Chapters on the Etiquette of Relieving Oneself. It is not permissible to face the qibla in open space for relieving oneself, according to the opinion of most of the people of knowledge, due to what Abū Ayyūb narrated, saying: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: When one of you goes to relieve himself, do not face the qibla nor turn your back to it, but face east or west. Abū Ayyūb said: We came to al-Shām and found toilets that had been built facing the Kaʿba, so we would turn away from them and seek forgiveness from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Agreed upon. And for Muslim, from Abū Hurayra, from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): When one of you sits for his need, do not face the qibla nor turn your back to it. ʿUrwa, Rabīʿa, and Dāwūd said: It is permissible to face it or turn one's back to it, due to what Jābir narrated, saying: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) forbade us from facing the qibla while urinating, then I saw him a year before he passed away facing it. Al-Tirmidhī said: This is a ḥasan gharīb hadith. This is evidence for abrogation, so it is necessary to prioritize it.
(9) Omitted from the original. (10) Recorded by al-Bukhari in: The Chapter on Not Facing the Qibla While Defecating or Urinating Except When Inside a Building, from the Book of Purification, and in: The Chapter on the Qibla of the People of Medina, the People of al-Sham, and the East—There is no Qibla in the East or the West, from the Book of Prayer. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/48, 109. Also by Muslim in: The Chapter on Purifying Oneself, from the Book of Purification. Sahih Muslim 1/224. Abu Dawud in: The Chapter on the Dislike of Facing the Qibla While Relieving Oneself, from the Book of Purification. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/3. Al-Tirmidhi in: The Chapter on the Prohibition of Facing the Qibla While Defecating or Urinating, from the Chapters of Purification. Aridat al-Ahwadhi 1/23. Al-Nasa'i in: The Chapter on the Prohibition of Facing the Qibla While Relieving Oneself, and The Chapter on the Prohibition of Turning One's Back to the Qibla While Relieving Oneself, from the Book of Purification. Al-Mujtaba 1/23, 24. Ibn Majah in: The Chapter on the Prohibition of Facing the Qibla While Defecating or Urinating, from the Book of Purification. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/115. And Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 5/421. (11) In: The Chapter on Purifying Oneself, from the Book of Purification. Sahih Muslim 1/224. (12) Abu Abd Allah Urwah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, one of the Tabi'in jurists in Medina, died in the year ninety-four. Tabaqat al-Fuqaha by al-Shirazi 58, 59. (13) In M: "ibn Rabi'ah" is an error. (14) Recorded by Abu Dawud in: The Chapter on the Concession for Facing the Qibla While Relieving Oneself, from the Book of Purification. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/3. Al-Tirmidhi in: The Chapter on the Concession for Facing the Qibla While Defecating or Urinating, from the Book of Purification. Aridat al-Ahwadhi 1/26. Ibn Majah in: The Chapter on the Concession for Facing the Qibla in a Toilet, and its Permissibility [Inside Buildings] Rather Than in Open Fields, from the Book of Purification. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/117.
