And anyone entering a bathhouse must cover his private parts and not allow anyone to look at or touch them, whether the attendant washing him or anyone else. Nor should he look at or touch anyone else’s private parts unless there is a need, such as medical treatment or the like; that is a different matter. He must enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong to the extent that he can, as the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“Whoever among you sees something wrong, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot, then with his tongue. If he cannot, then with his heart—and that is the weakest level of faith.”

He should therefore instruct people to cover their private parts. If he cannot do so, but can remain somewhere he will not witness wrongdoing, he should do that, for witnessing wrongdoing without need or compulsion is forbidden.

He must not be wasteful in pouring water, for this is forbidden in general. In a bathhouse, it is also forbidden out of regard for the bathhouse keeper’s rights, since the water there is his property and has monetary value.

He must adhere to the Sunnah in his purification, neither being lax like the Christians nor going to excess like the Jews, as those afflicted with obsessive doubts do. Rather, bathhouse pools are pure unless they are known to be impure, whether or not they are overflowing, whether or not a pipe is pouring water into them, whether or not the water has stood overnight, and whether or not people have used them to purify themselves.

If several people bathe using water from them, that is permissible. It is established through several chains of transmission in the two authentic hadith collections:

“The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his wife used to bathe from a single vessel with a capacity of