Muhammad’s Hygiene: Camel Urine, Dead Flies & Water From the Well

In the latest attempt by The Huffington Post to convince us that Muhammad was one of the good guys, Craig Considine draws several desperate comparisons between Muhammad and George Washington. Considine even suggests that Muhammad and Washington were kindred spirits on the issue of personal hygiene. He writes:

While it may appear as an obscure similarity, Muhammad and Washington also cared a great deal about good hygiene. The Holy Quran, for example, states that, “Allah … loves those who keep themselves pure and clean” (2:22). Similarly, in “Rules of Civility,” Washington wrote that people should keep their “nails clean and short, and your hands and teeth clean, yet without showing any concern for them” (Rule 15). Washington added that people should wear clean clothing: “Wear not your clothes foul, ripped or dusty … and take heed that you approach not to any uncleaness” (Rule 51). Both Muhammad and Washington stressed the importance of maintaining a clean, well-presented physical appearance. They believed that good hygiene was a projection of a positive body image, which, in turn, reflected a healthy mind.

But what happens when we examine Muhammad’s teachings to see how his hygiene practices stand up to scrutiny? Get your camel urine ready, because you’ll have a stomach ache after watching this short clip:

Here are some of the sources I cited:

Qur’an 4:24—And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you. Lawful unto you are all beyond those mentioned, so that ye seek them with your wealth in honest wedlock, not debauchery. And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual agreement after the duty (hath been done). Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise.

Sunan Abu Dawud 2150—Abu Said al-Khudri said: “The apostle of Allah sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the apostle of Allah were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Quranic verse, “And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess”. That is to say, they are lawful for them when they complete their waiting period.”

Sunan Abu Dawud 67—I heard that the people asked the Prophet of Allah: Water is brought for you from the well of Buda’ah. It is a well in which dead dogs, menstrual cloths and excrement of people are thrown. The Messenger of Allah replied: Verily water is pure and is not defiled by anything.

Sunan Ibn Majah 520—It was narrated that Jabir bin Abdullah said: “We came to a pond in which there was the carcass of a donkey, so we refrained from using the water until the Messenger of Allah came to us and said: ‘Water is not made impure by anything.’ Then we drank from it and gave it to our animals to drink, and we carried some with us.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 5782—Allah’s Messenger said, “If a fly falls in the vessel of any of you, let him dip all of it (into the vessel) and then throw it [i.e. the fly] away, for in one of its wings there is a disease and in the other there is healing (antidote for it) i.e. the treatment for that disease.”

Musnad Ahmad 16245—[Mua’wiya said]: I saw the prophet sucking on the tongue or the lips of Al-Hassan son of Ali, may the prayers of Allah be upon him. For no tongue or lips that the prophet sucked on will be tormented (by hell fire).