Encyclopedia of Prophetic Hadiths

"When you go to a place to relieve yourselves, do not face or turn your back to the Qiblah (prayer direction); rather, turn towards the east or the west." Abu Ayyūb said: We came to the Levant and found lavatories built in the direction of the Qiblah, so, we used to divert ourselves and ask forgiveness from Allah Almighty.

"None of you should hold his penis with his right hand while urinating, nor wipe himself after answering the call of nature using his right hand, nor breathe into the vessel."

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say before entering the bathroom: "Allāhumma inni a‘ūdhu bika min al-khubuth wa al-khabā’ith (O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the male and female devils)."

When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came out of the privy, he would say: 'Ghufrānak' (Your forgiveness).

"When any of you performs ablution, let him sniff water in his nose and then blow it out. Whoever cleans his private parts with stones, let him do so with an odd number of stones. Whoever wakes up from his sleep, let him wash his hand before putting it in the water container of ablution, for none of you knows where his hand was during his sleep." The wording of Muslim reads: "Whoever wakes up from his sleep, let him not put his hand in the water container until he washes it three times, for he does not know where his hand was during his sleep."

When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) entered the privy, a servant and I used to carry a waterskin and a pointed staff, and he would cleanse himself with water.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade making Istinjā’ (purification after answering the call of nature) with dung or bones, and said: "They do not purify."

The polytheists said to us: I see that your companion teaches you everything, even how to relieve yourselves. He said: Yes, indeed. He forbade us from using our right hand for cleaning ourselves, or facing the Qiblah (direction of prayer), and he prohibited us from using dung and bones, and said: "None of you should clean himself with less than three stones."