Question

I need to construct a toilet and sink in a very small washroom. In order to be able to do wudu in that washroom, I will need to install the toilet in such a way that the person will end up facing the qibla or have their back towards it. If I don't do this, I won't be able to have a sink for wudu. Please could you advise what I can do?

Answer

While attending the toilet, to face the direction of qiblah or to have one’s back towards it is prohibitively disliked (makruh e tahrimi) because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

‘When you relieve yourself, do not face the qiblah nor have your back towards it, but face towards the east or the west’ [Muslim].

As a result, to construct the toilet in such a direction is not permitted.

It is stated Bahar e Shari’ah with reference to Radd al-Muhtar:

At the time of urinating or defecating or while cleaning [after attending the toilet], neither should the face be towards qiblah nor should the back. This ruling is general; be it in one’s home or in a field. If one unintentionally sat down facing the qiblah or with one’s back towards it, then upon remembering, change your position immediately, for there is hope that he will be forgiven immediately.

It is in Fatawa Ridawiyyah:

While defecating or urinating, it is neither permissible to face the qiblah nor have your back towards the revered direction of qiblah. [4/601 & 608]

As a result, you should construct the toilet in such a way that when a person sits, neither his face nor his back is towards the qiblah. This will have to be done at the expense of placing a sink for wudu. You can always do wudu elsewhere in the house and Allah knows best.

Muhammad Kalim
21 Ramadan 1438

Verified by Mufti Zahid Hussain al-Qadiri

Question

I have a question on whether or not nail polish is permissible, and the reason due to it. Also, I had heard that the reason it may not be permitted is because when performing wudu, the water cannot penetrate through the nail polish to reach the nails, however, there has been a nail polish created which allows the penetration of water through the nail polish to the nails so the wudu is able to be completed. Jazakallah khair

Answer

If the nail polish or nail varnish contains alcohol - a liquid substance capable of intoxicating - then it is impure. To apply a substance to the body that contains impure and forbidden substances is Haram.

“The favoured and preferred stance is that every droplet of toddy etc. and other intoxicant liquids are similar to alcohol; Haram and impermissible. Not only Haram, but in fact categorically a major impurity [najasat e ghaliza], just like urine. This is the relied upon stance and the stance upon which the Fatwa is issued.” [Fatawa Ridawiyyah: 25:108]

If the nail polish does not contain anything Haram, then it is permissible to apply it, but it must not be visible or shown in front of ghayr maharim, as it is impermissible for women to reveal their adornment in front of ghayr maharim.

"And not to reveal their adornment except to their own husbands"[Qur’an 24:31]

If the nail polish – provided it is free from any impure and Haram substance – covers the nails in such a way that water cannot penetrate through it when performing wudu or ghusl, then such nail polish must be removed before performing wudu or ghusl, otherwise the wudu and ghusl will remain incomplete. However, if the nail polish is free from any impure substances and it allows water to penetrate through the nail polish, then such types of nail polishes do not have to be removed when performing wudu and ghusl and Allah knows best

Muhammad Kalim
24th Ramadan Sharif

The answer is correct and Allah knows best.

Zahid Hussain Al-Qadiri
(Beggar at the doorstep of Scholars)
8th Shawwaal 1436 AH