Likewise, when the food and drink we have consumed are emptied and expelled, we receive physical and tangible blessings, as well as blessings prescribed by the Sacred Law and pertaining to religion.

The tangible blessings include the fact that if this food or drink were retained in your body and not discharged, the inevitable outcome would be certain death. Yet, by Allah’s grace, it is expelled.

Likewise, if the gas that Allah Most High has created to open the passages before food and drink pass through them were retained—what would happen if those passages became blocked? The abdomen would swell and then rupture, and the person would die. The same applies to urine.

Thus, Allah has bestowed a blessing upon us in its discharge, and an even greater blessing in making that discharge easy. All praise is due to Allah. We ask Allah to grant us and you the lasting continuance of His blessings. Whenever you wish, you can retain it, and whenever you wish, you can release it. Who could open the passage so that urine may descend, were it not that Allah had made this easy? Moreover, you may urinate whenever you wish, even if the bladder is only a quarter full. That is, it is not something compulsory: you may hold it back even when it is full, yet you are able to endure it.

These are among Allah’s blessings. No one truly recognizes the magnitude of this blessing except one afflicted with incontinence or urinary retention. We ask Allah for safety and well-being.

Likewise, the other bodily waste involves immense blessings. Alongside these physical blessings, there are also religious blessings: upon entering, there is a prescribed remembrance that brings you nearer to Allah; and upon leaving, there is a prescribed remembrance that brings you nearer to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.

So reflect upon Allah’s blessings upon you: they are abundant, all-encompassing, and vast—religious and worldly alike. Through this, you come to know the truth of this verse. Allah Most High says: “And if you were to count