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Have I heard correctly that your rules of modesty require men to crouch or squat to urinate? I am wondering if it would be more polite not to use the urinal in a men's room if someone who I believe is Muslim is nearby at the wash basin. I know that for women the modesty laws are a lot stricter than for most Western women, and I respect Islamic women very much for that. I also don't want to offend Muslims if there is some way I may be acting in an immodest way, unknowingly, around them. Thank you in advance for your answer and may the blessings of health and peace attend you.
Praise be to Allah.
First of all, we must thank you for your concern about the feelings of Muslims and your efforts to find out what may offend them so that you may avoid it. We are happy to provide you with a detailed answer to your question and more, in the hope that it may open the way to great good for you.
Among the signs of the greatness of the blessed Islamic Shari`ah is the fact that there is no good thing, major or minor, that it has not commanded us to do or pointed the way to it, and there is no bad thing, major or minor, that it has not warned us against or forbidden.
The Shari`ah is perfect and complete in all aspects, a fact which has often greatly astonished non-Muslims and earned their admiration.
At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)), one of the polytheists said to the Prophet’s Companion, Salman al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him),: Your Prophet has taught you everything, even how to defecate! Salman said: Yes, he forbade us to face the qiblah when urinating or defecating (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 16; he said it is a sahih hasan hadith; also reported in Sahih Muslim and elsewhere).
Islamic Shari`ah includes a number of rules and manners to be followed when answering the call of nature, including the following:
The Prophet’s wife, Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her), reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to use his right hand for eating, drinking, making wudu, getting dressed, and giving and taking things, and he used to use his left hand for other things. (Reported by Imam Ahmad; see also Sahih al-Jami’, 4912
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: When any one of you cleans himself, he should not use his right hand, he should use his left hand. (Reported by Ibn Majah, 308; see also Sahih al-Jami’, 322)
If a person is out in an open space and cannot find anything to conceal him when he needs to answer the call of nature, he should move far away from the other people around him, because al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah said: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on a journey, when he felt the need to answer the call of nature, so he went far away. (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 20; he said it is a sahih hasan hadith)
‘Abd-Allah ibn Abi Qurad said: I went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to an open space, and when he needed to answer the call of nature, he moved away. (Reported by al-Nasai, 16; see also Sahih al-Jami’, 4651)
If a person is in a (modern) toilet, he should not lift his garment until he has closed the door and is out of sight of other people.
With regard to this point and the one before, it is worth noting that the habit of many people in the West and elsewhere, of urinating in a standing position in front of other people in public toilets (using urinals) is something which goes against good manners, modesty and decency, and is repulsive to anyone who possesses sound common sense and wisdom. How can anybody uncover in front of other people the `awrah (private parts) which Allah has placed between his legs to conceal it and commanded him to cover it? The idea that it should be covered is well established among all wise and decent people of all races. It is wrong in principle to build restrooms of this shameful type, where the users can see one another, thus making them worse than some kinds of animals whose habit is to conceal themselves from one another when urinating or defecating.
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by two graves, and said: They are being punished, but they are not being punished for any major sin. One of them used not to protect himself (i.e. keep himself clean from) his urine, and the other used to walk about spreading malicious gossip. (Reported by al-Bukhari, 5592)
These are some of the rules and manners prescribed by the Shari`ah of Islam in this matter which is repeated many times a day by every person. If the Shari`ah has paid such minute attention to the details of such a mundane matter, what do you think it has to say about more important issues? Do you know of any other religion or system in the world that has brought laws like this? This is enough, by Allah, to prove its perfection and beauty, and the necessity of following it. We ask Allah to give us and you strength and to guide us all to the truth. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
For more, please see these answers: 161383 , 198463 , 286684 , 20620 , and 21895
And Allah knows best.