Day 23 - Muslim Boys Must Pee Sitting Down

Interesting facts: Yes, you heard me correctly.... Muslim men and boys should pee sitting down (if at all possible).

Surah ‎001 : 1.019A : One may not urinate while standing.

If a person can guarantee that no impurities will touch his clothes, it is permissible to urinate while standing. Aishah (the favorite wife of Muhammad) said, "If someone relates to you that the Messenger of Allah (her husband, Muhammad) urinated while standing, do not believe him. He only urinated while sitting."

However, as my friend Rachel points out, one should not forget that what Aishah said is based on the knowledge that she had - since Muhammad had somewhere between 4 and 13 wives, according to different accounts. If he was truly treating them all equally, as the Quran commands, then he only spent maybe 2-5 days with her a month.

However, a follower of Muhammad, Huzhaifah relates that the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, went to a public garbage dump and urinated while standing. Huzhaifah went away, and the Prophet then called him over. The Prophet made ablution and wiped over his shoes.

These are important issues in Islam, a religion that says something about every single aspect of your life. To be safe, Islamic men and boys prefer to urinate while sitting, that way they avoid even the possibility that they may cause themselves to be unclean.

Speaking of unclean, the Wudu or ceremonial washing must be performed mutliple times a day - after sleeping deeply, so first thing in the morning before prayer at around 6:24am. Then, it must be performed again if there is any secretion of blood, urine, feces, semen, or even gas before the next prayer time. With prayer five times per day, it is no wonder that Muslim people are very clean all day!

The washing ceremony, which I was taught by some Muslim friends, involves washing first the right hand three times, then the left. Then your mouth is washed out three times. Inhale water into your nostrils three times (without swallowing). Then, you wash your face completely including your eyeballs, only once. After that, wash your arms from wrist to elbow, three times, right side first. Then wet your hair, from front to back and back to front, then your ears. One time each. Lastly, wash your feet (right side first, as always) three times to the ankle.

Now, you are ready to pray! This washing can be done in less than two minutes by someone who is efficient, but it takes me more than five minutes each time.... More interesting customs to come!