Prohibition of Spitting to the Right: Evidences and Reasons
Excerpt taken from Sheikh Muhammad Munir Qamar’s book Ahkam al-Masajid
◈ Prohibition of Spitting to the Right
After the Ahadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the statements of the Muhaddithin regarding the prohibition of spitting facing the Qiblah, it is not appropriate to remain in any wishful thinking or self-deception; rather, attention must be paid to it. This pertains to the greatness, reverence, and respect of the Qiblah, the Kaʿbah, and Baytullah. Alongside this, it is also appropriate to mention that the Prophet ﷺ forbade spitting to the right side as well, because the right side has superiority and honor over the left. Thus, in Sahihayn, Sunan al-Arbaʿah, and Musnad Ahmad, it is narrated from Umm al-Muʾminin ʿAʾishah (RA):
كان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يعجبه التيمن فى تنعله وترجله وطهوره فى شأنه كله
(Bukhari 1/269, 523; Muslim with Nawawi 3/2/160–161; Sahih Abi Dawud 3487; Sahih Tirmidhi 498; Sahih Nasa’i 4684; Ibn Majah 401; Sharh al-Nasāʾi 216; Sahih al-Jamiʿ 4918)
The Prophet ﷺ loved to begin with the right side in wearing shoes, combing hair, performing purification, and in all matters.
Therefore, he ﷺ preferred the right hand, right foot, and right side in eating and drinking, bathing, wearing clothes, taking and giving things, entering the mosque, making tasbih, lying down—in short, in all affairs—and he instructed his Ummah likewise.
As for clearing the nose and istinjaʾ, he would give precedence to the left hand, and when entering the toilet and exiting the mosque, he would give precedence to the left foot. The reason is clear: the honor given to the right hand and foot is not befitting for these acts; therefore, they were designated for the left. The evidences for all such right/left-related acts are present in the Hadith books; detailing them here is outside the scope of this topic.
✿ Evidences for the Prohibition
Wherever the prohibition of spitting facing the Qiblah appears in the Sahih, Sunan, Muʿjams, and Masanid, the prohibition of spitting to the right is also mentioned. Some narrations are specific to Salah and the mosque, while others are absolute (without that restriction). Since those Ahadith have already been cited, there is no need to repeat them; instead, some explanatory notes from the commentators and a few athar of the Companions are presented:
➊ In the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah (RA) and Abu Saʿid (RA) (Sahihayn), and the Bukhari Hadith from Anas (RA) in which it is said:
لا يتفلن أحدكم بين يديه ولا عن يمينه ولكن عن يساره أو تحت رجله
(Bukhari with Fath 1/510)
“None of you should spit before him nor to his right, but to his left or under his foot.”
Commenting on these two Ahadith, Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RH) wrote:
ليس فيها تقييد ذلك بحالة الصلاة
(Fath al-Bari 1/510)
“There is no restriction here to the state of Salah.”
➋ Similarly, Badr al-Din al-ʿAyni (RH) wrote in ʿUmdat al-Qari:
ثم هذا الحديث غير مقيد بحالة الصلاة
(ʿUmdat al-Qari 2/4/152)
“This Hadith is not restricted to the state of Salah.”
He also wrote on the next page: وليس فيه بالصلاة — “There is no stipulation of Salah in it.”
These clarifications show that the prohibition of spitting to the right in these two Ahadith is absolute, not contingent on Salah. These narrations are also found in the Sunan, Masanid, and Muʿjams besides Sahih Bukhari and Muslim.
➌ Imam Nawawi (RH) declared spitting to the right to be categorically prohibited, whether during Salah or outside Salah, and whether inside the mosque or outside.
(Sharh Nawawi 5/39/3; Fath al-Bari 1/510)
➍ Imam al-Sanʿani (RH) wrote in Subul al-Salam:
ومثل البصاق إلى القبلة البصاق عن اليمين فإنه منهي عنه مطلقا أيضا
(Subul al-Salam 1/149/1)
“Just as spitting toward the Qiblah is prohibited, spitting to the right is also absolutely prohibited.”
