Ablution & Hygiene

Surah al-Maidah 

6 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُوا ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَـٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُون O you who believe! when you rise up to prayer, wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles; and if you are under an obligation to perform a total ablution, then wash (yourselves) and if you are sick or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy, or you have touched the women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth and wipe your faces and your hands therewith, Allah does not desire to put on you any difficulty, but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you, so that you may be grateful.

Arabic & Translation (Muhammad Habib Shakir): https://www.searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=5&translator=3&show_arabic=1 

Surah al-Maidah ayat 6 commands the Believers to wash (perform ablution with water: ( فَاغْسِلُوا )) when they stand up to offer contact prayers (الصَّلَاةِ), and purify (cleanse with water: (فَاطَّهَّرُوا)) if  in a state of impurity. 

Note: In the rare situation that water is not available, I do not think Q5:6 is excusing from contact prayer, as seems to be implied in Q2:238-239 (to pray while walking/riding when, due to fear, you cannot stop for prayer), and Q4:101-103 (to permission to shorten prayer in danger of enemy attack during a war). 

The ayat mentions four special cases in which, if water is not available, then clean dust should be used for purification: 

…  and if you are sick or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy, or you have touched the women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth and wipe your faces and your hands therewith  … 

Translation: Shakir; Compare 50+ translations at: https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/5/6/default.htm 

Note: Q4:43 also directs to perform ablution, or cleansing with earth. 

Water is a universal solvent, and clean dust is known to have purifying effect. Increasingly, experts are realising that the benefits of purification with water, even the washing of wounds. Clay masks are recommended to purify facial skin. 

Our Creator knows what substances he has created us from, and He has already guided us on how to attempt to purify ourselves. Thus, the ayat concludes with the statement: 

… Allah does not desire to put on you any difficulty, but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you, so that you may be grateful. 

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The following is an excerpt from: Water & Earth 

Ratio of Water & Earth in the Human Body

Like all other living creatures, the amount of Earth that we are made of is a fraction of the amount of water that binds it together and enables us to live. 

By percent of mass, human adults are 50%-70% water. 

The molecular ratio of earth to water in humans is for 1 molecule of the Earth there are almost 99 molecules of Water! 

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The following is an excerpt from: The Same Religion (الدِّينِ) 

Purity 

The root ṭā hā rā occurs 31 times in The Quran. It means physical purity: to rid something or someone of uncleanliness, to purify it. 

Purity is desirable and the objective across a broad spectrum of things, places and persons, as evident from the following ayaat: 

Ayat #	Subject
2:125; 22:26	purification of My House
3:42	purification of Maryam, before conceiving Jesus
3:55	removal of Jesus from the midst of the disbelievers
56:79	those who are in a continuous state of purity
25:48	pure water
76:21	purifying drink
5:6	purification of the body
5:41; 33:53	purification of the qalb
33:33	removal of rijs
74:4	purification of the clothes
2:232	purity of spouses in this world
7:82; 11:78; 27:56;	pure for mating
2:25, 3:15, 4:57	purity of spouses in the Hereafter
2:222 & 9:108	Allah loves those who purify themselves

Purity & Growth through Spending 

Surah atTaubah (Q9:103) presents a combination of purity and growth:                                

وَآخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفُوا بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ صَلَاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَّهُمْ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَاتِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

And [there are] others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

 Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allah 's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.         

 Do they not know that it is Allah who accepts repentance from His servants and receives charities and that it is Allah who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful?

[Al-Quran 9:102-104, Translator: Saheeh International] 

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