Journal of - International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine

Ayşegül DEMIRHAN ERDEMIR
The Developments on the Use of Misvaque
in the Turkish History of Dentistry
ziers of Murat II, the tenth chapter gives some information
about misvak. In the historical Egytian bazaar in Istanbul,
misvak was sold in herbalist shops in the 17 th century. A
book in Arabic called “Risâlât al-Misvâk” written by the
theologian Abd Allah b.Abi Said Muhammed b. ( -1771)
in 1752 gives detailed information on misvak (1). Hadimî
tried to attract attention to when to use misvak saying “I
wrote this manuscript seeing that people have some conflicts
over using misvak before worshipping”. According to
him, using misvak is necessary. In his manuscript, he refers
to the views of those who accepted and refused to use
misvak to worship and arrives at the following conclusions
considering the Prophet Mohammad’s sayings as well: “The
reason why misvak is acceptable is that it cleans mouth and
repels bad smells. Besides, it is expectorant. It would be entirely
appropriate to use misvak when one wakes up to worship.
Misvak should be used softly so that tongue and teeth
are not irritated. In terms of ritual ablutions, using misvak
is a practice and rule deduced from the Prophet’s own habits
and words. People can look neater and cleaner brushing
mouth with misvak before ablutions and worshipping. If
mouth is cleaned with a misvak performing an ablution, it
should be washed up with that water used for the ablution.
If a misvak is used in a mosque, it should be washed up
after the prayers.”
As is seen, misvak is a widely-known instrument of
oral hygiene used for centuries by Turks as well (5, 17).
Misvak is prepared in a special way for teeth cleaning.
The bark of a stick is peeled off 1cm long from one of the
ends and the stick is softened in water for 24 hours. After
that, it is battered softly to reveal the fibers at the end
and teeth are cleaned with the brush made in that way. In
the Islamic world, using misvak is now considered to be a
“sünnet”, which means an arbitrary religious practice deduced
from the rumors about the Prophet’s own habits and
sayings. When misvak is to be used for oral hygiene, teeth
are clenched, lips are opened a little and the drog is moved
sideways on teeth. In Islamic theology, using misvak is recommended
before ritual prayers, ablutions, Koran reading,
sleep and whenever mouth goes dry. According to the Shafi
school of Islam, misvak cannot be used in Ramadan and
between mornings and evenings.
According to the Islamic traditions, oral hygiene should
not be neglected even when a misvak or toothbrush cannot
be found and teeth should be cleaned with the thumb
and index finger of the right hand. Misvak can be used with
powdered compounds as well. Equal amounts of pearl,
mastic (gum), liquorice root and deer horn ashes are mixed
and the compound is ground into a fine powder before
pressing on a misvak to be rubbed on teeth and gums. Peo-
ple use misvak for other purposes than oral hygiene as well.
They boil each one of seven misvaks in 1kg water until the
water is left as much as a glass of it. The water is left in frost
at night and drunk in the morning before eating anything
to drop the stones in kidneys. This treatment is administered
for seven days. Besides this, misvak roots are boiled
and drunk also to treat gonorrhea and spleen aches. There
are some reasons for the fact that misvak has been used for
hundreds of years for oral hygiene. Rubbing it on teeth creates
a mechanical effect and the sodium bicarbonate and
oily sap in the fibers cleans mouth (6).
In the modern medicine of our day, using toothbrushes
is the best way to repel food remnants out of mouth.
However, it is significant in terms of showing the importance
Muslims placed on oral health that they were brushing
their teeth with misvak back in the middle ages when
toothbrushes had not been produced yet.
REFERENCES
1. Abd Allah b.Abi Said Muhammed b.Mustafa (1752). Risâlât al-
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2. Abdul Wahid, H. (1957). A Survey of Drugs, Delhi: Hamdard Research
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Fırçası. İslam Medeniyeti Derg. 1(1): 40-43
5. Turkish Republic Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives:
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Tıp ve Sağlık Kuruluşları. Ankara, pp.1-460.
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Bült. 1(1): 34-35.
16. Levey, M. (1966). The Medical Formulary or Aqrabadin of al-Kındî,
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