Sunnah of the Miswak (Siwak) in the Quran & Sunnah

1. He loved the siwak so much, only hardship stopped him from commanding it.

“Were it not that I would make it hard for my ummah, I would have commanded them to use the siwak with every wudu.” No optional act was ever stressed like this one.

2. Its two fruits: a pure mouth, and a pleased Lord.

“The siwak is a purification for the mouth and pleasing to the Lord.” One small stick joins cleanliness of the body with the pleasure of Allah.

3. On waking in the night, he cleaned his mouth with the siwak.

Hudhayfah reported: “When the Prophet ﷺ got up at night (for tahajjud), he would clean his mouth with the siwak.” The day and the night prayer both begin with it.

4. Entering his home, the first thing he began with was the siwak.

Shurayh asked ‘Aishah: “With what did the Prophet ﷺ begin when he entered his house?” She said: “With the siwak.” The mouth is refreshed before meeting the family.

5. He kept the siwak until his final illness.

In the sickness in which he died, he looked at the siwak in ‘Abdur-Rahman’s hand; ‘Aishah understood, softened it for him, and he brushed his teeth with it as well as he had ever done. The beloved habit accompanied him to the end.

6. Its times: with wudu, before prayer, on waking, and whenever the mouth changes.

Lesson: The narrations gather into a rhythm — siwak at wudu and prayer, on rising from sleep, when coming home, and before reciting and meeting people — so that the mouth of the believer stays clean for worship and for company.

7. It is counted among the acts of fitrah.

Lesson: In the ten acts of fitrah taught by the Prophet ﷺ, the siwak stands by name — one of the natural sunnahs upon which the prophets built their cleanliness.