and wicked men are for wicked women.” [al-Nur 24:26] This is part of Allah’s wisdom.

Mosques are the houses of Allah and the abode of the angels, whereas latrines are the abode of devils. For this reason, when entering the place of relieving oneself, a person is prescribed to say, “I seek refuge in Allah from male and female devils.” (1) Such a vile place, which is the abode of vile beings, should not be a place for worshipping Allah. How could this be fitting when, in prayer, you say, “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed,” while you are in a place inhabited by devils?!

“And bathhouses and camel resting-places …”

His statement, “and a bathhouse”: everything to which the term bathhouse applies falls under this ruling. Even a place that contains no toilet, prayer in it is invalid, due to the hadith: “The entire earth is a place of prayer except for the graveyard and the bathhouse.” (2) This is also because a bathhouse is a place in which private parts are uncovered.

A bathhouse is a place for washing. They used to make bathhouses as public washing places, which people would come to in order to bathe; men and women would mix there, and private parts would be uncovered. What is meant is not a toilet. This is why the Sacred Law forbade praying in it. The apparent meaning of the hadith is that there is no difference between whether people are bathing in the bathhouse or it is empty: so long as it is called a bathhouse, prayer in it is invalid.

His statement, “and camel resting-places”: this is the plural of camel resting-place; it is also said that camel resting-places is the plural of camel resting-place. Camel resting-places have been explained in three ways (3):