the relief from bodily discomfort. This is an apt meaning, by way of recalling one thing through another. (1)
Some scholars have said: He asks Allah for His forgiveness because he has been prevented from remembering Him while in the lavatory; thus, he asks Allah to forgive him for that period in which he did not remember Allah. (2)
This view is open to question, because he was prevented from remembering Allah by Allah’s command. If that is so, he has not exposed himself to punishment; rather, he has exposed himself to reward. For this reason, a menstruating woman neither prays nor fasts, and when she becomes purified, it is not recommended for her to seek Allah’s forgiveness for having left prayer and fasting during the days of her menstruation. No one has said this, nor is there any sunnah to this effect.
The correct view is the first.
“Praise be to Allah, who has removed the harm from me and granted me well-being.”
His statement, “Praise be to Allah, who has removed the harm from me and granted me well-being”: “the harm” means that which harms me, namely urine and feces. “And granted me well-being” means: by preserving me from their retention, which could lead to illness or death. The hadith reported concerning this is weak. (3)