He was asked about refraining from going to the bathhouse.

He replied:

Whoever refrains from going to the bathhouse because he has no need of it has done well. Whoever enters it while exposing the parts of his body that must be covered and looking at such parts of others, or wrongs the bathhouse keeper, is sinful and blameworthy. Whoever indulges in its comforts without need falls short and takes the less commendable course. Whoever refrains from going despite needing it, until dirt and lice become plentiful on his body, is ignorant and blameworthy.

He was asked about a layman who, when asked about going to the bathhouse, related a hadith from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and attributed it to Muslim’s book. Was this authentic or not?

He replied:

No one has reported, either in Muslim’s book or in any other collection of hadith, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade going to the bathhouse. Rather, what is reported in the Sunan collections is that he