Going To the Bathroom

1.      If a person is outdoors, then he should be away and obscured from others.

2.      A person should say before uncovering himself “Bismillah, Allahumma inny auzou beka menal khubuthy wal khaba’ith.”

3.      A person should not mention the name of Allah while he is using the bathroom.

4.      A person should not face nor turn his back to the Qiblah direction if he is answering the call of nature outdoors.

5.      A person should avoid shaded places, which are used by people, and those places where people walk and gather.

6.      A person should not urinate in a bathing place or in still water.

7.      A person must remove impurities from his private parts

8.      A person should clean his hand by rubbing on soil, using water or water and soap, etc., after cleaning himself.

9.      A person should not touch his private parts with his right hand even when cleaning himself.

Going To The Bathroom

If a person is outdoors, then he should be away and obscured from others: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Ibn Majah and Abu Da’ud that Jaber (R.A.A.) said: “We were traveling with the Prophet (S.A.W.) and the Prophet (S.A.W.) used to answer the call of nature by going away until he was not seen.”

1.      If a person is outdoors, then he should be away and obscured from others: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Ibn Majah and Abu Da’ud that Jaber (R.A.A.) said: “We were traveling with the Prophet (S.A.W.) and the Prophet (S.A.W.) used to answer the call of nature by going away until he was not seen.”

2.      A person should say before uncovering himself “Bismillah, Allahumma inny auzou beka menal khubuthy wal khaba’ith.” Meaning: "In the name of Allah. O Allah! I seek refuge with you from the male and female devils."  Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Imam At-Tirmithi and Ibn Majah that the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) said:  “The partition (cover) between the Jinn and the private parts of human beings whenever anyone enters the bathroom is to say: Bismillah.” In another Hadith reported by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim that the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) used to say when he entered the bathroom “Allahumma inny auzou beka menal khubuthy wal khaba’ith.” Meaning: “O Allah! I seek refuge with you from the male and female devils.”

3.      A person should not mention the name of Allah (S.W.T.) while he is using the bathroom: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by all Hadith reporters except Bukhari that Ibn Umar (R.A.A.) said “That a man passed by the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) while the Prophet (S.A.W.) was urinating and the man said Assalamu Alaykum and the Prophet (S.A.W.) did not respond.” In another narration, that man asked the Prophet (S.A.W.) “…why did you not answer me? He replied: “I hated mentioning the name of Allah (S.W.T.) while I was in that state.”

4.      A person should not face nor turn his back to the Qiblah(8) direction if he is answering the call of nature outdoors: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Imam Muslim and Ahmad that the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) said: “When one of you relieves himself, he should neither face the direction of the Qiblah nor turn his back to it.” In another authentic Hadith reported by the group of the Hadith collectors that Ibn Umar (R.A.A.) related that he once went to Hafsah’s house, where he saw the Prophet (S.A.W.) relieving himself while facing Syria with his back to the direction of Ka’bah.” Based on these two Ahadith, it is forbidden to face or turn one’s back to the direction of Ka’bah outdoors if there is no visible physical partition or wall, and permitted otherwise.

5.      A person should avoid shaded places which are used by people, and those places where people walk and gather: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Imam Muslim and Abu Da’ud that the Prophet (S.A.W.) said: “Beware of those two acts which cause others to curse.” They asked, “What are those two acts?” He said: “Relieving yourself in the people’s walkways or in their shades.”

6.      A person should not urinate in a bathing place or in still water: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Imam An-Nasa’i and Abu Da’ud that the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) forbade urinating in a bathing place. In another authentic Hadith reported by Imam Muslim and An-Nasa’i that the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) forbade urinating in still water.

7.      A person should not urinate standing if that makes his private parts visible to other people or impurities touch his clothes or body: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Imam Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) “went to the dumps (away from the people) and urinated while standing…” Imam Ash-Shawkani authenticated that Umar, Ali, Zaid, and other companions of the Prophet (S.A.W.) urinated while standing. However, most of the time the Prophet (S.A.W.) used to urinate while sitting, according to the authentic narration by A’eyshah and as reported by Imam At-Termethi, An-Nasa’i and others.

8.      A person must remove impurities from his private parts by using any pure matter three times or by using water: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Imam Muslim and others that Salman (R.A.A.) said: “… the Prophet (S.A.W.) forbade us to clean ourselves with less than three stones (or any other pure similar material)…” In another Hadith reported by Imam Bukhari and Muslim that Anass (R.A.A.) said: “… that the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) used to clean himself using water…”

9.      A person should not touch his private parts with his right hand even when cleaning himself: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Imam Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) said: “Whenever anyone of you urinates, he should not touch his private parts nor clean himself with his right hand.”

10. A person should clean his hand by rubbing on soil, using water or water and soap, etc., after cleaning himself: Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Imam Abu Da’ud, An-Nasa’i, Al-Baihaqi and Ibn Majah that when the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) relieved himself, he cleaned himself and then rubbed his hand against the soil.

11.  A person should say after using the bathroom “Ghufranak.” Meaning: "O Allah! Bestow your forgiveness upon me.": Based on an authentic Hadith reported by Imam Abu Da’ud, At-Tirmithi and Ibn Majah that the Prophet (S.A.W.), when he came out of the bathroom, used to say “Ghufranak.”

(8) The direction towards all Muslims face in Salat (prayers) and that direction is towards the Ka’bah in Makkah (in the Arabian Peninsula).Return to Text