As a dental student, I’m 100% behind you encouraging good oral hygiene – especially with an Islamic slant!

I’ve always understood, though, that it’s the principle that’s important, not necessarily the tools. Miswaaks were great in the old days when people had a better diet – no crazily acidic carbonated drinks, for one thing. Some Muslims act like toothbrushes and toothpaste are some kind of bid’ah and to be a real Muslim you need to use a miswaak – and then have a mouth riddled with caries, which I’m pretty sure is NOT a Sunnah. If you want to brush like the Prophet (saw) then you should also eat like the Prophet (saw) did! Muslims have some of the highest decay rates in Britain, so something is going wrong.

Miswaaks have antibacterial properties and so on – but toothbrushes & toothpaste are far more effective at preventing decay, especially if you live in an area with no fluoridated water – most of Britain falls under that. I’m sure if you brush normally with the intention of following the Sunnah, you’ll still get the reward for it. And you’re still able to use a miswaak every time you do your wudhu if you want!

I personally don’t like to brush with tooth brush.. I’ve lived in this country for 13 yrs and been using ever since I can remember. Growing up in Somalia not everyone had tooth brush. Pretty much everyone used the miswak just because it was a sunna and our beloved prophet (salalahu alayhi wa salam) used it. People in Somalia like to do everything the way he did it because as muslims that is what we have to do When I was young I hated the miswak because it was hard to chew and my teath hurt a lot when I did it on my own so I would tell my mother to chew it for me.

Alhumdulilah for all the Muslims that lived in Ohio when I came here I was able to get miswak. When I first came to this country I would see people that hate in the morning without brushing their teath and I use to be shocked and and I am til this day.

I remember taking one almaghrib class and the sheikh telling us how our prophet (saw) didn’t pray without cleaning his teath, he didn’ teven eat garlic because he was afaid to harm the angels with his bad breath. I wish we Muslim would take that example and act on it.

My mother always use to tell us to clean ouside out house before we clean the inside because the first thing people noticed when they walked near our house was the outside. No matter how much shower you take or how much your clothes are clean, if your mouth is not clean people will assume your not clean person.

So my fellow Muslims lets brush our teath as much as we can and lets also make sure we teach our kids to clean their teath at a young age.

Amina M.

@ iMuslim

I didn’t like the taste either.
But then I found out it’s because we have the “industrialized ones”

Anyone can vouch, for the ones in front of the haramayn “FRESH” or.. ‘organic’ if you may, are the best tasting, most soft, most refreshing I’ve ever had.

Almost reminds me of an M&M commercial.

SubhanAllah it really is an enjoyable experience.
And you get your pick of HUNDREDS all for only 1 riyal a piece!

(if you bargain you can get a whole pack for very cheap).

But I guess we don’t have the benefit of growing ‘Arak’ Trees in the west…

Although hmm, would be a good business venture!

May Allah enable us to travel to the Bilaad al Haramayn again, and taste from the sweetness of Iman, and the sweetness of the Miswak found therein, and revive the sunnah of the Prophet salAllahu ‘alaihee wa sallam in our hearts and actions. Ameen.

Masaala breath must brush their tongues as well.

Ma sha Allah. I wonder if you use a tooth brush and tooth paste with the intention of following the sunnah of the Prophet [AS], does that also merit the same reward as teh miswaak?

Also, a shameless plug: http://trueword.wordpress.com/revive-a-sunnah/

As Salamo alaikum

Well it looks like I have some support! Personally I use an electric toothbrush in the morning and a normal one at night, I’d consider using a miswaak but I’m pretty sure my braces would just mash up the bristles :/

iMuslim – I’ve never used a tongue scraper! I think they’d make me gag. I brush my tongue though.

Other points:
-No matter what you’re using to brush, you need to use it effectively! Brush your teeth systematically – spend about 30secs per quadrant, and make sure you get every surface of every tooth. Holding the toothbrush/miswak so the bristles are at about 45 degrees to your teeth ensures that you also clear out plaque from under the gumline. If you’re using toothpaste, don’t rinse out after brushing – you lose the effect of the fluoride.

-Remember to floss regularly – toothbrushes/miswaks don’t clear out plaque from between teeth or under the gums there!

-Mouthwash is great for helping prevent bad breath. A lot of them contain alcohol though, so try looking for one without – eg Dentyl pH (the colour-changing one)

-Don’t forget to visit your dentist every 6 months so you keep them in busine– *cough*- I mean… to get a check up. They can spot early signs of decay, and remove calculus (aka tartar) – mineralised plaque that can’t be removed with a brush.

jazakaAllahukhaira bro mcpagal for the useful info!

oh and i wanted to share the good news my du’a was answered today alhamdulillah.

A brother is bringing me a whole bunch of FRESH siwak from Sau’dia in 2 weeks -). Alhamdulillah!
MAKE DU’A PEOPLE!

bro yus from cincinati…the burbing issue happened to me many times too, i just try to ignore it and focus on the prayer. I just wonder if those brothers would burb like that infront of their boss or work mates.

And for the miswak..subhanalah mcpagalt hats some good points, never looked at it that way with the carbonated drinks we have…

i remember my aunt putting toothpaste on her miswaak and then brushing her teeth…does that fullfill the sunnah and the modern teeth problems?

anyone is open to answer my question…jazakum allah khair

Salam, JazakAllah for such informative article.

I personally use flavored Miswak of Al Khair
you can also order them online at

http://www.alkhaircqw.com

Good Quality Miswak / Siwaak

Sister AnonyMouse, when I see this post title “Revive A Sunnah…” I would like to suggest that you continue this with another post on Revive A Sunnah: Greeting with Salam (people have started kissing cheeks like the Europeans and claimed it as the Sunnah); or Revive A Sunnah: Eat A third of A Belly (people have become so obese even in the month of Ramadhan, in fact, Muslim countries spend more on foods in this month)
MashaAllah, you are very good with topics like this.

when at the end a small piece is left of siwak do not throw the siwak in the dustbin or on road,burry it in mud.this is what our beloved prophet (saw) used to do.

http://www.miraclebrush.com

Salaams. Masha-Allah great website, please contribute with your thoughts.