How do we reconcile the hadith in which one of the Companions climbed onto the roof of a house and saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) facing away from the qiblah while relieving himself?

The questioner : Yes, I have two questions, O Shaykh. The first question: Is the hadith about one of the Companions climbing onto a house—climbing onto Zaynab’s house—and seeing the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) relieving himself while facing the qiblah, is this the hadith of Hafsa? Or is it the hadith in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited facing or turning one’s back to the qiblah? I mean, does this hadith negate the generality of the prohibition?

The Shaykh : No, no, there were two errors in your question. I corrected one, and the other remains, which is your saying “climbed.” What, is he a thief?

The questioner : I am forgetting the exact wording, but I intended the meaning.

The Shaykh : Do not justify your mistake. Cover your shame—(may Allah have mercy on him) laughed. The point is, he climbed onto the roof of Hafsa’s house, who was his sister, the daughter of 'Umar, the wife of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). His gaze accidentally fell upon the Messenger (peace be upon him) while he was relieving himself. This does not specify the generality of his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): It is not valid to specify the generality of this hadith, which is in his own wording (peace and blessings be upon him) and directed to every individual of his Ummah, by such an incident in which, first, the intention of the one climbing onto the roof to discover how the Messenger relieves himself is not apparent; this is impossible. Second, there is also nothing to indicate that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to contradict this hadith, even by way of clarification from the Shari'ah for the purpose of specification, as came in a denounced hadith. I say from the outset, a denounced hadith that is not valid. It is narrated in Sunan Abu Dawud and others from 'A'ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was informed that some people were disdainful of facing or turning their backs to the qiblah while urinating or defecating, so he (peace be upon him) said: This is one of the most denounced hadiths, with a weak chain. As for your hadith, it is valid, but what I mentioned earlier applies to it: First, the one climbing onto the roof did not intend to discover this private matter, as is usually the case. Second, there is also nothing to be taken from the fact that the Messenger (peace be upon him) intended it; otherwise, it would have been reported from him like the hadith of 'A'ishah; because these personal, domestic, private matters are not supposed to be apparent and clear, but rather supposed to be secret. If there is a legal ruling that contradicts the generality of his statement (peace be upon him): it requires the function of , that he clarify it to people with his tongue, not with his action, which cannot usually be observed. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, the narrator of this hadith is Abu Ayyub al-Ansari , who said: “When we came to Sham, we found the latrines facing the qiblah, so we seek forgiveness from Allah.” So the narrator of the hadith understands from the hadith that it remains in its generality and comprehensiveness regarding the prohibition of facing the qiblah while urinating or defecating, even in buildings, because latrines are in buildings in houses. Therefore, he said, “So we seek forgiveness from Allah.” This is second. And third and finally, in terms of narration.