweat, or whether it is external.
Ablution, removes this ‘pollution’ five times a day, and hence maintains a
clean outside layer of skin, which in turn helps the cells underneath to
function properly.
Also,
washing with water helps invigorate the ends of the blood vessels, as well as
the nerves and glands that are near the skin surface, and hence helps them
perform their functions efficiently.6
Salem
adds that research has proven that one of the main reasons behind skin cancer is
that the skin is exposed to chemicals, especially petrochemicals, and that the
best way to prevent skin cancer is by constantly removing these chemicals.
The
obvious reason behind washing the mouth during ablution, Salem says, is to
remove the food particles, which could cause teeth and gum problems. That is
also the reason why siwak (brushing one’s teeth) is also encouraged
before ablution.
When
washing one’s nostrils, (a practice, which I myself find very hard, but will
try to work on), one is also performing a preventive health measure as the germs
trapped in the nostrils are removed and do not pass on to the respiratory
system.
According
to a study conducted by a team of doctors in Alexandria University, the
Prophetic tradition, which urges the exaggeration of washing the nostrils by
introducing the water in the nostril then blowing it out, positively affects the
inner coating of the nostrils. Those who carried out the washing in the correct
form had clean, shiny nostrils with no dust clinging to the small hair inside.
However,
those who did not perform ablution had light colored, greasy nostrils and their
nostril hairs fell off easily.
Repeated
washing of the face invigorates the facial skin cells and helps prevent early
wrinkles as well as having a cleansing effect on the inside of the eyes, which
prevents eye infections, says Salem.
Washing
the ear helps rid them from wax accumulation, which may cause ear infections as
well as affecting the inner ear, which eventually causes body imbalances.
The
Prophetic tradition of encouraging one to wash between the toes while washing
the feet, is also extremely important, says Salem, as it prevents the foot,
which in our modern times is trapped most of the day inside shoes, from
acquiring athlete’s foot.
Over
all, he adds, ablution also has an exercising effect on all the muscles involved
in its movement, which are thus being stimulated five times a day or even more
according to repetition.
Extinguishing the Fires of Anger
Prophetic
tradition, with regards to ablution, is also ecologically friendly, as the
Prophet repeatedly encouraged water conservation, even if abluting from a
running river. Ibn Majah related that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
said, “There is a shaytan (devil) for ablution called `walhan',
meaning greedy, avoid the waste of water.”7
Muslims
are encouraged to ablute not only before praying or going to bed, but also when
entering the mosque, making the call to prayer, delivering a sermon, after
visiting a graveyard, after touching or carrying a dead person and also before
reading the Quran.8
We
are also encouraged to ablute while being in a state of anger for the cooling
and refreshing effect of the water, as we are told that anger is from the devil
who is made out of fire and can therefore be put off by water.
Finally,
there is a moral to this article, besides understanding the benefits of
ablution. One should never take things at face value, and must have strong faith
that everything that Allah prescribes has a wisdom behind it that we may or may
not know.
“And
they say: ‘We hear, and we obey: (We seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to
Thee is the end of all journeys.’” (Chapter 2, Verse 285)
Sources:
1-
Health and Fitness In
Islam, Halal.com
2-
Avadhuta, Vedprajinananda, Yoga
Health Secrets
3-
Magomedov, Magomed, Muslim
Rituals & their effect on the person’s health
4-
Ibid
5-
Ibid.
6-
Salem, Mukhtar, Prayers: A sport for the soul and body, CAIRO, The Arab
Modern Center (1990), pg. 52.
7-
S. Atallah, M.Z. Ali Khan and M. Malkawi, Water
conservation through Islamic public awareness in the Eastern Mediterranean
Region
8-
Al Khayat, Mohammad, Health
Education through Religion, WHO, Alexandria, Egypt: 1997 Lamya
Tawfik is a Cairo-based freelancer. She is currently preparing her
master’s degree in Mass Communication with a specialization in Children’s
Media Education at the American University in Cairo. She has previously worked
as a news editor at IslamOnline.net and as a journalist and public relations
specialist in Dubai, UAE. You can reach her at lamyatawfik@islam-online.net
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