Home » Hanafi Fiqh » Qibla.com » Facing the Qibla in the Toilet? 

Facing the Qibla in the Toilet? 

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

I understand it is Makruh to face/have one’s back towards the qiblah while urinating or defecating (or both). For this purpose, does one need to avoid the “exact direction” of the Qiblah only ?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Walaikum assalam,

In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Imam ` Ala ‘ al-Din al-Haskafi said in his Durr al-Mukhtar, commenting on al-Tumurtashi’s Tanwir al-Absar: [note: for clarity of translation, I have translated the text and commentary as one, for flow]

“It is also prohibitively disliked to face or give one’s back to the qibla [A: that is, its direction] in order to urinate or defecate. As for cleaning one’s private parts it is not [A: prohibitively] disliked to do so. This is true even in buildings, because the prohibition is not conditioned. If one sits facing the qibla, forgetfully, and then remembers, it is recommended to turn away if possible, because of the hadith related by al-Tabari, “Whoever sits to urinate facing the qibla and then, realizing this, turns away in exaltation for it shall not leave except with his sins being forgiving.” However, if it is not possible to turn away, there is nothing wrong with it.”

[A = gloss taken from Ibn Abidin’s supercommentary, Radd al-Muhtar, on the Durr al-Mukhtar]

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam ,
Faraz Rabbani

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.

Read answers with similar topics: