Cleanliness

Bahá’u’lláh says, in the Book of Aqdas:—

Be the essence of cleanliness among mankind ... under all circumstances conform yourselves to refined manners ... let no trace of uncleanliness appear on your clothes.... Immerse yourselves in pure water; a water which hath been used is not allowable.... Verily We have desired to see in you the manifestations of Paradise on earth, so that there may be diffused from you that whereat the hearts of the favored ones shall rejoice.—Kitáb-i-Aqdas.

Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl, in his book, Bahá’í Proofs (p. 89), points out the extreme importance of these commands, more especially in some parts of the East, where water of the foulest description is often used for household purposes, for bathing and even for drinking, and horribly insanitary conditions abound, causing a vast amount of preventable disease and misery. These conditions, often supposed to be sanctioned by the prevailing religion, can be changed, among Orientals, only by the commandment of one who is believed to have Divine authority. In many parts of the Western Hemisphere, too, a wonderful transformation would result were cleanliness accepted not only as next to godliness, but as an essential part of godliness.

Source: J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (1923). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19241.

Esslemont, J. E.. (1923). *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19241/pg19241-images.html