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Toothbrushing (Arabic: السِواك) is one of the emphasized practices in Islam and is frequently recommended in Islamic teachings and hadiths. In Imami jurisprudence, it is regarded as a recommended act. However, under certain circumstances—such as brushing the teeth in a bathroom or lavatory—it is considered reprehensible. In addition, if a fasting person swallows moisture from the miswak, this invalidates the fast.

Brushing the teeth is especially encouraged at particular times, including before prayer, before going to sleep, prior to performing wudu, and at dawn. Islamic sources also mention certain etiquettes for this practice, such as reciting a supplication, circulating water in the mouth, and using a miswak made from the wood of the arak or olive tree. Nevertheless, some narrations emphasize that the essential purpose of this practice is simply maintaining cleanliness and oral hygiene, regardless of the specific tool used.

Status and Importance

Brushing teeth, as an emphasized recommended act,[1] is considered one of the rituals of prayer and wudu.[2] It is also counted among the sunnas of the Prophets[3] and part of the Prophet's (s) advice to Imam Ali (a).[4]

In the narrations of the Infallibles (a), brushing teeth has been emphasized. Over eighty narrations regarding its importance and etiquettes have been cited in the book Wasa'il al-Shi'a.[5] This topic is discussed in various fiqh sections such as Tahara,[6] Salat,[7] Sawm,[8] and Hajj.[9] It is also discussed in books of ethics and manners, such as al-Allama al-Majlisi's Hilyat al-muttaqin,[10] Maliki Tabrizi's Asrar al-salat,[11] and Jawadi Amuli's Mafatih al-hayat.[12]

Brushing teeth is considered one of the exclusive characteristics of the Prophet (s).[13] According to narrations, although it was not made obligatory to prevent hardship for Muslims,[14] it was so emphasized that the Prophet (s) thought it would soon become obligatory.[15] Furthermore, the merit of a prayer performed with cleaned teeth is counted as up to seventy times greater than a prayer without it.[16]

Effects and Etiquettes

Numerous effects have been enumerated for brushing teeth in narrations; one narration lists twelve benefits,[17] including cleaning the mouth, whitening and preventing tooth decay, and strengthening the gums.[18]

Brushing teeth is recommended, but it has greater recommendation at certain times such as at dawn, before wudu and prayer,[19] before sleep,[20] after waking up, before the morning congregational prayer,[21] and while reciting the Qur'an.[22]

Certain etiquettes have been stated for brushing teeth, including reciting a specific supplication,[23] madmada (circulating water in the mouth),[24] and moving the miswak vertically.[25] Also, using Arak wood or olive wood, which is said to have been the miswak of the Prophet (s) and other Prophets,[26] is preferred.[27] However, some narrations also recommend cleaning teeth with a finger or tree branches.[28]

Jurisprudential Rulings

Tahara Section: According to jurists, brushing teeth in the bathroom and lavatory is reprehensible.[29] However, some jurists consider this reprehensibility specific to the state of relieving oneself,[30] and al-Shaykh al-Mufid has considered it forbidden while relieving oneself.[31] Brushing teeth is also considered one of the recommended rituals of prayer and wudu.[32]

Fasting Section: According to the fatwa of jurists, if a fasting person takes a wet miswak out of their mouth and puts it back in, and then swallows its moisture, their fast becomes void, unless the moisture is eliminated within the saliva.[33] Also, using a wet stick for brushing is reprehensible for a fasting person.[34]

Hajj Section: Brushing teeth before ihram is recommended;[35] however, if a pilgrim in the state of ihram (muhrim) knows that brushing will cause their gums to bleed, this act will be forbidden for them.[36] Nonetheless, Ayatollah al-Sistani considers brushing teeth permissible while in ihram even with the knowledge of bleeding.[37]

Notes

  1. ↑ Malikī Tabrīzī, Asrār al-ṣalāt, p. 46.
  2. ↑ Majlisī, Lawāmiʿ-i ṣāḥibqarānī, vol. 1, p. 449; Shīrāzī, al-Fiqh - al-Niẓāfa, p. 88.
  3. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 1, p. 55.
  4. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 1, p. 53.
  5. ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 2, pp. 5-27.
  6. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 2, p. 70.
  7. ↑ Majlisī, Lawāmiʿ-i ṣāḥibqarānī, vol. 1, p. 449.
  8. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 3, p. 588; Majlisī, Lawāmiʿ-i ṣāḥibqarānī, vol. 6, p. 371.
  9. ↑ Maḥmūdī, Manāsik-i ʿumra-yi mufrada (muḥashshā), p. 75.
  10. ↑ Majlisī, Ḥilyat al-muttaqīn, pp. 155-157.
  11. ↑ Malikī Tabrīzī, Asrār al-ṣalāt, p. 46.
  12. ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Mafātīḥ al-ḥayāt, pp. 43-45.
  13. ↑ Karakī, Jāmiʿ al-maqāṣid, vol. 12, p. 52; Suyūṭī, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 396.
  14. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 3, p. 22.
  15. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 73, p. 126.
  16. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 3, p. 22.
  17. ↑ Malikī Tabrīzī, Asrār al-ṣalāt, p. 45.
  18. ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 2, p. 8.
  19. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 3, p. 23.
  20. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sunan al-Nabī (s), p. 265; Malikī Tabrīzī, Asrār al-ṣalāt, p. 46.
  21. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sunan al-Nabī (s), p. 265; Malikī Tabrīzī, Asrār al-ṣalāt, p. 46.
  22. ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 2, pp. 22-23.
  23. ↑ Malikī Tabrīzī, Asrār al-ṣalāt, p. 46.
  24. ↑ Shīrāzī, al-Fiqh - al-Niẓāfa, p. 88.
  25. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Makārim al-akhlāq, p. 50.
  26. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Makārim al-akhlāq, p. 48.
  27. ↑ Malikī Tabrīzī, Asrār al-ṣalāt, p. 46.
  28. ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 2, pp. 23-24.
  29. ↑ Ibn Ḥamza, al-Wasīla, p. 48; Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, al-Muʿtabar, vol. 1, p. 137.
  30. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 2, p. 70.
  31. ↑ Al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, al-Muqniʿa, p. 41.
  32. ↑ Majlisī, Lawāmiʿ-i ṣāḥibqarānī, vol. 1, p. 449.
  33. ↑ Banī Hāshimī Khumaynī, Risāla-yi tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ, vol. 1, p. 892.
  34. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 3, p. 588; Banī Hāshimī Khumaynī, Risāla-yi tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ, vol. 1, p. 925.
  35. ↑ Muḥammadī Ray-Shahrī, Ḥajj wa ʿumra dar Qurʾān wa ḥadīth, p. 183.
  36. ↑ Pazhūhishkada-yi Ḥajj wa Ziyārat, Manāsik-i ḥajj (muḥashshā), p. 197.
  37. ↑ Pazhūhishkada-yi Ḥajj wa Ziyārat, Manāsik-i ḥajj (muḥashshā), p. 197.

References

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