Taharah

Taharah,

Purity (Arabic: طهارة‎, Tahara) is an essential aspect of Islam.

The Qur'an says: “In it there are men who love to observe purity and Allah loves those who maintain purity.”[Qur'an 9:108]

Observing cleanliness of the body, the clothes and the surroundings is obligatory upon every Muslim, and this is considered as one of the pillars of Islam for the Ismailis.

Before offering prayers it is necessary to perform wudu and in certain cases wudu and ghusl both. The purifying agent is always pure water. However, during times when water is not available or is scarce, symbolic wudu and ghusl can be performed with clean dry earth which is known as 'Tayammum'.

If the body or clothes show traces of blood, pus, urine, feces, semen or alcohol, then Taharat becomes essential. The clothes should be washed and the affected part of the body cleaned with pure water, or the whole body given as ghusl as the case may be.

A person must not touch the Qur'an if the person is not in the state of Taharat. The Qur'an says: “None shall touch it but those who are clean.”[Qur'an 56:79]

Cleaning teeth is also very important. Muhammad is reported to have said that the angels of mercy turn away from a person whose mouths emits foul smell because of unclean teeth. It is not only unhygienic to neglect cleaning teeth but also an anti-social habit likely to repel people from one's presence.

[edit]Smoking

The mixed views on the subject came about because cigarettes are a more recent invention and did not exist at the time when the Qur'an was revealed in the 7th century A.D. Therefore, one cannot find a verse of Qur'an or words of prophet Muhammad saying clearly that "Cigarette smoking is forbidden." However, there are many instances where the Qur'an gives us general guidelines, and calls upon Muslims to use their reason and intelligence, and seek guidance from Allah about what is right and wrong. It is universally understood that cigarette smoking causes a number of health problems that often ultimately result in death.

(source:wikipedia)