Sanitation, hygiene, the morality of public space: Reclaiming Ghana’s civic virtue through faith and policy (Part 1)

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the noblest of messengers, our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his family, and his companions.

I. Introduction: The crisis of conscience in the Filth

The Ghanaian ambition frequently proclaimed by our leaders is to achieve moral and economic excellence across the African continent. Yet, this noble aspiration is daily contradicted by the state of our environment. A single walk through our markets, open gutters, or along the banks of once-pristine rivers reveals a troubling truth: Ghana faces not only a sanitation crisis but a moral crisis.

The prevalence of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, malaria, and diarrheal infections can be directly linked to environmental neglect—piles of uncollected refuse, clogged drains, and indiscriminate open defecation (Ghana Health Service, 2023). This has produced a silent epidemic that weakens productivity, burdens hospitals, and undermines national dignity.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Cleanliness is from faith, and faith leads to Paradise” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 223). Thus, environmental decay is not merely a failure of policy but a spiritual deficiency, one that contradicts the very essence of faith and civilisation.

Government interventions like the National Sanitation Day (Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, 2017) and the “Make Accra the Cleanest City in Africa” campaign, though well-intentioned, have largely faltered. After decades of such initiatives, filth persists in our streets and minds alike.

The crisis, therefore, is not infrastructural—it is moral. Ghana’s sanitation problem represents a crisis of conscience, a failure of the Ghanaian to uphold the Morality of Public Space, where personal responsibility and public virtue intersect.

The Qur’an reminds us: “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Qur’an 13:11) Our outward environment reflects our inward state. Until we transform our moral and civic consciousness, no amount of external reform will deliver the clean, dignified Ghana we desire.

II. The Spiritual Mandate: Cleanliness as the foundation of faith

In Islam, cleanliness (tahārah) is not a minor ritual—it is an expression of spiritual order. The Qur’an declares: “Indeed, Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance and those who purify themselves.” (Qur’an 2:222) This verse links repentance and purification as twin dimensions of spiritual renewal.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Purity is half of faith” (Sahih Muslim, 223), teaching that external hygiene mirrors internal piety. The act of maintaining a clean environment is thus not merely civil duty—it is a sacred obligation.

By Imam Alhaji Saeed
Abdulai, the Author

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