Clean Qaasim

Ask our children:

1. Should a Muslim be clean or dirty?
2. How often should a Muslim bath?
3. When should a Muslim cut his nails?
4. How should a Muslim clean his nose?
5. How often should a Muslim clean his teeth?
6. Is it fine to spit at people?

Now tell them the story:

Qaasim was a boy who was very strong and brave. He was not afraid of the dark, he was not afraid of dogs, and he was always ready to help and protect his friends. However, Qaasim had one big weakness – he was always dirty, and had dirty habits.

Qaasim was very lazy to bath. Sometimes, he would not bath for the whole week, until his hair was greasy and oily, and his feet and armpits were smelly. Qaasim was also lazy to cut his nails. In fact, his nails had become so long, that they looked like claws, and they were black in colour because of all the dirt and muck that was collecting beneath them.

In the same way, when Qaasim needed to clean his nose, then instead of using a tissue, or cleaning his nose at the sink or basin, he would casually slip one of his fingers into his nostril when he thought no one was watching, fish around, hook the dirt onto his long nails and pull it out. Then, he would wipe the dirt wherever was easiest – under the desk, on the carpet, on the couch – and even on the curtains!

Qaasim was lazy to clean his teeth, and this caused his teeth to turn yellow, and made his breath smell bad. Finally, Qaasim’s last filthy habit was that if he was upset at someone or fighting with them, then he would spit at them.

His mother tried her best to keep him clean and teach him clean habits, and would even run behind him and scold him, but he would not listen to her.

One day, Qaasim was in school, sitting in the classroom, when something strange started to happen. A fly flew into the classroom, came to Qaasim, and sat on his head, and then, a second, third and fourth fly came in and did the same thing – they all sat on Qaasim’s head! Qaasim waved his hands at the flies, chasing them away, but a few seconds later, the flies came buzzing back to sit on his head once again.

Finally, Qaasim became so irritated with the flies that he jumped out of his seat and started clapping his hands at the flies, trying to smash them. Suddenly, Qaasim realized that every eye in the classroom was watching him. The teacher and all the students were looking at him, jumping up and down, and he was in trouble. “Qaasim!” the teacher said, “Come for detention after class!”

A few hours later, when the class was on break, Qaasim was enjoying a sandwich that his mother had made for him. As he watched the other children, he noticed that they had a good habit – they would share their lunches with one another. Qaasim also felt like sharing with a friend, so he went to another boy, Bilaal, and offered him a piece of his tasty sandwich.

However, when Bilaal saw Qaasim’s long, black nails and dirty fingers holding the sandwich, he felt disgusted and lost his appetite. He did not want to hurt Qaasim, so he said, “No jazaakallah Qaasim! I am full already!”

Qaasim found this strange, because Bilaal had not even started eating his own lunch, and then, Qaasim found it even stranger when all the students made excuses to avoid taking the sandwich piece he was offering.

Later that afternoon, when Qaasim got to madrasah, he was in a bad mood – especially because of the detention. He went to Moulana to read his sabaq, and was surprised when Moulana said to him, “Qaasim! You are sitting too close to me, please sit a little back!”

Qaasim moved back, and then, when he thought that nobody was watching, he slipped his finger into his nostril to dig out some dirt. After taking the dirt out, he tried to secretly wipe it on the bottom of the desk, but Haamid saw what he was doing and said, “EEEW! That is so gross Qaasim! Why don’t you use a tissue?”

Since Qaasim was already in a bad mood, he became angry and spat at Haamid who began to shout at him. However, Moulana had been watching everything. Since class time was over, Moulana sent the other children out, and then sat with Qaasim.

Moulana said to him, “Qaasim! Everyone admires how strong and brave you are, and you have a good heart, but you have one very bad weakness – you do not keep yourself clean. Allah Ta‘ala loves cleanliness, and Islam is a deen of cleanliness. Muslims must keep their bodies, clothing, homes and everything else clean at all times. I have noticed that your body is always dirty and smelly. It seems that you do not bath regularly. A Muslim must bath when he becomes dirty so that he can remain clean.”

“I also notice that you do not clean your teeth. Your teeth are becoming yellow and rotten, and your mouth is smelling so bad that I could not tolerate the bad smell when you were sitting close and reading your sabaq. Just as I could not manage the bad smell – the angels of Allah Ta‘ala who make dua for us and protect us also dislike these types of bad smells.

“In fact, Qaasim, your nails are so long and dirty that if you offered me something to eat, I would not want to take it. A Muslim should cut his nails as soon as they become long.”

When Moulana said this, Qaasim realized that this was the reason why the children in school did not want to take the sandwich piece he had offered them – because they were disgusted by his long, filthy nails. This was also the reason why the flies kept coming to sit on his head – because his hair was so dirty!

Then, Moulana continued and said, “Qaasim! A Muslim always tries to keep others comfortable, and does not cause discomfort to others. When you are dirty and smelly, then other people become very uncomfortable. They will not want to stand near you in salaah, sit near you in madrasah, play with you or eat with you. When you wipe the dirt from your nose on the desk, walls and carpet, then you make other people feel uncomfortable. When they see the dirt, they feel disgusted. Finally, spitting at people is a filthy habit. A Muslim should not behave like this. A Muslim should behave with honour and respect. Since you spat at Haamid, you must tell him that you are sorry and ask him to forgive you.”

Qaasim sat still, listening to what Moulana was saying, and he felt very, very embarrassed. His mother always told him to bath and be clean, but he never listened to her and always ran away, and only now did Qaasim realize how dirty he was, and how much Allah Ta‘ala, the angels and other people disliked dirtiness.

Moulana smiled at Qaasim and said, “Qaasim! I am not telling you all of this to hurt you or make you sad. I am telling you this so that you can become a better Muslim.”

That evening, when Qaasim returned home, he cut his nails and cleaned his teeth. Then, he had a long-overdue shower, scrubbing his body with soap and washing his hair with shampoo.

The next morning, when Qaasim left his home, he was so clean that he seemed like a different person! He had applied itr, and was also carrying tissues in his pocket to clean his nose. All his friends noticed that he was a different person, and from that day on, he became clean Qaasim.

Lessons:

1. Allah Ta‘ala is most pure and He likes cleanliness. Islam is a deen of purity and cleanliness. A Muslim must remain clean at all times.
2. A Muslim must bath as soon as his body becomes dirty. He must not remain dirty and smelly, as Allah Ta‘ala does not like this. Also, being dirty causes other people and the angels to feel uncomfortable.
3. A Muslim should cut his nails as soon as they become long. It is mustahab to cut the nails once a week on a Friday.
4. A Muslim should not pick his nose and leave the dirt in places where it will trouble other people. One should clean the nose with a tissue, or in the sink or basin, or with the small finger at the time of making wudhu.
5. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) would clean his teeth with the miswaak when waking up, when making wudhu before salaah, before sleeping at night, and at other times as well. From this, we understand that a Muslim should keep his mouth clean at all times.
6. It is not permissible to spit at any person. This is dirty and disgusting behaviour, and causes pain and hurt to people.