86 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that “whenever the Prophet ﷺ came out from relieving himself he would say, ‘Ghufrānaka’ (I seek Your forgiveness).” Recorded by the Five, and declared sound by Abū Ḥātim and al-Ḥākim. (1)

– Grade of the hadith:
The report is ṣaḥīḥ. It was collected by the Five and judged authentic by Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī, al-Ḥākim, Ibn Khuzaymah (1/48), Ibn Ḥibbān (4/291), Ibn al-Jārūd (2/23), as well as by al-Nawawī and al-Dhahabī.

– Vocabulary:
• al-ghāʾiṭ: al-Qurṭubī explains that the word originally denoted a low-lying spot of land. The Arabs would seek out such depressions to relieve themselves, hiding from people’s sight. By association the term later came to refer to the very act or place of defecation; the usage is conventional rather than literal.
• ghufrānaka: a verbal noun, analogous to shukrān (gratitude). The root gh-f-r conveys covering together with protection; from it comes mighfar, the helmet that shields the head in battle. One of Allah’s Beautiful Names is al-Ghafūr, the All-Forgiving, i.e., the One who conceals sins. In the phrase at hand the word is in the accusative, functioning as the object of an omitted verb—“I ask You for Your forgiveness.” Thus the servant beseeches his Lord to veil and pardon his sins and faults.

– Points derived from the hadith:
1 – It is recommended to say “ghufrānaka” after relieving oneself and upon leaving the spot where one answered the call of nature, the proof for recommendation being that no evidence has reached us beyond the mere