Although there are no commandments in the
Quran for Muslims to use miswak as a tooth brush, one will find many references in
Hadith. One such hadith read as follow, "if it were not too much of a burden on the believers, I would prescribe that they use the siwak before each prayer."
The latin name for the tree is
Salvadora Persica, known as
Arak in Arabic.
The root of the tree is composed of the following,
Trim ethyl amine.
alkaloid salvadorine.
Chloride.
High amounts of
fluoride and
silica.
Sulphur.
Vitamin C.
Small amounts of
Tannin,
saponin,
flavonoid &
sterol.
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http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5327e/x5327e1j.htm
http://www.crescentlife.com/wellness/miswak.htm