A word on some concepts taken from the polytheists.

The Shaykh: Praise is to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own selves and from the badness of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever He leaves to misguide, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, , , . As for what follows:
Indeed, the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
Following up on what we said recently about the prohibition of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from imitating the disbelievers on one hand, and his command (peace and blessings be upon him) to differ from the polytheists, the Jews and the Christians... I want to draw attention to something that some people may not notice, but if we link it to that prohibition and that command, we will find that we were heedless of the fact that this matter should be corrected and aligned with the prohibition of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from imitating, and his command (peace and blessings be upon him) to differ from the polytheists; namely, their saying, on the occasion of what you heard just now...: "Alo alo," "Alo alo." It is a foreign word, and when another Arabic word takes its place... but it is a substitute for "Alo alo," "Ala ala." So "Ala" is an opening particle in the Arabic language; therefore, one must turn away from this common word; first: because it is not an Arabic word, and second: with the intention of differing from the disbelievers even in this detail, in accordance with his command (peace be upon him) which we mentioned just now: . This hair—as we established yesterday—is something that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made obligatory upon the disbeliever and the Muslim alike; so it is not in the power of the Muslim or the disbeliever not to grow gray. Nevertheless, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ; meaning: differ from them in something that is not of their making, but rather... so how should we not differ from them in something... and it is their custom and tradition which... in every land of the world, so if someone wants to call out to his companion, instead of saying... peace be upon you, we say...: "Alo alo"; one must turn away from this word and establish in its place this Arabic word "Ala," in the old Arabic poetry which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) testified to be: . This is a particle of attention, so let it be used... the first reminder.
The other reminder is that I have seen in some houses... or toilets facing the qiblah, when the person sitting in it to relieve himself turns his back to it or faces it. And when I mention this, I know that there is an old difference of opinion among the scholars on this issue; some say that the facing mentioned or turning the back is general, including buildings as well as the desert, and some say: No, the prohibition is specific to the desert and not buildings. The evidence coming in this issue may help both parties, but—as you know—I say:—as you know, if Allah wills—that the truth in a single issue is only one statement, and it is not conceivable that there be two contradictory statements, both of which are correct. So the saying of the Messenger: it is not permissible to face the qiblah with urine or excrement in a building, and another saying that it is permissible; these are two contradictory statements, and it is impossible that one of them is not the correct one and the other is the wrong one. So at that time, the obligatory—as you all know—when the scholars differ on something is that we return to the Book of Allah and to the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as in His saying (Mighty and Majestic): .
The original in this hadith and this topic is what al-Bukhari and Muslim say in their "Sahihayn" from the hadith of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and there is no doubt that his saying (peace be upon him): is only with respect to Madinah, otherwise in some lands... in the West the case is completely reversed. The important thing is that among the etiquette of relieving oneself is that the Muslim does not face the qiblah or... with urine or excrement.
And the completion of the incident is that... that the completion of this hadith is that its narrator—and he is Abu Ayyub al-Ansari as you heard—said: "So when we came to Sham, we found... facing the qiblah, so we seek forgiveness from Allah." You know that the land of Sham was the land of the Romans, and that these people do not have respect for the House of Allah the Sacred... so they did not observe the etiquette of building... in the houses such that they do not direct them toward the Ka'bah; they were Christians, they were disbelievers; and therefore Abu Ayyub al-Ansari means that the Companions, when they conquered Sham and sat in it or stayed, they found the qiblah there facing the Ka'bah, and he said: So we seek forgiveness from Allah.
And the point of this completion of the hadith, and of the saying of Abu Ayyub, is that the narrator of the hadith, who is himself, understood from the hadith the generality; there is no exception or difference for the narrator of the hadith between facing in a building or in the desert, and both have the same ruling.
When we mention this as evidence... for not distinguishing between the desert and buildings, it is not hidden from us that there are some hadiths that explicitly state that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was seen facing the qiblah or turning his back to it when he was relieving himself, and at that time the obligatory requires us to remind our brothers of an important usuli rule from the principles of jurisprudence, these rules that help the student of knowledge in correct jurisprudence, and in preferring one statement over another by combining these different evidences from... from the rules of the Shari'ah. This rule is the one that says: if there are two contradictory hadiths; one is from his action (peace and blessings be upon him), and the other is from his saying; then if it is not possible to reconcile between these two hadiths of his action and his saying, the obligatory—in this case—is to return to the saying and not to the action; because the saying is a prescribed general address to the Muslims, whereas his action (peace and blessings be upon him) may be subject to... in this case, several possibilities:
The first possibility: that what he did (peace and blessings be upon him) was before what he said as legislation...
And it is possible that that action was either that he (peace and blessings be upon him) committed to it... as you heard just now from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari that he... in Sham, so they were not able to change it, so they faced the qiblah and sought forgiveness from Allah.
