If a man forgets the basmalah when entering the bathroom and remembers it while performing wudu in the bathroom, is it permissible for him to invoke the name of Allah, and does the supplication upon entering the bathroom take the place of the basmalah?

The questioner : If a man forgets the basmalah when entering the bathroom and remembers it while performing wudu in the bathroom, is it permissible for him to invoke the name of Allah? And does the supplication upon entering the bathroom take the place of the basmalah?

The Shaykh : The supplication upon entering the bathroom does not take the place of the basmalah. However, he should say when he intends to enter the place of relief: “In the name of Allah, I seek refuge in Allah from the male and female evil ones”. And if he limits himself to saying: “I seek refuge in Allah from the male and female evil ones”, that is sufficient. As for inside the bathroom, if he intends to perform wudu, let him invoke the name of Allah, even if he is inside the bathroom, and there is no blame on him for that, because the basmalah is not Qur'an, but rather it is one of the types of dhikr. And if he invokes it with his heart without his tongue, that is good. And if he leaves off the invocation with his tongue and his heart, there is no blame on him.

The questioner : May Allah reward you. The questioner says.