Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Is it allowed to face the Kaaba while urinating. What if the flat where one is staying has the toilet facing the kaaba. Is there some prohibition on facing the kaaba while releiving oneself. Please reply.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Facing the qibla while relieving

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.388 Narrated by Abu Aiyub Al Ansari

The Prophet said, "While defecating (or answering the call of nature), neither face nor turn your back to the Qibla but face either east or west." Abu Aiyub added. "When we arrived in Sham we came across some lavatories facing the Qibla; therefore we turned ourselves while using them and asked for Allah's forgiveness."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.146 Narrated by Abu Aiyub Al Ansari

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "If anyone of you goes to an open space for answering the call of nature he should neither face nor turn his back towards the Qibla

The Messenger of Allah (saws) strictly prohibited the believers from facing or turning their backs in the direction of the Qibla when answering the call of nature.

Your Question: What if the flat where one is staying has the toilet facing the kaaba.

If the house or flat where one stays has a toilet facing the ‘qibla’, then it would be closest to piety and obedience to get the direction of the toilet re-arranged.

If one is visiting a place like someone else’s house, or a hotel room, or a restaurant, etc., and realizes that the toilet faces the ‘qibla’, then one should try and strive to the best of their ability to turn themselves sideways away from direction of the ‘qibla’ and relieve themselves.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan