^9 At Queen Victoria's accession in 1837 there was no...

^9 At Queen Victoria's accession in 1837 there was no bathroom in Buckingham Palace. [^10] And no wonder that during those days “saner opinion recognized that frequent bathing must increase rheumatic fever and lung com­plaints ...one of the Georgian Royal Dukes remarked that it was sweat, damn it, that kept a man clean.” [^11] By the end of nineteenth and early twentieth century, the fear of water began to give way, “though it was still thought eccentric to bathe for any but medical reasons.” [^12]65 This brief survey of cleanliness and bathing in Europe shows that Islam was successful in promoting personal hygiene when compared not just to the Middle Ages but even to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Will Durant writes, “One of the results of the Crusades was the introduction into Europe of public steam bath in the Moslem style.” [^13] Describing the Ottoman civilization, the same historian writes, “Personal cleanliness was common. In Constantinople and other large cities of the Ottoman Empire the public baths were built of marble and attractively decorated.

Some Christian saints had prided themselves on avoiding water; the Moslem was required to make his ablutions before entering the mosque or saying his prayers; in Islam cleanliness was really next to godliness.” [^14]67 But to emphasize exclusively the physical aspect of the rules of taharat is tantamount to ignore the multi-facet nature of the Islamic rituals. The physical cleanliness is not the main reason underlying the ritual ablutions.

If Islam had prescribed wudu and ghusl for physical clean­liness only, then why is it still necessary for a person who has just got out of the shower to do wudu before saying the Islamic prayer? If the ritual ablutions are just for physical cleanliness, then why the Tayammum ? Tayammum is a substitute for wudu and ghusl when water is unavailable; but it is performed on “dirt” or earth-and this in no way leads to physical cleanliness!

These ques­tions are enough to disqualify the exclusive nature of this point of view. C. The correct perspective So what is the comprehensive rationale of the ritual ablutions like wudu and ghusl? By studying the two verses of the Qur'an related to the ritual ablutions, I have come to the conclusion that there are two planes of purification: physical and spiritual.