Please be warned in advance that this is going to be a rant because there are some actions that we are guilty of that are bang out of order. In fact these actions are tantamount to lying on our beloved prophet (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). I’d like to start by reminding myself and then all of you that the actions of a people reflects on their leader. Whatever you see them doing, you will automatically conclude that this is what that leader teaches or how he himself behaves. It’s this very same understanding that has got me vexed. You see there are things that some of us do that’s down right disgusting to say the least. If you haven’t yet worked out what I’m banging on about, it’s the unclean practices of many of us. Let me give you an example. I work in a building where the majority of the people are Muslim. Now ordinarily that’s a great thing and I love it. However, it’s not so great when you go into the public toilets. That’s when you enter another world. It has honestly gotten so bad that even some of the non-Muslims have commented about it, which I have to say is quite embarrassing. My colleagues are equally as disgusted and have even gone as far as making announcements after the congregational prayers. It really is a sad and unfortunate state of affairs. Imagine if you equated this to a person’s character. On the outside (of the toilet) we’re well-mannered likeable and pleasant to be around. On the inside however, oooff! Not the same person at all. I’d really love to go into detail but I have my reasons for refraining. Just imagine the worst thing you can think of and chances are you won’t be too far off.

This is a blatant and nasty lie against the prophet (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Hygiene is an integral part of our faith but you’d never think so if you walked into a toilet after some Muslims have used it. What is this? Imagine a non-Muslim thinking that this is a part of our deen and something that the prophet allowed. What a filthy lie. Our beloved prophet said purity is half of iman (faith) but non-Muslims don’t know this so they can’t be blamed for believing that he said the complete opposite, based on how we conduct ourselves. In another hadith, he (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to take himself well away from the people when relieving himself so that no noxious sounds or smells could be experienced by those around him. This is truly a blessed hayaa (shyness) that has every regard for the people. In another hadith he said removing harmful things from the road is an act of charity. So you can see that it’s not fitting for a Muslim to leave harmful things for someone else to deal with. Lies! Total lies against the prophet.

Now for something completely disgusting…

A 46 year old restaurant owner pleaded guilty to 10 allegations of breaching food and hygiene regulations at Swindon Magistrates Court and is awaiting sentencing. Food inspectors discovered a bottle in the restaurant kitchen which was “covered in fecal matter.” The owner said that the bottle was used instead of toilet paper because of “cultural reasons”, which is fine but where the hell does it say that it’s ok to use a dirty bottle to purify yourself and can someone please tell me where it’s written that it’s ok to keep said bottle next to food products? I’m sorry but this man is a liar! A liar against our prophet. Harsh though my words may be, remember it’s our non-Muslim friends and neighbours who are being taught this lie. They see these practices and probably picture our prophet in this way. This is completely unacceptable. In a recent discussion with a non-Muslim, a colleague of theirs came up in the conversation. He is regarded by the team as being disgusting. He is known for sneezing in people’s faces and bending over next to a person who is seated practically pushing his backside in their face. The other thing they spoke about was what they refer to as his S*@t bottle. He keeps it in his drawer and its condition is unpleasant.

Being a revert I have to say that I could never imagine not purifying myself after using the toilet. I remember all those years ago using the instinja (water) bottle for the first time. It was an amazing experience. It’s only after this cleansing that you notice how much lighter you feel. You can’t beat this. The sad thing is some non-Muslims don’t regard our way as good or hygienic. I wonder where they got that impression from? Hmmmm. The level of cleanliness our faith insists upon is truly second to none. So where did so many of us go so wrong? It’s complacency of the worst kind and it’s the kind of thing that can come back on us with serious repercussions. We need to think about our actions and return to the way we were taught. Allah the Almighty says: “Truly God loves those who turn to Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves”. Quran 2:222

If you’re reading this rant and think you may be guilty of lying on the prophet, think about the way people might imagine him and then conduct yourselves better. Let’s stop being filthy liars.

Rant over!