The discussion of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibition of spitting and blowing one's nose toward the qiblah, absolutely, and the like of this is urination and defecation.
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The Shaykh : Perhaps many of you know the prohibition of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) against spitting toward the qiblah, and there are hadiths , and in some of those hadiths, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned: , and in another hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever spits, and it is said: whoever spits, these are two words: So you see in this hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited spitting toward the qiblah absolutely, with no difference between a building and the desert. Rather, you heard before this hadith that he prohibited, while praying, spitting toward the qiblah, and instead to spit to his left or under his foot. This ruling is also something that the majority of Muslims have overlooked. You find a person on the road, or in the mosque, or in the house, and he has a phlegm, so he spits and does not remember Allah. And remembering Allah includes mentioning the prohibitions and rulings of Allah. So if, for example, it is from the Sunnah that when a Muslim enters the mosque, he enters with his right foot, and when he exits the mosque, he exits with his left foot, this is a practical remembrance of Allah, and whoever does this is undoubtedly among those who remember Allah, because remembrance, just as it is done with words, is also done with actions.
Likewise, when one of us enters the place of relief, he enters with his left foot and exits with his right foot, and he says upon entering:Sahih Muslim 2716b and upon exiting he says: This Muslim who observes these rulings, whether they are actions or words, is undoubtedly one who remembers Allah much.
So if you know that a Muslim, in all his situations, whether in a building or in the desert, should not spit toward the qiblah, then you know finally that the opinion which states the generality of the prohibition of facing the qiblah with urine or feces, with no difference between a building and the desert, is the opinion that should be relied upon and issued as a fatwa, out of respect for this qiblah which Muslims face in all the lands of the world. This is from the perspective of the texts that have come regarding this issue.
Then, from the perspective of reasoning, a direction that is sacred by religion, which a Muslim faces in the desert and in a building, is not blocked by a building between him and the qiblah. So whether he prays in the desert, he is facing it, and whether he prays in a building, he is facing it. Just as this wall and that one, or this building and those buildings, are not considered a barrier between this praying person and the Ka'bah, so conversely, these buildings are not considered a barrier that lifts the ruling of the prohibition of facing the qiblah with urine or feces. We are commanded to face the qiblah in prayer and prohibited from facing it with urine or feces. So distinguishing between the desert and the building in this other issue is like if it were said, and no one says this, praise be to Allah, that when a person prays, he should pray in the desert because the walls block him from facing the qiblah. No one says this absolutely. So the sound reasoning, in addition to the aforementioned texts regarding urine and feces directly, and regarding spitting secondly, all this and that requires Muslims to be polite with this noble etiquette, which is not to face the qiblah with urine or feces, even if that is in a building.
And another thing, which is from further consideration and reflection:
Why do we say: a wall does not block us from the qiblah and lifts the prohibition of urinating or defecating toward the qiblah because of a wall? Why do we not say: there is a mountain or a hill or a rock in the desert? Why are not all these barriers also lifting the ruling of the prohibition of facing the qiblah with urine or feces?
I say: Whoever reflects on all these matters has no choice but to be certain that what Abu Ayyub al-Ansari indicated in the end of his hadith is the correct understanding of this issue:.
And finally: Should it not be the motto of the homes of Muslims and their houses that they differ from the houses of the disbelievers who do not have faith in Allah or the Last Day, and do not prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited? So the homes of Muslims, just as their mosques face the qiblah, their places of relief do not face the qiblah, because here there is a contradiction. The direction that you face in prayer should not be faced with urine or feces. This is what I wanted to remind you of, and the reminder benefits the believers, as the Lord of the Worlds said. Yes?
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a spittle in the qiblah of the mosque, so he scraped it and rubbed it -and removed its substance- and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited blowing one's nose and spitting toward the qiblah.
أنَّ النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم رأى نخامة في قبلة المسجد فحتَّها وحكَّها -وأزال مادتها- ونهى النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم عن التنخع وعن التبصق تجاه القبلةThat if one of you is praying and is overcome by spittle, he should not spit toward the qiblah, but rather he should spit to his left or under his foot.
أنه إذا كان أحدكم يصلي فغلبه البصاق فلا يبصق قِبل القبلة ولكن ليبصق عن يساره أو تحت قدمهWhoever spits toward the qiblah will come on the Day of Resurrection with his spittle between his eyes.
من بصق تجاه القبلة جاء يوم القيامة وبصقه بين عينهLikewise, when one of us enters the place of relief, he enters with his left foot and exits with his right foot, and he says upon entering:
Farwa' b. Naufal reported: I asked 'A'isha about the supplication that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) made. She said that he used to say:" O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from the evil of what I have done and from the evil of what I have not done."
اللهم إني أعوذ بك من شر الخبْث والخبائثForgiveness is Yours
غفرانكSo if you know that a Muslim, in all his situations, whether in a building or in the desert, should not spit toward the qiblah, then you know finally that the opinion which states the generality of the prohibition of facing the qiblah with urine or feces, with no difference between a building and the desert, is the opinion that should be relied upon and issued as a fatwa, out of respect for this qiblah which Muslims face in all the lands of the world. This is from the perspective of the texts that have come regarding this issue.
Then, from the perspective of reasoning, a direction that is sacred by religion, which a Muslim faces in the desert and in a building, is not blocked by a building between him and the qiblah. So whether he prays in the desert, he is facing it, and whether he prays in a building, he is facing it. Just as this wall and that one, or this building and those buildings, are not considered a barrier between this praying person and the Ka'bah, so conversely, these buildings are not considered a barrier that lifts the ruling of the prohibition of facing the qiblah with urine or feces. We are commanded to face the qiblah in prayer and prohibited from facing it with urine or feces. So distinguishing between the desert and the building in this other issue is like if it were said, and no one says this, praise be to Allah, that when a person prays, he should pray in the desert because the walls block him from facing the qiblah. No one says this absolutely. So the sound reasoning, in addition to the aforementioned texts regarding urine and feces directly, and regarding spitting secondly, all this and that requires Muslims to be polite with this noble etiquette, which is not to face the qiblah with urine or feces, even if that is in a building.
And another thing, which is from further consideration and reflection:
Why do we say: a wall does not block us from the qiblah and lifts the prohibition of urinating or defecating toward the qiblah because of a wall? Why do we not say: there is a mountain or a hill or a rock in the desert? Why are not all these barriers also lifting the ruling of the prohibition of facing the qiblah with urine or feces?
I say: Whoever reflects on all these matters has no choice but to be certain that what Abu Ayyub al-Ansari indicated in the end of his hadith is the correct understanding of this issue:
When you go to relieve yourselves, do not face the qiblah with your urine or excrement, but face east or west.
إذا أتيتم الغائط فلا تستقبلوا القبلة ببول أو غائط ولكن شرقوا أو غربواAnd finally: Should it not be the motto of the homes of Muslims and their houses that they differ from the houses of the disbelievers who do not have faith in Allah or the Last Day, and do not prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited? So the homes of Muslims, just as their mosques face the qiblah, their places of relief do not face the qiblah, because here there is a contradiction. The direction that you face in prayer should not be faced with urine or feces. This is what I wanted to remind you of, and the reminder benefits the believers, as the Lord of the Worlds said. Yes?