Back to search

Is it permissible to listen to non-religious English lessons while bathing or relieving oneself, in order to make use of time and ward off the whispers of Satan?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible to listen to English lessons while relieving oneself, and it is permissible to listen to the Quran and religious lectures for someone in the bathroom, provided that the recorder is outside the bathroom. Scholars have adduced as proof for its permissibility what was narrated from the grandfather of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Abd al-Salam, that he used to instruct his son to read to him while he was in the privy, in order to preserve time. However, it is preferable to avoid this to prevent prolonging the time spent relieving oneself when listening to something enjoyable.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy