Abu Dawud

Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah)

Book Number: 001 / Hadith Number: 353

Narated By 'Amr b. Abi 'Amr and 'Ikrimah : Some people of iraq came and said: Ibn 'Abbas, do you regard taking a bath on Friday as obligatory? He said: No, it is only a means of cleanliness, and it is better for one who washes oneself. Anyone who does not take a bath, it is not essential for him. I inform you how the bath (on Friday) commenced. The people were poor and used to wear woollen clothes, and would carry loads on their backs. Their mosque was small and its roof was lowered down. It was a sort of trelis of vine. The Apostle of Allah (pbuh) once came out on a hot day and the people perspired profusely in woollen clothes so much so that the foul smell emitted from them and it caused trouble to each other. When the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) found that foul smell, he said: O people, when this day (Friday) comes, you should take a bath and everyone of you should anoint the best oil and perfume one has. Ibn 'Abbas then said: Then Allah, the Exalted, provided wealth (to the people) and they wore clothes other than the woollen, and were spared from work, and their mosque became vast. The foul smell that caused trouble to them became non-existent.