He then cited supporting Ahadith and athar first collected by Ibn Hajar (RH) in Fath al-Bari, then by al-ʿAyni, al-Sanʿani, and al-Shawkani in Nayl al-Awtar. Among them:
- Athar 1: In Musannaf ʿAbd al-Razzaq and other sources, regarding ʿAbdullah ibn Masʿud (RA):
أنه كره أن ينصق عن يمينه وليس فى الصلاة
(Fath al-Bari 1/510; ʿUmdat al-Qari 2/4/152; Subul al-Salam 1/149/1; Nayl al-Awtar 1/2/141)
“He disliked spitting to the right, even when not in Salah.” - Athar 2: From Muʿadh ibn Jabal (RA):
ما بصقت عن يميني منذ أسلمت
“Since I embraced Islam, I have never spat to my right.” - Athar 3: About ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz (RH):
إنه نهى ابنه عنه مطلقا
“He forbade his son from it absolutely.”
✿ Reasons for the Prohibition
① The prohibition of spitting facing the Qiblah is due to respect for the Qiblah.
② The prohibition of spitting to the right is due to the Prophet’s ﷺ love for al-tayammum (preference for the right side) in actions, as mentioned earlier.
③ Another reason: On a person’s right side is the angel who records good deeds. As in Sahih Bukhari, from Abu Hurayrah (RA), alongside the prohibition of spitting to the right:
فإن عن يمينه ملكا
(Bukhari 1/512)
“For indeed, to his right is an angel.”
✿ Objections and Their Answers
❶ First Objection/Question
If the angel on the right is intended (the scribe of good deeds), why is only the right side specified when there is also an angel on the left?
- First Answer: Some early scholars said the right-side angel is specified for a special reason—but this is critiqued, since the left-side angel is also an angel, even if tasked with writing bad deeds. (Fath al-Bari 1/513)
- Second Answer: Some later scholars said Salah is the greatest physical act of worship (Umm al-Hasanāt al-Badaniyyah), thus during Salah the angel who records bad deeds has no role. A mوقوف report in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah from Hudhayfah (RA) supports this:
فإن عن يمينه كاتب الحسنات
However, al-ʿAyni (RH) noted this is still open to critique, as the left-side angel remains present even if not writing during Salah. (ʿUmdat al-Qari 2/4/155) - Third Answer (Preferred): In al-Tabarani, from Abu Umamah (RA):
فإنه يقوم بين يدي الله وملكه عن يمينه وقرينه عن يساره
The worshipper stands before Allah; the angel is to his right, and the qarin (devil) to his left. Thus, spitting to the right harms the angel, while spitting to the left falls upon the qarin; and perhaps the left-side angel is positioned so as to be safe from it—or during Salah, he too shifts to the right. Al-ʿAyni (RH) regarded this third answer as the best.
(Fath al-Bari; Subul al-Salam 1/151; ʿUmdat al-Qari 2/4/155)
Outside Salah, the reason remains that the right side is honored and beloved to the Prophet ﷺ; hence, spitting to that side is prohibited.
❷ Second Objection/Question (by the Muʿtazilah)
They argued from the expressions:
إن ربه بينه وبين القبلة (Bukhari from Anas 1/508)
فإن الله قبل وجهه (Muslim with Nawawi 9/18/136–137; Sahih Abi Dawud 454; Sahih Targhib 1/116)
فإنما يستقبل ربه (Sahih Abi Dawud 455)
فإن الله عز وجل بين أيديكم (Sahih Targhib 1/115)
to claim that Allah is physically present everywhere.
- Answer: This is a proof of their ignorance. If, as they claim, Allah were physically in every place, then spitting to the left or under one’s feet would also be prohibited—whereas the same Ahadith permit those directions in specific contexts. These narrations do not negate Allah’s being over the Throne (مستوي على العرش). Rather, they convey that wherever a servant faces, he is before Allah—a meaning easy to understand with the analogy of a circle whose radial lines face the circumference at every point. Allah encompasses all; thus all creation is, as it were, before Him. Hence, these objections are invalid, and the prohibition of spitting toward the Qiblah remains due to respect for the Qiblah.
For detail, see Ibn Taymiyyah’s works (al-Hamawiyyah, al-Wasitiyyah), Fath al-Bari (1/508), the notes of Shaykh Ibn Baz (RH) supporting Allah’s being over the Throne, and Shaykh al-Albani (RH) in Sahih al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib (vol. 1, p. 116). Imam al-Khattabi (RH) said these expressions may be elliptical, meaning Allah’s greatness/reward is before him; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (RH) said the wording is metaphorical for the honor of the Kaʿbah. (Fath al-Bari 1/508)
❸ Third Objection/Question
Some narrations say: do not spit toward the Qiblah or to the right, but to the left or under the foot. Does this imply spitting in the mosque (which is impermissible)?
