Why is "Ghafirak" (O Forgiver) said when leaving the toilet?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Why does one say "Ghafirak" when leaving?
The Shaykh : The most authentic statement regarding this is that the connection is that when one relieves oneself of physical impurity, which is the passing of waste, one remembers the relief from moral impurity, which is sins. So he says "Ghafirak." This is the best explanation given regarding the teaching.
The questioner : I say that when one did not remember Allah, he seeks forgiveness when leaving.
The Shaykh : That is not correct. Some people other than the King (Allah) said this, but it is not correct, because he remained silent by the command of Allah, so he is not a sinner.
The Shaykh : The most authentic statement regarding this is that the connection is that when one relieves oneself of physical impurity, which is the passing of waste, one remembers the relief from moral impurity, which is sins. So he says "Ghafirak." This is the best explanation given regarding the teaching.
The questioner : I say that when one did not remember Allah, he seeks forgiveness when leaving.
The Shaykh : That is not correct. Some people other than the King (Allah) said this, but it is not correct, because he remained silent by the command of Allah, so he is not a sinner.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 390 - لماذا يُقال غفرانك عند الخروج من الخلاء؟ الكافي في فقه الإمام أحمد بن حنبل - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.