And the third and last possibility: it is possible that the action that contradicted his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) was a particularity for him; that... what is the evidence? His address to the Ummah, so the action that he did... was specific to him (peace and blessings be upon him); this is the first rule, and it is that if his action contradicted his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) and it was not possible to reconcile between them in any of the many known ways of reconciliation among the scholars, it is necessary at that time to adopt the saying and leave the action with one of those three possibilities.
Then there is another rule; and it is the one that says: if a prohibitive and a permissive contradict each other, a prohibitive... that prohibits, forbids, and a permissive, a text that forbids and a text that cannot be reconciled between them; then at that time it is necessary to adopt the prohibitive text and prefer it over the permissive text... because the original in things is permissibility as you know, because the Shari'ah did not come with its rulings all at once, but rather it came... and you all know the story of the gradual legislation of khamr, and that it was not forbidden—meaning: by text—rather it was forbidden in stages and degrees until the final text came: ; so 'Umar said—as you know—we have finished, O our Lord.
So the khamr, which is the mother of all evils, was until... it was permissible, so all the more so should we say... regarding those things below it that... were forbidden after they were permissible by the original and were done, and then the prohibition of that came, so at that time the rule we mentioned second is correct, which is: if the prohibitive and the permissive contradict each other, the prohibitive is preferred over the permissive.
When we examine the hadiths that prohibit facing the qiblah while urinating or defecating, and the hadiths that permit it, we find that both apply to the statement and the action; because the statement takes precedence over the action, and the prohibition takes precedence over the permission. His action (peace and blessings be upon him) is an action, and his statement (peace and blessings be upon him) is a statement. Thus, the statement and the action coincide in this issue. Therefore, the preferred position we adhere to is to follow the scholars who said that the hadith is to be taken in its generality, and that there is no difference between the desert and buildings. The correct and sound consideration of some other texts on one hand, and the prioritization of all those texts regarding the Ka'bah on the other, requires us to also point out, from this angle, the opinion of the scholars who said there is no distinction between the desert and buildings.
Perhaps many of you know the prohibition of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from spitting toward the qiblah. Hadiths have come that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a spittle in the qiblah of the mosque and scraped it off and removed it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited blowing the nose and spitting toward the qiblah. In those hadiths, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that: , and in another hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: — and it is also said: , two formulations —; . 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 buildings and the desert. In fact, you heard before this hadith that he prohibited, while praying, spitting toward the qiblah; rather, one should 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 spittle and he spits... And Allah is mentioned by remembering the prohibitions of Allah and His rulings; otherwise, 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 dhikr, just as it is done with words, is also done with actions. Similarly, when one of them enters the place of relief, he enters with his left foot and exits with his right foot, and says upon entering: , and upon exiting says: . This manner in which... these rulings, whether they are actions or statements, is undoubtedly a great remembrance of Allah.
If you know that a Muslim, in all his circumstances, whether in his building or in the desert, should not spit toward the qiblah, and if you know finally that the statement which holds that the prohibition of facing the qiblah with urine or feces is general, with no difference between buildings and the desert... relying on it and... respecting this qiblah which Muslims face, is...; this is from the perspective of the texts that have come regarding this issue. As for the perspective of consideration, a direction that is honored by the Shari'ah and religion, which a Muslim faces in the desert and in buildings, where the building is not between him and the qiblah; whether he prays in the desert, he faces it, and whether he prays in a building, he faces it. Just as this... is broad for this building and those examples, they are not considered a barrier between this praying person and... on the contrary, these buildings are not considered a barrier... for the ruling of the prohibition of facing the qiblah and between... We are commanded to face the qiblah in prayer and prohibited from facing it with urine or feces. We are content with the desert and the building; because the other issue is as if it were said... — and praise be to Allah — that when a person prays, it is reported that he prays in the desert... that prevents him from facing the qiblah... rather, the consideration... in addition to the aforementioned texts regarding urine and feces directly, is what relates to... secondly, all this and this requires Muslims to be polite with this noble etiquette; that they do not face the qiblah with urine or feces, even if it is in a building.
And another thing, which is... from the meanings of consideration and employing thought: why do we say... that prevents us from the qiblah... with urine or feces toward the qiblah because of a wall? Why do we not say that there is a mountain or... or a rock in the desert? Why...? All of it returns, also, to the ruling of the prohibition of facing the qiblah with urine or feces. I say: whoever reflects on all of this cannot do anything but be certain that what Abu Ayyub al-Ansari indicated in the end of his hadith is the correct statement in this issue: .
