Why is Cleanliness a Virtue?
Can such a concept really be a virtue? Yes. While the standard of cleanliness may vary from time period to time period, and from culture to culture, meeting the standard of your time and place is not without merit.
Cleanliness makes your feel good. Regardless of whether the feeling is inherent, or created by social conditioning, keeping your body, clothes, and home clean feels undeniably great. A hot shower, your favourite clean outfit, and a well organized house make you feel ready to take on the world.
Cleanliness keeps your mind clear and your life organized. If your house is a total disaster, your thinking is going to feel similarly disorganized. There is an natural connection between the order of your environment and the state of your mind. Clutter will weigh you down and stress you out. A clean, well-organized environment will lift your spirits.
Cleanliness gives you a good image. How you present yourself in life is paramount. If you, your clothes, or your house looks like a disheveled mess, people are inevitably going to judge part of your character and personality on such evidence. Perhaps that is unfair, but it is how the world works. When you present a neat and clean appearance to others, they will respect and think highly of you.
Cleanliness leads to beauty. That which is neat, well-proportioned, and symmetrical creates beauty and appeals to the eye. As we transform our lives to be orderly and clean, we increase the amount of beauty in our lives.The Messenger of Allah[peace be upon him] said: "Allah, Most High, is beautiful and likes beauty."
Cleanliness leads you closer to Allah. Ablution is a pre-requisite for salaah[prayer].When a person stands in salaah[prayer] all the veils between him and Allah are lifted and the person then communicates directly with Allah. Without being clean [making wudhu(ablution)] the person cannot stand in Salaah!
Cleanliness is next to Godliness!!!
