He usually urinated sitting down, so much so that ʿĀ’ishah said: “If anyone tells you that he used to urinate standing up, do not believe him. He only ever urinated sitting down.” (1) Yet Muslim narrated in his authentic collection (2), from Hudhayfah, that he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—urinated standing up. Some said that this demonstrated its permissibility; others said that he did so because of pain behind his knee; and others said that he did it as a remedy. Al-Shāfiʿī said: “The Arabs seek relief from back pain by urinating standing up.” (3)
The correct explanation is that he did so solely to keep himself clean and avoid being splashed with urine. He did this when he came to some people’s rubbish heap—a place where sweepings are discarded, also called a refuse dump. Such a heap forms a raised mound, so if a man urinated there sitting down, his urine would splash back onto him. He—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—used it as a screen, placing it between himself and the wall, so he had no choice but to urinate standing up. And Allah knows best.
Al-Tirmidhī also related (4) that ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb said: “The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—saw me while I was urinating
(1) Reported by Ahmad (25040), al-Tirmidhī (12), al-Nasā’ī in al-Mujtabā (29) and al-Kubrā (25), Ibn Mājah (307), Ibn Hibbān (1430), and al-Hākim (1:181, 185), who graded it authentic. Al-Tirmidhī said: “The hadith of ‘Ā’isha is the best and most authentic report on this subject.” See al-Silsila al-Sahīha (201).
(2) No. 273. Also reported by al-Bukhārī (224).
(3) Quoted by al-Bayhaqī in al-Sunan al-Kubrā (1:101), who said: “Al-Shāfi‘ī—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—mentioned it in equivalent terms.” See Ma‘rifat al-Sunan (1:341). It is also attributed to Ahmad in al-Fath (1:330).
(4) Following hadith no. 12. The same report was transmitted by ‘Abd al-Razzāq (15924)—and through him by Ibn Mājah (308) and Abū ‘Awāna (5899)—from Ibn Jurayj, from ‘Abd al-Karīm ibn Abī al-Mukhāriq, from Nāfi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, from ‘Umar. Ibn Hibbān (1423) also transmitted it through another route from Ibn Jurayj, from Nāfi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar. However, Ibn Jurayj did not hear it from Nāfi‘; rather, he heard it from ‘Abd al-Karīm ibn Abī al-Mukhāriq. Al-Albānī said in al-Sahīha (1:200): “As for the prohibition of urinating standing up, no hadith concerning it is authentic, such as the hadith: ‘Do not urinate standing up’; see al-Da‘īfa (938).