Can I Pray in the Toilet out of Necessity?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

A friend of mine is working in a company where there is absolutely no room, etc. to pray. That is why he always makes up his missed prayers at home. Would it be allowed to pray on the toilet if he covers the closet and uses a clean carpet?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam rahmatullah,

Yes, it would be valid to pray in a toilet cubicle, yet highly undignified, disliked and wrong to do so without clear need.

The matter, however, would be different if the place in question was a multi-purpose bathroom. If so, praying therein would be far more excusable as long as (1) the area is clean from any filth, or the filth has been covered up, and (2) the area in which you are praying is clean. Note that the basis would be that the area is ritually pure and acceptable to pray on.

Generally, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) interdicted praying in places that contain filth because doing so doesn’t befit the tremendousness of the action of prayer that you are engaging in. [Tirmidhi, and others]

[Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah, with Tahtawi’s Gloss (1.482/484)]

Please also see: How Can I Pray on Time With My Very Busy Job and Very Long Hours? and: A Reader on Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)

And Allah Most High knows best.

wassalam,

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.