In one of the rooms we pray, and the restroom, may Allah keep you safe, and my brothers the listeners, is in front of us, i.e., in the direction of the qiblah?

The questioner : In one of the rooms we pray, and the restroom, may Allah keep you safe, and my brothers the listeners, is in front of us, i.e., in the direction of the qiblah?

The Shaykh : Praying in this situation or in this manner, as the questioner stated, is permissible, meaning it is valid and not invalidated, if the bathroom is in front of the one praying, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): However, there may be a foul smell in the bathroom that affects the one praying and distracts him, so if he avoids facing it for this reason, that is better, because anything that distracts the one praying, he should stay away from it. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he prayed one day with a carpet that had tassels, and he looked at its tassels, and when he finished his prayer he said: Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) looked at it, and this caused distraction in the prayer, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that this carpet be given to Abu Jahm and that Abu Jahm’s carpet be taken. It is derived from this hadith that anything that distracts the one praying from the completion of his prayer and occupies him, he should avoid it.