Permissible to Urinate Standing in Necessity

📖Sunan al-Tirmidhī 13
Hudhayfah reported: The Prophet ﷺ came to a waste area used by people and he urinated over it while standing. I brought him water for ablution and then left him to his privacy. The Prophet called me until I was behind him and he performed ablution, wiping over his leather socks.

This hadith demonstrates that in certain situations, urinating while standing is permissible in Islam. The Prophet ﷺ did so in a public waste area that was commonly used by people, indicating that sometimes necessity allows flexibility. It was not a private home or secluded place, but a practical solution when no proper facility was available.

Limitation:
Standing to urinate is not the default practice. Other hadith emphasize that urinating while sitting is preferred to ensure cleanliness and reduce splashing. For example:

📖Sunan al-Tirmidhī 12
Whoever narrated to you that the Prophet ﷺ would urinate while standing; then do not believe him. He would not urinate except while squatting.” [Narrations also from Umar, Buraidah, and Abdur-Rahman bin Hasanah]

This hadith emphasizes that the Prophet ﷺ primarily urinated while sitting, making it the Sunnah and preferred method. The wording “would not urinate except while squatting” indicates what he normally did, not an absolute prohibition of standing.

• Standing to urinate is permissible only in cases of necessity, such as in public areas without privacy, as shown in other hadith.

• Some may try to use Sunan al-Tirmidhī 13 (Hudhayfah reported the Prophet ﷺ urinated standing in a waste area) to claim that urinating standing is Sunnah. However, Sunan al-Tirmidhī 12 clarifies:

  “Whoever narrates that the Prophet ﷺ would urinate while standing, do not believe him. He would not urinate except while squatting.”

  • The Prophet ﷺ always urinated sitting as the normal, clean, and modest practice.

  • Standing was only done in exceptional situations, such as in a public waste area, which was a large place like a market or busy area – not at home or in a mosque.

  • Using the hadith to claim that standing is the Sunnah is incorrect. The standing instance was purely due to necessity, not a general rule.

📖Quran 2:185
Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship.

This verse establishes a general principle: in matters of worship, daily life, or necessities, Allah allows flexibility when strict rules would cause hardship. So, if someone must urinate while standing due to health, safety, or practicality, it is permissible under this principle of ease and necessity.