and no other noun is known to take this plural on the same pattern.

The words “two men” are mentioned only because that is the more common situation; in fact, the ruling covers any two—or more—human beings, male or female.

– fal-yatawār (“then let him screen himself”): this is the apodosis of the conditional. The prefixed faʾ links the answer to the condition, a link that is required because the apodosis cannot directly follow the conditional particle. The prefixed lām is the lām of command, and the verb is in the jussive, its final alif having been dropped; the fatḥah on the rāʾ signals the omitted alif.

– yatawārā: to hide oneself from people’s view.

– wa-lā yataḥaddathā (“and let them not converse”): the lā here is the prohibitive lā; it puts the verb in the jussive, marked by the omission of the final nūn.

– fa-inna Allāha: a causal clause, introduced to explain that the preceding ruling is because Allah …

– yamqutu (He loathes): yamqut-hu, yamqut-hu maqtan; the doer is maqīt, the object mamqūt. Maqt denotes the severest form of anger.

Points derived from the ḥadith
1 – The mention of two men is by way of predominance; the ruling nevertheless applies to both men and women, and for women it is even more serious and weighty.

2 – It is obligatory to conceal oneself when one wishes to relieve oneself; it is impermissible to do so in front of people in such a way that they see the private parts.

3 – It is forbidden to engage in conversation while relieving oneself in another’s presence, for that behavior shows baseness, lack of modesty, and loss of muruʾah (dignity). Al-Bukhārī narrated that Ibn ʿUmar reported that a man passed by the Prophet ﷺ and greeted him, but he did not return the greeting.

4 – The prohibition is taken from the fact that Allah loathes such conduct. Maqt (loathing) is harsher than mere dislike, and Allah only loathes evil deeds. Although the apparent sense of the ḥadith is prohibition, the majority of scholars hold that it conveys only karāhah (disapproval, not outright prohibition).

5 – The ḥadith affirms, in a manner befitting His Majesty, the attribute of bughḍ (hatred) for Allah Most High, without likening it to the attributes of the created and without distorting it by interpreting hatred as nothing more than punishment.

6 – With respect to the divine attributes one must follow the approach of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah; that is the safest path.