went over to a piece of wood set upright in the mosque, leaned upon it, and interlaced his fingers (1).

As for cracking the fingers, one should refrain from it if one fears that it will distract those around him in the mosque.

“And that one be resisting the urge to urinate, or in the presence of food one desires, …”

His statement, “And that one be resisting the urge to urinate,” means that it is disliked for a person to pray while needing to urinate. The term refers to one who needs to urinate, because the Prophet ﷺ forbade praying when food is present and one desires it, or while one is resisting the two natural urges (2).

The wisdom behind this is that it causes physical harm. Retaining urine that is ready to be discharged harms the bladder and the nerves that hold back the urine. When the bladder becomes distended by the fluid retained in it, the nerves—being delicate nerves—may become relaxed; or they may contract excessively and overlap one another, leaving a person unable to pass urine, as sometimes happens.

It also harms the prayer itself, for one who is resisting the urge to urinate cannot focus his heart on the prayer he is performing, since he is preoccupied with resisting this impurity. The same applies if he is resisting the urge to defecate. Such a person is called ḥāqib: one who is holding back stool. Thus, it is disliked for him to pray while holding back and resisting the urge to defecate, for the same reason given regarding one who needs to urinate. Likewise, if one is holding back wind, it is disliked for him to pray while resisting it.