Discussion on the ruling regarding facing or turning one's back to the qiblah while urinating or defecating.

The Shaykh : The questioner did not hear the question; they said that there is a hadith stating that the Messenger (peace be upon him) was informed that some of his Companions were scrupulous about turning their backs to the qiblah or facing it. Is the text about facing it or turning one's back to it?

The questioner : Facing it.

The Shaykh : Facing the qiblah while urinating or defecating. When that was reported to him (peace be upon him), he ordered that the seat used for relieving oneself be turned toward the qiblah, as if the issue was one of mockery and defiance. It is known that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said a general statement: , where he prohibited them from this. When it was reported to him, he cited the weak hadith. This hadith is in "al-Sahihayn" (the two authentic collections), his statement (peace be upon him): . This hadith is in "al-Bukhari" and "Muslim" among the authentic hadiths, narrated by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari came to Sham and found the latrines there facing the qiblah, so he said: "We relieve ourselves in them and seek forgiveness from Allah." This means that this narrator understood the hadith in its absolute sense, and that there is no difference, as the Shafi'i school says, that what is prohibited is only in the desert, while in buildings there is no harm. No, this distinction has no evidence. One of the proofs for this is that the narrator of the hadith, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who is more knowledgeable about his narration than others, understood the hadith in its generality. He used to say that these houses in Sham, even though the Muslims did not build them and he was compelled to relieve himself in them, he would do so and seek forgiveness from Allah. If it is claimed that there is no harm in buildings, why seek forgiveness? Rather, seeking forgiveness means that the sanctity of the Ka'bah must be observed in buildings and outside of buildings. This is the stronger position and the Hanafi school. And there are two proofs for this, one transmitted and one rational.
As for the transmitted evidence, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and this is a point I would like to draw our brothers' attention to; it is that many people do not remember Allah; they do not say, "There is no god but Allah"; they do not remember Allah even when spitting. Allah said: "Those who remember Allah much." Ah, who are they?

The questioner : .

The Shaykh: , the scholars of exegesis have spoken about this verse: , do you think there is a specific number that a person must recite in a day and night to be among those who remember Allah much, or among the women who remember Allah much? There are differences of opinion on this, but there is no explicit text. However, I say that the first thing this Qur'anic text includes is the man who follows the application of the Shari'ah in every matter, small or large. This includes what I am currently discussing: when you spit, at that moment you must remember the Shari'ah of Allah in your mind and say that the Shari'ah has forbidden me from spitting toward the qiblah, and my qiblah is here; so I do not spit in this direction. The Shari'ah has forbidden me from spitting to my right, so I do not spit to my right; so I spit to my left, under my foot. This is one who remembers Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But do you know of such a person who remembers Allah in this way? Very few indeed. You know the dhikr involving dancing and jumping and so on, but as for this kind of dhikr, the great scholars are unaware of it; so what can we say about all the people?
The point is: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Do you think this text is specific to buildings or outside buildings, or is it absolute? It is absolute, as you see. Likewise, the previous hadith: . It is also a general text; it did not say buildings and non-buildings. If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibits the Muslim from directing his spit toward the qiblah, does he not prohibit him, a fortiori, from directing his urine or feces toward the qiblah, both of which are dirtier and uglier than spit? There is no doubt that this is more deserving of prohibition. This is what I referred to when I said from the aspect of transmission.
As for the rational aspect, the Muslim is commanded to respect the Ka'bah, the qiblah to which we turn in our prayer and supplication. There is no doubt that the Muslim when praying in a building is commanded to face the qiblah. And there is no doubt that this building does not prevent him from facing the qiblah; that is, when he turns to the Ka'bah in his prayer, he is honoring and preserving the sanctity of the Ka'bah, even if there is this long, wide building between him and it. The opposite is the opposite: if you respected the Ka'bah in facing it in prayer, even with these walls between you and it, you must also respect the Ka'bah by not directing your urine, feces, or spit toward the qiblah on the excuse that "I am in a building," because this building did not prevent you from respecting the Ka'bah. This is the rational point. Therefore, if we know this reality, how can it be conceivable that this hadith is authentic, stating that the Messenger (peace be upon him) was informed that people were scrupulous and ashamed to face the qiblah with urine or feces, and then the Messenger (peace be upon him) would mock them by saying to his family: "Turn the seat you sit on to face the qiblah toward the qiblah!" This is not conceivable! He is the one who commanded us with these etiquettes that we mentioned. So the hadith is denounced in both chain and text.