Page 17 - Beauties for Life in the Qur'an

GOOD CHARACTER TRAITS DESCRIBED IN THE QUR'AN 15

circle it and for those who stand and bow and prostrate." (Surat
al-Hajj: 26)
As the verse also maintains, such environmental cleanliness is
maintained primarily for other believers who will perform their
acts of worship to earn Allah's good pleasure. Thus, all believers
who follow in Ibrahim (as)'s footsteps should keep their
dwellings clean and tidy, for doing so gladdens a believer's
heart.
The Qur'anic concept of cleanliness differs markedly from the
one held by the societies of ignorance. Allah commands believ-
ers to be "clean and purified," in both the physical and the spiri-
tual sense. In other words, this is not cleanliness in the classical
sense; rather, it is an elaborate effort.
The Qur'an's depictions of life in Paradise are also instructive
in this sense. Paradise's environment is purified of all forms of
the dirt that we see around us. It is a blissful and perfectly clean
place where each detail exists in perfect harmony with every
other detail. In light of these illustrations, believers seek to keep
their surroundings clean and turn them into places that remind
them of Paradise. This endeavor is solely a manifestation of
their aspiration for Paradise.

Eating Clean Food
Consuming clean food is a Divine command that is inherent
in all believers:
Eat of the good things that We have provided for you... (Surat al-
Baqara: 57)
Mankind! Eat of what is good and lawful on earth. Do not fol-
low in the footsteps of Satan, (for) he truly is an outright enemy
to you. (Surat al-Baqara: 168)
In addition, Allah relates the account of the People of the Cave