• It is permissible to use the utensils of non-Muslims, for it is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ performed ablution from the water-skin of a polytheist woman (narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim). Jābir said, “We used to campaign with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and we would come across the vessels and water-skins of the idolaters, make use of them, and he never took us to task for that.” (D 2/148; Aḥmad 3/379, with a good chain).

However, when the people in question are known to eat pork openly, it is not lawful to use their utensils unless no alternative is available; in that case the vessels must first be washed. Abū Thaʿlabah al-Khushanī said, “O Prophet of Allah, we live in a land of the People of the Book, and they eat pork and drink wine. What should we do with their bowls and cooking pots?” He replied, “If you can find nothing else, rinse them, then cook in them and drink from them.” (Aḥmad 4/194; Muslim 1/143 — sound according to both of them. It has another route in D 2/148 with a weak chain.)

5 – Relieving Oneself

The supplication upon entering and leaving
Whenever he entered the privy the Prophet ﷺ would say, “Allāh, I seek refuge with You from filth and noxious beings.” (Agreed upon.) The command to do so is established in Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, al-Ṭayālisī, Aḥmad, and Muslim, so one should give it due attention. When he came out he would say, “Your forgiveness.” (Narrated by the five except al-Nasāʾī; this is the most authentic wording — ʿIlal 1/43.)

While travelling, he would not relieve himself until he was out of sight (Ibn Mājah, Abū Dāwūd), and at times he would go nearly two miles away (Yaʿlā, al-Ṭabarānī).

For cover he would sometimes shelter behind a ṣadaf — any raised feature such as a wall, a sand-dune, or a hill — and at other times behind dense clumps of date-palms; the ḥāʾish is a cluster of palms so closely intertwined that it forms a continuous screen.