Entering and Leaving the Bathroom

There is an adab to entering the bathroom itself: the proper supplication is read, and the threshold is crossed with the left foot. The words are written up, in beautiful calligraphy, near the toilet door in many a Muslim house — Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika mina al-khubthi wa-l-khabāʾith, "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the male and female devils, of the jinn kind" — and yet they are read closely only on the very first day; after that the eye grows used to the sight, and stops seeing it at all.

The jinn kind see what is unseen to us; we do not see them. One of the most amusing moments for them — the happiest, funniest moment for the shayṭān kind especially — comes when private parts are exposed to them: they begin laughing, and go on laughing. The moment the supplication is recited, though, their eyes are completely veiled; they cannot see, they cannot look. So that chance is not given to them — the bathroom is their favourite haunt, and the young among the jinn especially favour it, which is why the supplication is never to be skipped. This is a matter of belief: whoever does not believe it may go and think what he likes, but the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) taught it, and it is held to.

Entry, then, is made with the left foot and the supplication; sitting follows, leaning toward the left — no standing, no use of a hose. Even the manner of sitting in the toilet is something the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) taught. Everything is done gently, letting the body relax — māshāʾAllāh, al-ḥamdu li-llāh, such a great niʿmah — and once the waste is discharged completely and the body regains its ease, the exit is made with the right foot, and thanks are given: ghufrānak — O Allah, forgive me my shortcomings — al-ḥamdu li-llāhi alladhī adhhaba ʿannī al-adhā wa ʿāfānī — and praise be to Allah (swt) who has taken this toxic waste out of me and restored my health to me. Thanks are due to Allah for it. This too, in its own right, is an act of worship.