And finally: it should not be the motto of the houses of Muslims and their homes that they differ from the houses of the disbelievers who do not believe in Allah or the Last Day and do not prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited. So the houses of Muslims, just as their mosques face the qiblah, should... not face the qiblah; rather, as you heard, the direction that is faced for prayer should not be faced with urine or feces. This is what I wanted to remind you of, and as the Lord of the worlds said.
Yes.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes?

The questioner : ... .
... ... ...

The Shaykh: That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was seen facing the qiblah or turning his back to it. This is the argument of those who went to distinguishing between facing the qiblah with urine or feces... from these, and the others took the generality of the hadiths that came regarding the prohibition. And this all was a lecture to clarify the viewpoint... that they have no way except what the Messenger (peace be upon him) was seen doing in his house, in his home, facing the qiblah with urine or feces. So I said: this holds three possibilities, one of three things: either it is the prohibition, or it is due to the narrowness of the place, or it is due to a specificity related to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). ... So your question contains nothing new, but there is... you reminded me of approximating the topic with another example; you also know that the scholars differed in determining the 'awrah of the man; the majority holds that the 'awrah of the man is between the navel and the knee, and Ibn Malik, as reported from him in a narration, said that the 'awrah is only the two private parts and that the thighs are not part of the 'awrah. The evidence for this statement is what came in "Sahih Muslim" and other books of the Sunnah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to a garden — meaning a palm grove — in which there was a well, so he lowered his legs into this well, exposing his shins and part of his thighs. Abu Bakr asked permission to enter upon him, so he gave him permission, and he sat to the right of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then 'Umar asked permission, so he entered and sat to the left of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He remained in his state and did not change anything of what he had of exposing part of his thigh. Then 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) asked permission, so he said: , so he entered (may Allah be pleased with him) and the Prophet covered his thigh. ... Lady Umm Kulthum and 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) were observing this incident. When they left, she said: O Messenger of Allah, Abu Bakr — meaning her father — entered and sat, and you did not change anything of your clothes, then 'Umar and you were the same, then when 'Uthman entered, you threw your garment over yourself. He (peace be upon him) said: . This hadith is authentic and reported in the book of Sunan, but from the perspective of precision in the narration, the hadith came in "Sahih Muslim" as exposing his thighs or his shins, but in some other books that I referred to earlier, including the book "Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar" by Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi and others, it came with the wording: exposing his thigh, which clarifies that it is valid to argue with it that the thigh, at least at that time, was not 'awrah.
Now, this story resembles the authentic report that the Prophet (peace be upon him) faced the qiblah while urinating or defecating. Just as the authentic report of his action (peace be upon him) was presented earlier... there is no need to repeat it; likewise, the story of Uthman ibn Affan with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this sermon, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , resembles the story of Uthman as it appears in "Sahih al-Bukhari." It resembles what Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his "Sahih" from Anas ibn Malik that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered Khaybar on his horse, he pulled his lower garment up from his thigh.
This is like that hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) uncovered his thigh; however, from the hadith perspective, it is not upon Muslim... he narrated it with the wording: "the lower garment slipped down." Al-Bukhari's wording is: "he pulled the lower garment up," while Muslim's wording is: "the lower garment slipped down." Consequently, doubt enters into the argumentation based on al-Bukhari's narration, which on its surface indicates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intentionally uncovered his thigh. If the narration were agreed upon by all...The Shaykh : ...it would be possible to say that the hadith indicates that the thigh is not an 'awrah. But since it came in Muslim's narration with the wording "slipped down," this wording does not mean that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intentionally uncovered his thigh. However, arguing with this hadith that he (peace be upon him) intentionally uncovered his thigh... and what strengthens Muslim's narration is that at the end of the story, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered on his horse demanding [something] from the Jews while at war. A warrior in this state cannot be concerned with the neatness of his garment when his thigh is exposed, because he is engaged in something more important. Therefore, no person is held accountable when his garment falls off unintentionally. So, if it is assumed that the Messenger (peace be upon him) intended to uncover his thigh in this hadith, the answer to this hadith and to the hadith of Uthman with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the second principle mentioned in the previous discussion: when speech and action conflict, speech is given precedence over action. His (peace be upon him) uncovering of his thigh conflicts with his saying: . If two principles conflict, and if the prohibitive and the permissive conflict, the prohibitive is given precedence over the permissive. So regarding the thigh, his (peace be upon him) saying: is prohibitive, and his uncovering in the first story and his uncovering in the other story, if it is true that he intended it, is an action that contradicts the speech. Therefore, speech is given precedence over action, and the speech is prohibitive, and the prohibitive is given precedence over the permissive, which is the action.
This is how hadiths that may appear to have some conflict between them should be treated. If the methods of reconciling them are applied, the difficulty is resolved in many cases... where some hadiths involve an action and a speech that conflict, the speech is given precedence over the action, especially if the speech is prohibitive and the action is permissive.
Other than that?