and when he concluded the prayer he asked them, “Why did you remove your sandals?” They replied, “We saw you take off your sandals, so we took off ours.” He said, “Gabriel came to me and informed me that there was filth on them.” This shows that one must keep his clothing free of impurity.

2. As for the place (of prayer): the evidence is the incident of the Bedouin who came and urinated in a corner of the mosque—the Prophet’s Mosque, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Being a Bedouin—and Bedouins are often unfamiliar with such matters—the people shouted at him and tried to stop him. The Messenger of Allah, however, in his wisdom told them, “Leave him alone.” When the man had finished, the Prophet summoned him and said, “These mosques are not fit for any urine or filth; they are only for the remembrance of Allah, for prayer, and for the recitation of the Quran.”

The Bedouin then said, “O Allah, have mercy on me and Muhammad, and do not show mercy to anyone else with us,” because the Companions had rebuked him, whereas the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—had spoken to him gently. He thought that mercy was something narrow that could not include everyone and thus repeated, “O Allah, have mercy on me and Muhammad, and do not show mercy to anyone else with us.” It is reported that the Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—responded, “You have confined something vast, brother of the desert!” He then ordered that a bucketful of water be poured over the urine—roughly a pail’s worth—so that the ground would be cleansed.