Chapter: The prohibition of urinating—and similar acts—in still water.

1772 – Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade urinating in still water. Reported by Muslim.

[Explanation]

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—states in his book Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn: “Chapter on the prohibition of defecating in people’s pathways, their shade, or anything of that sort.” The term taghawwuṭ (defecation) means expelling feces from the anus, and urination is treated the same. Therefore it is not permissible for a person to urinate or defecate on people’s pathways, in their shade—that is, in the spots where they seek shelter from the sun—as well as in the sunny areas they favor during winter, or in the places where they sit. Doing so harms the believers, and Allah the Exalted says: “Those who harm believing men and believing women for no cause of their own have burdened themselves with slander and a manifest sin” (33:58).

Harm may be inflicted by words—such as taunting, rebuking, or insulting—or by actions, such as urinating or defecating in someone’s pathway or anything similar. His phrase “for no cause of their own” means: except when the harmed persons were themselves the cause of what befell them—namely, when they brought that harm upon themselves; in such a case, their offense rebounds upon them. He then mentioned the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “Beware …”