ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ritual purity in Islam

Ritual purity in Islam means to clean your body and keep it pure before doing any religious activity. It is like taking a bath before going to school so that you are clean and fresh. Muslims believe that being pure and clean physically and spiritually is important to show respect to Allah and to feel closer to Him.

To achieve ritual purity, Muslims must follow certain steps. The first step is to make the intention to become pure. This means to have a good intention in your heart and to want to be pure for God. Then, one must perform a ritual washing called wudu. This involves washing your hands, mouth, nose, face, arms, head, and feet with clean water.

Additionally, if one has become unclean, such as after using the bathroom, having sexual intercourse or menstruating, one must take a ritual bath called ghusl. This involves washing the whole body with water, including the hair, and making sure all parts of the body are clean.

In Islam, it is also important to be aware of what you touch, for example, anything that is considered impure, like blood, urine, feces, and alcohol. Muslims avoid touching these things and if they accidentally do, they must perform wudu or ghusl to become pure again.

Ritual purity is important in Islamic prayers, where a person should be in the state of cleanliness. Muslims should be clean before reading the Holy book Quran and before going for religious pilgrimage Hajj. They should also be clean before visiting the mosque or any other place of worship.

Overall, ritual purity is an essential part of Islamic practice. It helps Muslims to maintain cleanliness, develop discipline, and show respect to Allah. It reminds Muslims of their responsibilities towards God and towards others around them.