Chapter: The Siwak
The siwak (tooth-stick)—with the sīn pronounced with a kasrah—is the name both for the twig used to scrub the teeth and for the very act of rubbing the teeth with that twig or the like, so that yellowness and grime are removed, the mouth is purified, and reward is attained.
Its inclusion here is appropriate because it is one of the Sunnahs of wuḍūʾ (ablution) and a recommended means of purification. It is therefore one of the chapters of the previously discussed “Book of Purification.”
The benefits it yields are beyond counting: cleanliness, health, the elimination of offensive odours, a pleasant breath, the acquisition of reward, and conformity to the practice of the Prophet ﷺ.
Hadith 1
Abū Hurayrah ﵁ narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Were it not (1) that I would burden my community, I would have ordered them to use the siwak with every ablution and at every prayer.” Agreed upon.
General meaning
Owing to the Prophet’s ﷺ consummate counsel, his love of good for his community, and his desire that they enter every avenue that benefits them so they may attain perfect happiness, he urged them to use the siwak. Aware of its many advantages and immediate and future benefits, he was on the verge of making it compulsory at every ablution or prayer. Yet—out of his perfect compassion and mercy—he feared that Allah might make it obligatory, and that they would fail to uphold it and thus incur sin. Out of caution and pity he refrained from obligating it, even as he continued to encourage and exhort them.
Lessons derived from the ḥadīth
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The siwak is recommended and highly meritorious; its reward approaches that of the obligatory acts.
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Its legality is especially emphasized at the times of ablution and prayer. Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd said: “The reason is that we are commanded to be, in every state of drawing near to Allah, in perfect cleanliness so as to manifest the honour of worship.” Others said: “The command concerns the angel, for the angel is offended by a foul odour.” Al-Ṣanʿānī remarked: “It is not far-fetched that the wisdom encompasses both reasons, for Muslim narrated in the ḥadīth of Jābir: ‘Whoever eats garlic, onion, or leek should not come near our mosque, for the angels are offended by what offends the children of Adam.’”