Miswak benefits: what the sources say about its use

How the reports describe using a miswak

The reports name four occasions. None of them gives a brushing technique, so this list does not describe how to brush.

1. Before the prayer. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, saying that had it not been hard on the believers, he would have ordered the miswak with every prayer (source 2). Sahih al-Bukhari 887 has the words "my community or people" (source 1). The words describe what he would have ordered. They do not make it required.
2. On getting up at night. Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that when the Prophet got up at night, he cleaned his mouth with the miswak (source 3).
3. On entering the home. Miqdam ibn Shurayh reports from his father Shurayh, may Allah be pleased with him, that he asked 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, what the Prophet began with when he entered his house. She said: with the miswak (source 4).
4. In the Prophet's own words. 'Aisha reports the Prophet saying that the miswak purifies the mouth and pleases the Lord (source 5).

The hadith in Arabic

Each Arabic text below is copied from its source record. The English under it is a plain rendering for reading, not a published translation. The sources list gives each grading and its grader.

5AuthenticSunan an-Nasa'i 5

1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 887

2AuthenticSahih Muslim 252

Sahih Muslim 252 has two wordings in its transmission: the main line reads "the believers", and Zuhayr's version reads "my community". The Arabic above keeps Muslim's own note of that difference between the dashes; the main line reads "the believers".

3AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 245

4AuthenticSahih Muslim 253a

A household report, not a rule

6AuthenticSunan Abi Dawud 52

'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, describes a practice in her own household (source 6). The report describes what happened there. It makes no hygiene rule and does not recommend washing or sharing a miswak. This page does not use it as evidence about prayer or wudu.

What did a 2024 study find?

Abdellatif and colleagues published a small trial in Healthcare in 2024 (source 7). It included 60 women aged 18 to 21, split into two groups of 30 for two weeks. One group used a miswak alone. The other used a soft toothbrush with a toothpaste containing 1,450 ppm fluoride.

For plaque, the miswak group showed no significant change (p=0.58), while toothbrushing did (p=0.007). The difference between the two groups was not significant (p=0.08). Gingival (gum) scores rose in the miswak group (p less than 0.001), and the difference between the groups on that measure was significant (p=0.001).

The authors suggest that aggressive use may explain the rise in gum scores. That is a possibility they raise, not a finding.

This is one small trial, over two weeks, in one age group of women. It does not show that miswak whitens teeth, treats gum disease or any other illness, is safe over the long term, or can replace brushing with fluoride toothpaste. The paper is the place to check the details.