- Answer: Imam Nawawi (RH) explained: the prohibition of spitting toward the Qiblah or to the right is general (inside/outside the mosque). Spitting to the left or under the foot pertains to the outside of the mosque. Thus, if one must spit while in the mosque, he should spit into his garment, as mentioned in the Ahadith.
Spitting in the mosque is a sin, as in Sahihayn, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, from Anas (RA):
البصاق فى المسجد خطيئة
(Bukhari 1/511; Muslim with Nawawi 5/3/41; Sahih Abi Dawud 449–450; Sahih Tirmidhi 468; Sahih Nasa’i 698; Sahih al-Jamiʿ 2886; Sahih Targhib 1/117)
“Spitting in the mosque is a sin.”
And: وكفارتها دفنها — “Its expiation is to bury it.” This applies where the floor is sand/earth/gravel. If the floor is solid (tiles/carpets), one should remove it outside and clean the spot. Imam Nawawi detailed this, and Ibn Hajar wrote that if the surface is solid or carpeted, spit into one’s garment; if none, then swallowing is preferable to committing a prohibited act.
(Fath al-Bari 1/511–512; Sharh Muslim 5/3/41; Nayl al-Awtar 2/1/341–342; Subul al-Salam 1/1/150–151)
Summary: Never spit in the mosque. If unavoidable, spit into your garment; if not possible, swallowing is preferable; and if one ends up spitting, clean it afterward. Ibn Hajar (RH) praised this detailed distinction. (Fath al-Bari 1/513; Nayl al-Awtar 2/1/341)
In practice, spitting during Salah inside mosques is rare today; however, people commonly, out of ignorance, spit facing the Qiblah or to the right in everyday situations—warning against this is our primary purpose.
✿ Acceptance of Good Deeds, Forgiveness of Sins
Islam is complete and easy; its rulings align with human nature. No ruling exceeds human capacity, as in Surah al-Baqarah’s last verse:
﴿لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا﴾
Hence, commands like avoiding spitting toward the Qiblah or to the right are simple if one is not negligent. A believer is expected to be cautious, though mistakes may occur—ʿismah belongs to Allah alone, and by His grace to His Prophets. Besides the Prophets, no group (Sahabah, Tabiʿin, Imams, Awliya) is infallible. Allah grants us means of forgiveness, even good deeds erase sins, as in Surah Hud (11:114):
﴿أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ ۚ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّاكِرِينَ﴾
Details abound in virtues of wudu, five prayers, ʿumrah, Ramadan, ʿArafah and ʿAshura fasts, Jumuʿah, Hajj, and salam/musafahah.
✿ Oversights Excused
Sins done intentionally are one thing; those done unintentionally, under compulsion, or without awareness incur no blame. A statement widely cited as Hadith says:
رفع عن أمتي الخطأ والنسيان
“My Ummah has been excused for error and forgetfulness.”
While one chain is weak, the sound meaning is established in Sunan Ibn Majah and Bayhaqi from Ibn ʿAbbas (RA):
إن الله وضع عن أمتي الخطأ والنسيان وما استكرهوا عليه
(Sahih Ibn Hibban 7/348; also Irwāʾ, Talkhis al-Habir 1/281; Mishkat 3/771; Nasb al-Rayah 2/660–664; 3/233)
Also from Abu Dharr (RA):
إن الله تجاوز عن أمتي الخطأ والنسيان وما استكرهوا عليه
(Sahih Ibn Majah 1/347; Mishkat)
There are multiple routes; many scholars graded it hasan/sahih, and al-Albani (RH) authenticated it (Irwāʾ al-Ghalil 1/124). A supporting proof is the Sahih Muslim narration of the dua:
﴿رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا﴾ and Allah said: قد فعلت.
(Muslim with Nawawi 1/846/2)
Conclusion: Oversights are excused; spitting toward the Qiblah is prohibited—intentional violation incurs blame as per the warnings; if it occurs unintentionally, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. For detailed discussion, see Ibn Rajab’s Jamiʿ al-ʿUlum wa al-Hikam (pp. 352–356) and al-Fiqi’s al-Nisyan wa Atharahu fi al-Ahkam al-Sharʿiyyah.
