Islamic preachers have brainwashed normal Muslims into believing that:
- Only Islam asks you to use water after relieving yourself in the toilet.
- While all non-Muslims use only toilet paper after relieving themselves, which is not hygienic.
Both of these two impressions are totally wrong. And the reality is:
- It is not only in Islam, but in India and the whole of East Asia, people have been using water to clean themselves after relieving for thousands of years. It is not a religious issue, but a cultural issue.
- Moreover, in Islam too, the so-called non-hygienic way of cleaning (i.e. without water) is totally Halal. The prophet Muhammad himself used to use 3 stones to clean himself in the so-called non-hygienic method.
Narrated `Abdullah: The Prophet (ﷺ) went out to answer the call of nature and asked me to bring three stones. I found two stones and searched for the third but could not find it. So took a dried piece of dung and brought it to him. He took the two stones and threw away the dung and said, "This is a filthy thing."
Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: When anyone wipes himself with pebbles (after answering the call of nature) he should do this odd number of times.
It was narrated from 'Aishah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "When any one of you goes to the Gha'it (toilet to defecate), let him take with him three stones and clean himself with them, for that will suffice him."
Indeed, the Western way of using toilet paper is much better and hygienic than the Prophet Muhammad's way of using 3 stones.
Nevertheless, we are humans and we can use our own brains in order to make things better and better for us. Thus, a combination of toilet paper first, followed by washing with water seems to be the best method for hygiene, and most ex-Muslims indeed use this way.
Western people are also getting introduced to bidet gradually, and a time will come when they will also become accustomed to it.
Moreover, the Japanese Bidet wins every time.
WikiIslam.Net