Facing the Qiblah and Turning One’s Back to It When Relieving Oneself

Question:
The questioner says: The hadith regarding the prohibition of facing the qiblah or turning one’s back to it states that a Muslim, when he intends to relieve himself, should not face the qiblah. However, some restrooms are built facing the qiblah. What is your opinion?

Answer:
Facing the Qiblah or turning one’s back to it while relieving oneself is prohibited, and this is established in an authentic hadith.
, so this applies if one is in the open. As for being inside a building, the scholars differed. Some said that one should not face the Qiblah even inside a building, while others said that if one is inside a building, there is no harm. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did so inside a building, and this is the correct view: there is no harm in doing so inside a building. However, even with this, when constructing a building, one should orient the restrooms away from the direction of the Qiblah. This is at the stage of construction and preparation. As for if you enter a house that is already completed and it has restrooms, there is no harm in using them even if they face the Qiblah, because there is a building between you and the Qiblah. Yes.