He said: “And what of His words, ‘Monasteries, churches, salawāt (prayers), and mosques would have been demolished’—when prayers cannot be demolished?”

The answer is: It has been said that salawāt is a name for Jewish houses of worship. They call them salawāt after what is performed in them, as in similar instances. He used the word salawāt to designate places only in conjunction with His words, “would have been demolished.” Demolition applies only to places, so it is in conjunction with this wording that He used it to designate places.

He said: “And what of His words, ‘or one of you comes from al-ghā’it (the low ground)’?”

We answer: In the Quran, the word al-ghā’it is used in its linguistic sense: a low-lying piece of ground. People used to frequent low-lying places for that purpose; this is al-ghā’it. Likewise, a privy is called khalā’ (an empty place) because someone relieving himself seeks out an unoccupied spot, and mirhād (a place for washing) because of rahd (washing) with water, and so forth. Coming from the low ground is an expression for relieving oneself, since a person ordinarily comes from such a place only after relieving himself. The expression thus acquired a literal meaning through customary usage and, when used without qualification, is understood to mean defecation. They may also call what comes out of a person ghā’it, naming what occupies a place after the place itself, as in the expression, “The gutter ran.” Another example is the statement of Ā’ishah: “Tell your spouses to wash the traces of excrement off themselves.”

His words, “or one of you comes from the low ground,” do not use the expression in a sense other than its own. Rather, coming from the low ground implies defecation, so He alluded to that meaning through an expression denoting the act