Monday, May 12, 2008

How Mohammad cleaned himself after Janaba [Sexual discharge]

Volume 1, Book 5, Number 248:
Narrated 'Aisha:
Whenever the Prophet took a bath after Janaba [sexual discharge] he started by washing his hands and then performed ablution like that for the prayer. After that he would put his fingers in water and move the roots of his hair with them, and then pour three handfuls of water over his head and then pour water all over his body.

Once again, Bukhari informs faithful Muslim readers about Mohammad's habits. This time, he talks about what Mohammad would do after sexually discharging himself. Once again, the Sunnah provides Muslims the perfect method of cleansing themselves after they satisfied their carnal instincts.

However, one must ask several questions about how Bukhari describes these events:

1) Why did Mohammad perform ablution the same way he performed it for prayer?
a) Why did Bukhari make a point of highlighting this fact?
b) Does Bukhari implicitly make a connection that Mohammad's sex life is an important part of his religion (i.e. Several Quranic sources clearly show that Mohammad is a sexual libertine: Qur'an 33:51 - Mohammad can have any woman he desires; Qur'an 66:1 - Mohammad can break his vows to his consorts to add to his harem; Qur'an 66:5 - threat to his wives to behave, otherwise Allah will give Mohammad better wives; and one of the best lines coming from "Tabari VIII:110" - "When Abu Sufyan learned that the Prophet had taken her, he said, 'That stallion's nose is not to be restrained!'")

Bukhari also highlights something that must be thought of in depth. If the above questions are thought of in the converse, and that sexuality was a wrong which required a full body cleansing, why is Mohammad's idea of heaven filled with 72 virgins?

Finally, Bukhari clearly illustrates that the only method in which Mohammad knew how to purify himself was through the body.
1) If Mohammad was a prophet, a spiritual man, why was the cleansing of the body so important to him, but the cleansing of one's spirit neglected?
a) In none of the Hadiths is there a chapter dedicated to cleaning the soul. Is this omission an admission that Mohammad confused bodily purity for spiritual purity?

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