ABU DHABI // Keeping yourself, your surroundings and your heart clean and pure at all times is a key aspect of Islam and draws you closer to God, worshippers will hear on Friday.
The link between external and internal purity can be found in the Quran’s second chapter: “Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.” (Al-Baqara: 222)
In the same regard, Prophet Mohammed referred to the connection when he said: “Purity is half of faith.”
Cleanliness is a key component of one of the Islam’s pillars through the requirement of followers to perform wudu (ablution) five times a day before prayers and should be ever present in a Muslim’s daily routine.
Through a Hadith, the Prophet illustrates that by being clean, one will fulfil half of the demands of faith because faith purifies the inner soul, wudu removes sins, and water cleanses the clothes and body.
“If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would there be any dirt left on him?” the Prophet asked his companions.
They said: “Not a trace of dirt would be left.”
The Prophet said: “That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds.”
Taking great care of his cleanliness the Prophet washed his hands after having a meal and before going to bed.
Another of his traditions was to perform wudu before going to bed.
“Purify these bodies, may Allah purify you, for there is no servant of Allah who spends the night in a state of purification except an angel spends the night with him,” he said.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Started: 2021
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