PURIFICATION SECTION · 15 – URINATING IN THE PLACE OF WASHING
27 – From ʿAbdullāh ibn Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Let none of you urinate in the place where he performs ghusl, and then wash himself there. For most of the doubts (waswasa) come from that.” Aḥmad said: Then he performs ablution there; indeed, most of the doubts (waswasa) come from that. [48]
EXPLANATION
The word mustaḥam in the text of the hadith means hot water. Since the bathhouse is made with hot water (ḥamīm), the places for ghusl are given this name. Urinating in the places for ghusl leaves a person with waswasa (obsessive doubts). This is because the idea that urine has splashed onto oneself settles in the mind. This becomes a psychological state for the person. In the end, he cannot free himself from waswasa. He washes, but with the thought that he is not clean, he washes again. The word “thumma” in the hadith, if used for emphasis and astonishment, means: how can one of you urinate in the place where he performs ghusl, and then perform ghusl or ablution there? Even if there is a drain in the bathroom at home, urinating there is still problematic in meaning.
28 – It is narrated from Ḥumayd al-Ḥimyari (may Allah be pleased with him): He said: – I met a person who had kept company with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as Abū Hurayra did. That person said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade any of us from combing his hair every day or from urinating in the place where he washes himself. [49]
EXPLANATION
A person who has hair and beard combs himself every day and does not appear before his fellow believers in a strange manner. Those who constantly comb themselves, change their clothes every day, and apply makeup every hour do so not for cleanliness but for show and arrogance. Thus, the frequent combing that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade is the kind of combing that leads to boastfulness and serves ostentation.