The Muslim woman does not forget to maintain her physical fitness and energy by following the healthy practices recommended by Islam. But she is not content only with a natural, healthy diet: she also follows an organized exercise program, appropriate to her physical condition, weight, age and social status. These exercises give her body agility, beauty, good health, strength and immunity to disease; this will make her more able to carry out her duties, and more fit to fulfil her role in life, whether it be as a wife or mother, young girl or old woman.

Her Body and Clothes are Clean

The Muslim woman who truly follows the teachings of Islam keeps her body and clothes very clean. She bathes frequently, in accordance with the teachings of the Prophet (S), who advised Muslims to take baths, especially on Fridays:

"Have a bath on Fridays and wash your heads, even if you are not in a state of Janabah (impurity, e.g. following marital relations), and wear perfume." (Fath Al-Bari 2/370)

"Whoever attends Friday prayer, man or woman, should take a bath (ghusl)." (Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar and recorded as sahih by Abu Awanah, Ibn Khazimah and Ibn Hibban. See also Fath Al-Bari 2/356)

The Prophet (S) place such a great emphasis on cleanliness and bathing that some of the Imams considered performing ghusl before Friday prayer to be obligatory (wajib). Abu Hurayrah (R) reported that the Prophet (S) said:

"It is the duty of every Muslim to take a bath (at least) once every seven days, and to wash his head and body." (Agreed upon, see Shrah al-Sunnah 2/166)

Cleanliness is one of the most essential requirements of people, especially women, and one of the clearest indicators of a sound and likeable character. Cleanliness makes a woman more likeable not only to her husband, but also to other women and her relatives.

Imam Ahmad and Al-Nisa'i report that Jabir (R) said:

"The Messenger of Allah (S) came to visit us, and saw a man who was wearing dirty clothes. He said, 'Could this person not find anything with which to wash his clothes?'"

The Prophet (S) hated to see people come out in public wearing dirty clothes when they were able to clean them; he drew attention to the fact that the Muslim should always be clean, smart and pleasing to look at.

This teaching which is directed at men, is directed even more so at women, who are usually thought of as being cleaner, the source of joy and tranquility in the home. There is no doubt that the woman's deep sense of cleanliness reflects on her home, her husband and her children, because it is by virtue of her concern for cleanliness that they will be clean and tidy.

No researcher, of whatever era or country, can fail to notice that this teaching which encourages cleanliness and bathing, came fifteen hundred years ago, at a time when the world knew next to nothing of such hygienic habits. A thousand years later, the non-Muslim world had still not reached the level of cleanliness that the Muslims had reached.

In her book Min al-riqq ila'l-sayadah, Samihah A. Wirdi says: "There is no need for us to go back to the time of the Crusades in order to know the level of civilization in Europe at that time. We need go back no further than a few hundred years, to the days of the Ottoman Empire, and compare between the Ottomans and the Europeans to see what level the Ottoman civilization had reached.

"In 1624, Prince Brandeboug wrote the following on the invitations to a banquet that he sent to other princes and nobles: 'Guests are requested not to plunge their hands up to the elbow in the dishes; not to throw food behind them; not to lick their fingers; not to spit on their plates; and not to blow their noses on the edges of the tablecloths.'"

The author adds: "These words clearly indicate the level of civilization, culture, knowledge and manners among the Europeans. At the same time, in another part of Europe, the situation was not much different. In the palace of the King of England (George I), the ugly smell emanating from the persons of the King and his family overpowered the grandeur of their fine, lace-edged French clothes. This is what was happening in Europe. Meanwhile in Istanbul, the seat of the khilafah, it is well-known that the European ambassadors who were authorized by the Ottoman state would be thrown into baths before they could approach the sultan. Sometime around 1730, during the reign of Sultan Ahmad III, when the Ottoman state entered its political and military decline, the wife of the English ambassador in Istanbul, Lady Montague, wrote many letters which were later published, in which she described the level of cleanliness, good manners and high standards among the Muslims. In one of her memoirs she wrote that the Ottoman princess Hafidhah had given her a gift of a towel that had been hand-embroidered; she liked it so much that she could not even bear to wipe her mouth with it. The Europeans were particularly astounded by the fact that the Muslims used to wash their hands before and after every meal. It is enough to read the words of the famous English nurse Florence Nightingale, describing English hospitals in the mid-nineteenth century, where she describes how these hospitals were full of squalor, negligence and moral decay, and the wings of these hospitals were full of sick people who could not help answering the call of nature on their beds..."

What a great contrast there is between the refined civilization of Islam and other, human civilizations!

She Takes Care of Her Mouth and Teeth

The intelligent Muslim woman takes care of her mouth, for no-one should ever have to smell an unpleasant odor coming from it. She does this by cleaning her teeth with a siwak, toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash after every meal. She checks her teeth and visits the dentist at least once a year, even if she does not feel any pain, in order to keep her teeth healthy and strong. She consults otolaryngologists ("ear, nose and throat" doctors) if necessary, so that her breath will remain clean and fresh. This is undoubtedly more befitting for a woman.

Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) used to be very diligent in taking care of her teeth; she never neglected to clean them with a siwak, as Bukhari and Muslim reported from a number of the Sahabah. Bukhari reported from 'Urwah (May Allah be pleased with her) via 'Ata: "We heard 'Aishah the Mother of the Believers cleaning her teeth in the room..." (Fath Al-Bari 3/599)

Muslim also reports from 'Urwah (May Allah be pleased with her) via 'Ata: "We heard her using the siwak..." (Sahih Muslim 8/236)

'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: "The Messenger of Allah (S) never woke from sleeping at any time of day or night without cleaning his teeth with a siwak before performing wudu." (a hasan hadeeth narrated by Ahmad 6/160 and Abu Dawud 1/46)

The Prophet's concern for oral hygiene was so great that he said: "If it were not for the fact that I did not want to overburden my ummah, I would have ordered them to use the siwak before every prayer." (Fath Al-Bari 2/374)

'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) was asked what the Prophet (S) used to do first when he came home. She said, "Use siwak." (Sahih Muslim 3/143)

It is very strange to see that some Muslim women neglect these matters, which are among the most important elements of a woman's character, besides being at the very heart of Islam. They are among the most important elements of a woman's gentle nature, and they reveal her feminine elegance and beauty. They are also at the heart of Islam because the Prophet (S) urged cleanliness on many occasions, and he detested unpleasant odors and an ugly appearance. He said:

"Whoever eats onions, garlic or leeks should not approach our mosque, because whatever offends the sons of Adam may offend the angels." (Sahih Muslim 5/50)

The Prophet (S) banned those who had eaten these pungent vegetables from coming anywhere near the mosque, lest the people and the angels be offended by their bad breath, but these smells pale into insignificance beside the stench of dirty clothes, filthy socks, unwashed bodies and unclean mouths that emanates from some careless and unkempt individuals who offend others in gatherings.