The remembrance of Allah when relieving oneself and in bathrooms.

The Shaykh : We can visualize the bathroom as two meters by two meters, with a toilet in one corner. So when a person comes to relieve himself in the toilet, speaking and recitation are prohibited here, I mean recitation. But if he enters the bathroom just to wash his hands, for example, or if he has finished relieving himself, that situation ends and he finds himself in another situation. It is permissible for the Muslim to recite and to remember Allah. Suppose the washing area where he intends to perform ablution is several cubits away from the toilet. He gets up from relieving himself to perform ablution, says "Bismillah," and walks while performing ablution, saying, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah." All of this is permissible, there is nothing wrong with it, because the prohibition intended is regarding the remembrance of Allah in the state of relieving oneself, not in the state of approaching it or moving away from it. For it is well known from the Sunnah that toilets did not exist, and they used euphemisms for toilets, as came in the hadith of the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that the privies were not in the houses at that time, so the women would go out to the desert. And that is why the place was called al-gha'it (the place of defecation) because they intended a low-lying spot. So whenever the one intending to relieve himself walks outside, when does the remembrance and recitation end? It ends when he directly begins to remove his clothes and sits to defecate. This is how we must look at the issue regarding bathrooms today, and this has confused many people. There is a toilet here and a washing area here. There is absolutely no problem with this.

The questioner : I mean, in the state of exposing the 'awrah, it is in the exposing of his 'awrah when relieving himself. Because of this, when he finishes and covers his 'awrah, it is permissible for him to remember Allah.

The Shaykh : We have no obstacle for you, my brothers, please proceed.

The questioner : There is space there.

The Shaykh : O Professor al-Banna, whoever initiates a good sunnah, he has its reward. Please, our brothers, move forward, brothers, move forward and relax, please, make a row for yourself.


The questioner : In exposing the 'awrah, does entering a place other than the bathroom to relieve oneself fall under this meaning?

The Shaykh : The 'awrah, only when relieving oneself, and it is necessary to specify the details.

The questioner : Only when relieving oneself.

The Shaykh : Yes.