Will you explain the following hadith: "When you get up, wash your hands three times; you cannot know what you touched with them during the night."

Will you explain the following hadith: "When you get up, wash your hands three times; you cannot know what you touched with them during the night."

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is sunnah to wash the hands before eating. As a matter of fact, the following is stated in a hadith: 

"To wash the hands before a meal eliminates poverty; to wash the hands after a meal eliminates sins." (Tabarani, Ghazali, Ihya)

"The abundance of a meal stems from washing the hands both before and after the meal." (Tirmidhi, Shamail, 79)

If a person who has just woken up wants to put his hands into a bowl or receptacle, he needs to wash his hands before doing so. The Prophet (pbuh) stated the following regarding the issue:

"When one of you wakes up and wantsto put his hands into a bowl or receptacle, he should wash his hands twice or thrice. For, he cannot knowwhat he touched with them during the night." (Bukhari, Wudu 26; Muslim, Taharah 87-88; Tirmidhi, Taharah 19; Nasai, Taharah 115)

According to those hadiths, it is sunnah to wash the hands before touching bread and food but it is more important to wash them when we wake up. It is not haram to touch one's private parts but this sunnah is very important in terms of health. For, the private parts are the places where microbes are abundant. When a person acts in accordance with this sunnah, he gets rewards and becomes healthier.

Questions on Islam