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This would have the further advantage of being in harmony with the
jewels and stones that have been created for the body's adornment.
'Umar (bin al-Khattab) was once asked what muru'at is? He replied that
it is the neatness of the clothes. Someone has said the apparent muru'at
is embodied in the immaculateness of clothes. This is so, because anyone
conscious of the body's cleanliness first cleans his body, so that the
trousers do not take up the impurities of the body. Then he attends to
his movements and the cleanliness of the house so that the clothes do
not catch dirt therefrom, and become soiled. See for yourself how
through the cleanliness of the apparel everything has become clean.
The following couplets should suffice for those who are not careful
about personal cleanliness:
Neither power nor the radiance of Islam is suited to Abual-Fath.
Filthy clothes, a dirty 'amamah, a repulsively filthy onager, a grimy
countenance, a filthy neck, and a dirty slave (accompanying him).
Cleanliness and freshness of clothes are of great importance. The cleanliness of the animating spirit and the heart, clothes, trousers, and the shirt
have been compared to purity. Some exegetes have said that the purport
of the following ayah:
And all abomination shun! 26
relates to the purification of the heart and the purgation of the intention. This interpretation is possible. Be that as it may, the ayah has exquisitely blended the outward with the inward. Both are according to
wisdom. This is the lowest rung of mum'at Some have offered the definition that muru'at is the love of statehood, possibly because statehood
goes with high seriousness and generosity. But this is jutuwwat, not
muru'at. Nabighah says:
They are chaste and pure. On the day of Sabasib they are greeted
with the sweet basil.
The Day of Sabasib has also been called the Day of Sha'anin 27 as this verse
has been said about the kings of Ghassan. The rulers of Ghassan were
Christian. They probably ascribed importance to the sweet basil, as
those who entered Jerusalem along with Jesus Christ, had sprays of
citron and olive in their hands. This supposition is not very improbable.
But the aim of the verse is to etch out the importance of flowers. Thus,
when the children of the Ghassan kings travel in desert tracts, people
go out t'o greet them with sprays of flowers. That is to say, flowers are
not to be had in deserts, but these people are not wanting in flowers even
in these regions. You must have noticed that, when kings and potentates
depart for Hajj, flowers and vegetables are packed to bear them company. Everything that is rare is used as a symbol. Thus Bakr bin alNattah al-HanafT says:
I have brought for you a bouquet which is far superior to the myrtle
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