What is a muslim shower?
The Muslim shower — known in Arabic as the shattaf and in India as the health faucet — is the handheld water hose mounted next to the toilet across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. It's the most widely-used type of bidet on Earth by population.
Also called: shattaf, shataf, health faucet, bidet shower.
How it works
A flexible braided hose ends in a metal trigger sprayer, plumbed into the toilet's water supply with a dedicated shutoff. Squeeze the trigger, aim, and rinse. The hose mounts on a clip on the wall when not in use. Most ship with cold water only; some Gulf hotels heat it.
Where it's standard
Standard in essentially every hotel in the GCC (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain), Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and across Muslim Africa. Increasingly common in halal-friendly hotels in London, Paris, and other European capitals popular with Gulf travelers.
Hotels with a muslim shower
Bidet Baron is a crowdsourced atlas of traveler reports. Search by city to see which hotels travelers have confirmed have a muslim shower (or equivalent) in the room.
Frequently asked
What is a Muslim shower?
A Muslim shower (Arabic: shattaf) is the handheld water hose mounted next to the toilet, used for the ritual washing (istinja) that's standard practice in Muslim-majority countries. It's the same hardware as a Southeast Asian bum gun or a generic bidet sprayer.
Is a Muslim shower the same as a bidet?
Yes — it's a handheld bidet by another name. The function is identical: a flexible hose with a trigger sprayer, fed by the toilet supply line, used to rinse with water instead of (or in addition to) toilet paper.
Which hotels have a Muslim shower?
Nearly every hotel in the Gulf (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain), most of the Middle East, North Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Outside Muslim-majority countries, look for hotels that explicitly market themselves as halal-friendly.
What's the difference between a shattaf and a health faucet?
None functionally — 'shattaf' is the Arabic name and 'health faucet' is the Indian-English name for the same handheld sprayer. The terms are often used interchangeably across South Asia.
Do European hotels have Muslim showers?
Some, especially in London, Paris, Brussels, and Berlin where halal-friendly hotels cater to Gulf travelers. They're rare in mainstream Western European hotels — see our London guide for confirmed picks.
Other names around the world
Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines
The handheld sprayer mounted next to almost every toilet in Southeast Asia — informal slang, universally understood.
Japan (now exported worldwide)
Japan's electronic bidet seat — heated, with a warm-water rear and front wash, air dry, and (usually) a deodorizer.
Finland, Greece, Eastern Europe, Australia
Generic European name for the handheld bidet hose — same hardware as a shattaf or bum gun, different label.
United States & Canada (mostly DIY retrofits)
The North American name for a handheld bidet that clamps onto the toilet supply line — what most US hotels would have, if they had anything.
India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan
Indian-English for the wall-mounted jet or health faucet found in most Indian bathrooms — paired with a small water pot (lota) in older homes.