Good personal hygiene and looking presentable are parts of our religion. There are so many ahadith where Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stressed the importance of one’s cleanliness. One of the scholars even said that there are more than 100 ahadith on just brushing one’s teeth!
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Look at what Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said in this hadith:
🔵 “No one, who has the weight of a seed of arrogance in his heart, will enter Paradise.”
Meaning, no matter how small that arrogance a person may have in his heart, he will not enter Jannah. So one of the Companions asked the Prophet ﷺ:
🔵 “But a man likes to have nice clothes and nice shoes.”
The Companion was concerned, because in general, everyone likes to look good and presentable, right? He was worried whether that would be considered an act of arrogance as well.
🔵 So the Prophet ﷺ replied: “Verily, Allah is beautiful, and He loves beauty. Arrogance is to disregard the truth and to look down upon people.” [Sahih Muslim 91]
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The Prophet ﷺ didn’t reply to the Companion’s question with: “No, that’s not what I meant.” But instead, he ﷺ encouraged him to take care of his appearance – yes, even the shoes! Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is beautiful, and He loves beauty. So the more you take care of your appearance and cleanliness, the more Allah loves you.
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And then, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ explained what arrogance is, and that is to reject the truth, and to look down upon people.
So if we dress well, but we look down upon other people – then that’s arrogance. Brothers and sisters, take care of your appearance, but don’t be arrogant about it.
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May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala make this ummah a nation who loves cleanliness, and in turn becomes a means for us to earn His love. Ameen.
