If one enters the bathroom he enters with the left leg first and says,
“In the Name of Allah (bismillah), Oh Allah, indeed, I seek refuge with You from the unclean and the filth.”[1]
When he exits, [he exits] with his right and says,
“You forgive (ghufraanak). All praise to Allah, Who kept from me the harmful and pardoned me from the harm.”[2]
When sitting down, he should lean on his left leg and raise his right leg; shield himself with a wall or something similar and stay away from open spaces. It is not permissible to relieve oneself on the roadways, the streets, place where people sit, underneath fruit bearing trees, or anyplace that can cause people harm. He should not face toward the Qiblah nor place his backside towards it while relieving himself. He (s) said,
“When you go to relieve yourselves, do not face towards the Qiblah, nor turn your backs towards it, whether you are urinating or defecating; rather face towards the east or the west.”[3]
After relieving himself, if he wipes with three stones or something similar, or cleaned the area and purified himself with water, then that is enough. It is sufficient to restrict to one of them only. He should not wipe himself with dung, manure, animal droppings, or bones. The Prophet (s) prevented us from using such things, therefore it is forbidden.
It is sufficient to wash the impurities of the body and the clothing, [such as] stains and something similar until the contaminated area vanishes. This is because the legislation does not stipulate the number of washing for removing the impurity, except for the impurity of a dog. [For the impurity of a dog] it is stipluated that the washing of the contaminated area occur seven times, with one of them being with dirt or dust.
The impure things are: natural [menstrual] blood, urine, and blood. One is pardon for the blood that flows continuously, as this is an exception. For example the blood that is shed from an edible animal, without staying in the meat or the veins, is pure. From the impure is the urine and feces of every animal whose consumption is forbidden, thus every carnivorous animal is impure. Also, the dead [are impure], except the blood of the dead and any dead person who not longer retains any fluids in him. Fish, shrimp, crayfish, locust, grasshoppers are pure. Allah say,
“Forbidden for you are dead animals and blood.” (Al Ma’idah: 3)
The Messenger of Allah said,
“The believer is pure alive or dead.”[4]
He (s) also said,
“Permissible for you are the two dead and the two bloods; as for the two dead they are fish and locust; as for the two bloods they are the liver and spleen.”[5]
As for the feces and urine of animals whose consumption is permissible, it is clean. As for semen it is clean because the Prophet would clean off the sticky semen and scratch off the dried semen left on his clothing with his finger. Regarding the urine of a male toddler, who cannot consume solid foods, it is enough to sprinkle water on the [affected] area as he (s) said,
“Wash the urine of an infant girl and sprinkle water on the urine of an infant boy.”[6]
When the impure area decrease, it becomes clean and if the color or smell stays there is no harm. Likewise, the Prophet said to Khawlah bint Yasaar regarding menstruation blood,
“Water is sufficient for you and there is no harm in the [remaining] stain.”
[1] Related from ‘Anas. Bukhārī: 142, 5963; Muslim: 375.
[2] His (s) saying, “ghufraanak” is authentically reported and what comes after is not. Ghufraanak is reported by Abū Dāwūd: 30; al-Tirmidhī: 7; ibn Mājah: 300; Aḥmad: 6/155.
[3] Muslim: 264, Bukhārī: 144
[4] Al-Haakim in Mustadrak no. 1422. Saheeh without the statement “alive or dead”
[5] Ibn Mājah: 3314, and Ahmad: 2/97; it is sahīh.
[6] Abū Dāwūd: 376, al-Nisā’i: 305, ibn Mājah: 526, ibn Khuzaymah: 283, al-Ṭabārī: 22/384, al-Ḥākim: 589, and al-Bayhaqī: 2/415.
Islamic Etiquette 