السواك

MISWAK ( SIWAK)
prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) said that Miswak(Siwak)is a purification of the mouth and its a pleasure to Allah


Definition :
Miswak (salvadora persica) is a special stick used to clean the teeth to remove plaque and food debris .

prophet saying
siwak is favorable islamic practice but not required.
1. narrated AbuHuraira r ,the prophet said r “if I had not
foundit hard for my followers or the people ,I would have
ordered them to clean their teeth with miswak for every
prayer .
2. Narrated Abin Abbas said : the prophet said r :two
kneeling with siwak is better to me than seventy kneeling
without siwak .
3. Aisha said : the prophet r said :it ( i.e. siwak ) is
a purification of the mouth and its a pleasure to Allah.
Ata and Qutada said : there is no harm in swalling the
resultant saliva .
4.Narrated Hudhaifat : when ever the prophet got up at
night , he used to clean his mouth with siwak
5. Narrated Amir bin Rabia “ I saw prophet r cleaning his
teeth with siwak while he was fasting so many times as I
can’t count .”


SOURCES
- there are many kinds of sticks used to clean the teeth surface
, but the best one is taking from Al-Arak tree.
- siwak is taking mostly from the roots of AL-Arak tree with
2-3 years old , it can be either dry or green in colour .
- siwak has special sharp smelling and taste , due to the
present of sinnigrin substance.
- Al-Arak tree is growing in a tropical climate ,increase in the
vallies of desert and reduced in a mountains .
- In Saudia Arabia it present more in Asir,Jezan , Abha,it also
present in Yaman,Sudan ,Iran ,Egypt, and the east of India .
- Arak tree resemble pomegranate tree , it has spiky branches
, smooth oval leaves 2-5cm in long , and it always greenery
all the year. if the cattles eat from Al-Arak tree , their milk
will have agood smelling .
- the branches of Arak tree are spiky and spread for long
distance on the land , the flowers are yellowish green in
colour , with small fruits collect as a bunch .
- the fruit is green in colour then become red and finally
transfer to black with agood taste .

CHEMICAL STRUCTURE
- siwak is considered as an ideal natural brush , which has a
lot of antiseptic and detergent that is superior in quality and
quantity in comparison with a toothpaste .
- siwak is work as a toothpaste , toothbrush and dental floss
as a one piece, so it can clean the teeth throughlly and
remove any debris in the proximal surface .


siwak contains a lot of materials such as :
1- natural cellulose fibers ; that is abundant, strong , and did
not break easily under the pressure .
- the fibres are soft , and can take the suitable shape to be
introduced between the teeth and removed any debris without
damaging the gingiva .
- the siwak should be moisten with saliva before using , in
order not to harm the oral tissues , and in the same time the
antibacterial substances will dissolve in tne saliva.
the evidence of truth is what Aisha narrated that Abdul-Rahman bin Abi Baker came holding a siwak with which he was cleaning his teeth .Allah’s apostle r looked at him , I
requested Abdul-Rahaman to give the siwak to me and after he gave it , I divided it , chewed it and gave it to Allah’s Apostle r . then he cleaned his teeth with it .
this narration clarify the concern of Apostle with his teeth until the last moment of his life .
2- antiseptic substances like :
One)tannic acid ; its act as astrengent antiseptic which prevent and stop gingival bleeding , and increase healing .
in a study done by Dr.Aid and Dr.salem in 1990 they found
that the siwak reduced gingivitis , periodontitis and
periodontal abscess.
b)sinningirin which act as astringent.
c)sodium bicarbonate .
3-it also contains chloride substance (removing stain) and silicate substance ( whiten the teeth ).
4-alkaloid substances that reduced caries
5-elemental sulphar 4.73% --- prevent growing of bacteria >
6- starch and resins : help in reducing the viscosity of the saliva which aid in cleaning and distribution af active substances all around the mouth ( act as abinder).
it also protect the teeth from the caries .
7- vitamin c and sistosterol substances
these substances increasing the healing of gingiva and maintain the integrity of the periodontal microvascular .
8- glucotropaeolin substance :its responsible about the sharp smelling and taste .
it impaired the growing of harmful oral bacteria.
9-meneral salts like sodium chloride , potasium chlorid which act as cleaning agents.
10- aromatic substances which give the mouth agood odour.

characteristic of siwak fibres
One)siwak fibres is very strong , soft , durable and not hard.
Two)the fibres contain a lot of chemical substances that is superior in comparison with toothpaste.
Three)the fibres are very fine and work as massage to the gingiva .
Four)cutting the head of siwak dialy will reduced tha chance of contamination .
Five)un used fibres will not contaminated due to the present of antiseptic substances .
Six)un used fibers is covered by cortex layer , that protect siwak with antiseptic substances from contamination.


the head of siwak should be cutting daily because of :-
1) the active substances in the using part (head) come to an end.
2)at the end of the day the using part may contaminate especially when the active substances come to an end

special notes

1. the using of siwak is very easy cheap and does not require toothpaste , it contain all the requirement materials for cleaning the teeth .
2. the long using of siwak will become habit , that lead to lay off many habits like smoking and thumb sucking.
3. the effect of any toothpaste does not extended more than 20 minutes then the level of bacteria will return to its original state ,while by using siwak it will take long time .
4. we should not forget to clean the the tongue with siwak after cleaning the teeth , the evidence of truth is what Abu-Mousa Al-Ashary narreted “ I come to the prophet and saw him putting the head of siwak on his tongue”.
5. the great virtue of siwak is producing pleasure and fulfilmant to Allah as the prophet said “its purification of the mouth and its pleasure to Allah”
we must revival
the propht tradition(hadith)