Fatwa ID: 06158
Answered by: Maulana Burhaan Rahman
Question:
I heard that purity is Half Iman. Is it true? What purity it is referring to is its purity of body or purity of soul? In all lectures, we use to here but they don’t specify the exact entity. We use to chant Astagfirullah does this suffice to purify our hearts? How does a soul become pure/Impure?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Cleanliness in general is a huge part of our faith because every feature or characteristic of “Iman” (faith) contributes to the purification of one’s body or soul. So there’s the purification of the 1) body and 2) soul.
- Purification of the body (Outer purification – achieved through correct body purification, such as ablution, bathing, brushing teeth, using scent, keeping the house and clothes clean, and so on.)
الوضوء شطر الإيمان، والحمد لله تملأ
Al-Wudu (ablution) is half of faith, and all praise is due to Allah (Al-Hamdulillāh) fills the Scale [Tirmithi Hadeeth no: 3517]
2) Purification of the heart (The five pillars of Islam can be used to achieve inner purity. Avoiding sins, doing numerous dhikrs, and, most importantly, ensuring that the heart is free of spiritual afflictions such as rage, hatred, reliance on others rather than Allah, pride, arrogance, and so on)
طَهِّروا هذه الأجساد، طهَّركم اللهُ؛ فإنَّه ليس من عبدٍ يبيتُ طاهراً إلا باتَ معه في شِعاره مَلَك، لا ينقلبُ ساعةً من الليلِ إلا قال: اللهم اغفر لعبدِكَ؛ فإنَّه باتَ طاهراً
Purify your bodies, May Allah cleanses you. For there is not a slave who sleeps clean but who spends the night with him in his emblem, an angel who does not turn an hour of the night without saying: O God, forgive your servant; He stayed up whilst being pure [Tabrani Hadeeth no: 5087]
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Maulana Burhaan Rahman
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
