Etiquette of the Toilet
Recommended manners for entering and leaving the toilet
Core Principle
The toilet has recommended manners: naming and supplication, silence, refraining from singing, sitting when urinating, and entering with the left foot while leaving with the right
Why It Matters
The toilet is a place with recommended manners in purification: naming and supplication, silence, refraining from singing, sitting when urinating, and entering with the left foot while leaving with the right — and knowing and observing them is part of a Muslim's good manners
Lesson
The etiquette of the toilet (*ādāb al-khalāʾ*)
1. Naming and supplication: It is recommended (*yundab*) for a person to say the Basmala (*at-tasmiya*), and to say: "Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika min al-khubuthi wal-khabāʾith" — O Allah, I seek refuge in You from all offensive and impure things.
2. Silence: It is recommended to remain silent in the toilet.
3. Refraining from singing: One does not sing in the toilet.
4. Sitting when urinating: It is recommended for a man, when urinating, to sit; and the proof that standing is permitted is that he did so once standing.
5. Entering and leaving: It is recommended to enter the toilet with the left leg and to leave with the right — the opposite of the mosque.
Key Points
- 1
Naming and supplication are recommended when entering the toilet: 'O Allah, I seek refuge in You from all offensive and impure things'
- 2
Silence in the toilet is recommended
- 3
One does not sing in the toilet
- 4
A man is recommended to sit when urinating, while standing is permitted
- 5
It is recommended to enter the toilet with the left and leave with the right — the opposite of the mosque
Evidence
O Allah, I seek refuge with You from all offensive and impure things (al-khubuthi wal-khabāʾith).
Sahih al-Bukhari 142; Sahih Muslim 375(sahih)
Glossary
الخَلاء
al-khalāʾ
the place of relieving oneself; the toilet
التسمية
at-tasmiya
saying 'Bismillāh' (in the name of Allah)
يُندَب
yundab
a ruling meaning 'recommended' (not obligatory)
السكوت
as-sukūt
silence; refraining from speech in the toilet
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