بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم Islamic Manners The Manners of Attending Assemblies Part 2 (5/2/2017) The most noble assemblies with Allah are the Assemblies of Knowledge. We should follow the manners of attending these assemblies in order to attain the full reward of our attendance, beginning with having a pure intention to the manners of sitting and listening attentively. We are in the presence of Angels, and what offends humans offends the Angels as well. Take care of your hygiene and the way you sit. When the companions sat with the Prophet ﷺ they sat as if birds were perched on their heads; not moving at all. - To Spread out and Make Room in the Gathering أتفسح في المجالس 6) for Others. Allah says in Surah Al-Mujadilah [59:11]: "O you who believe! When you are told to make room in the assemblies, (spread out and) make room. Allah will give you (ample) room (from His Mercy). And when you are told to rise up [for prayers, Jihad (holy fighting in Allah's Cause), or for any other good deed], rise up. Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who
have been granted knowledge. And Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do." "يفسح هللا لكم" <- "فافسحوا" Allah did not specify where He will give you ample room. He will give you ample room from His Mercy, in this Dunya, in your Grave, on the Day of Judgement, etc. Allah promised and we believe that Allah will fulfill His promise. "و إذا قيل لكم انشزوا فانشزوا " This is to rise up for a need; such as rising up to give space for people to walk. If you do that, what will happen? "يرفع هللا الذين ءامنوا منكم والذين أوتو العلم درجات" If you rise up and give room to people, it indicates the merit of the knowledge and faith you have, and Allah will raise you in degrees in Paradise. Those who believe and have knowledge know this manner. 7) It is not Permissible to Seperate between Two People without their Permission. The Prophet ﷺ said: ال ي ح ل ل لر ج ل أ ن ي ف ر ق ب ي ن اث ن ي ن إ ال ب إ ذ ن ه م ا "It is not lawful for a man to seperate two people except with their Permission" [At-Tirmithi] 8) Sit where there is Room When you enter, do not cause difficulty for yourself or others, trying to sit in the front while there is no room for you. You should sit where there is room near to where you enter.
ع ن ج اب ر ب ن س م ر ة ق ال ك ن ا إ ذ ا أ ت ي ن ا الن ب ي صلى هللا عليه وسلم ج ل س أ ح د ن ا ح ي ث ي ن ت ه ي Jabir Ibn Samurah رضي هللا عنه said, "Whenever we went to the Prophet,ﷺ we would sit down wherever we stopped" [At-Tirmithi #2725] 9) The Prohibition of Two Speaking Privately at the Exclusion of the Third The Shaytan is keen to raise doubts and suspicion in the hearts of the people and cause enmity. Do not help the Shaytan against your brother or sister. If you are four, you can talk secretly with one, because the other one has the other person to talk to. ع ن ع ب د ا لل ب ن د ين ار ق ال ك ن ت أ ن ا و ع ب د ا لل ب ن ع م ر ع ن د د ار خ ال د ب ن ع ق ب ة ال ت ي ب الس و ق ف ج اء ر ج ل ي ر يد أ ن ي ن اج ي ه و ل ي س م ع ع ب د ا لل ب ن ع م ر أ ح د غ ي ر ي و غ ي ر الر ج ل ال ذ ي ي ر يد أ ن ي ن اج ي ه ف د ع ا ع ب د ا لل ب ن ع م ر ر ج ال آخ ر ح ت ى ك ن ا أ ر ب ع ة ف ق ال ل ي و ل لر ج ل ال ذ ي د ع ا " ال ي ت ن اج ى اث ن ان د و ن اس ت أ خ ر ا ش ي ئ ا ف إ ن ي س م ع ت ر س ول ا لل صلى هللا عليه وسلم ي ق ول و اح د Abdullah ibn Dinar said, "Abdullah ibn Umar and I were at the house of Khalid ibn Uqba who was away at the market. A man came who wanted to speak to Abdullah ibn Umar and I was the only other person present Abdullah ibn Umar called another man so that we were four and said to me and the man whom he had called, 'Go a little way off together, because I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Two do not converse secretly to the exclusion of another.' "' [Muwatta of Imam Malik] 10) The Prohibition of Listening to the Conversation of Others without their Permission The Prophet ﷺ said: "...و م ن اس ت م ع ي ام ة..." إ ل ى ح د ي ث ق و م و ه م ل ه ك ار ه و ن أ و ي ف ر و ن م ن ه ص ب أ ذ ن ه ف ي اآلن ك ي و م ال ق
"...and if somebody listens to the talk of some people who do not like him (to listen) or they run away from him, then molten lead will be poured into his ears on the Day of Resurrection;" [Al- Bukhari #7042] There is a restriction: " هم له كارهون أو يفرون "و - When people hate for him to listen to them or they run away from him. This is a Major Sin, because there is a punishment stipulated for this action. If the person is talking loudly where everyone can hear him, or does not mind you listening to him, then this Hadith does not apply. It only applies when a person is talking and does not want anyone to listen, and you try your best to try and listen. 11) Prohibited Sitting Postures If you are sitting on the ground, you are prohibited from putting your left hand behind your back and leaning on it. Many people do this after prayer, and it is forbidden, as it is the way of the sitting of those whom Allah's anger is upon. 'Amr b. al-sharid quoted his father al-sharid b. Suwaid as saying: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came upon me when I was sitting thus: having my left hand behind my back and leaning on the fleshy part of it, and said: Are you sitting in the manner of those with whom Allah is angry?" [Sunan Abi Dawoud #4848] It is permissible to lean on your right hand behind your back or both hands. It is also prohibited for a person to sit whilst half his body is under a shade and half his body is exposed to the sun. Narrated Abu Hurayrah: AbulQasim (ﷺ) said: When one of you is in the sun--makhlad's version has "shade'"--and the shadow
withdraws from him so that he is partly in sun and partly in shade, he should get up." [Sunan Abi Dawud #4821] Note: أبا القاسم refers to the Prophet,ﷺ and it is out of manners with him that we do not call ourselves with his nickname. In a Hadith: ع ن أ ن س ق ا ل ك ا ن ر س و ل ا لل صلى هللا عليه وسلم ب ال ب ق ي ع ف ن اد ى ر ج ل ر ج ال ي ا أ ب ا ال ق اس م ف ال ت ف ت إ ل ي ه ر س و ل ا لل صلى هللا عليه وسلم ف ق ا ل إ ن ي ل م أ ع ن ك. ف ق ال ر س و ل ا لل صلى هللا عليه وسلم " ت س م و ا ب اس م ي و ال ت ك ت ن وا ب ك ن ي ت ي " It was narrated that Anas said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in Baqi', and a man called out to another man: 'O Abul-Qasim!' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned to him, and he said: 'I didn't mean you.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'Call yourselves by my name but do not call yourselves by my Kunyah.'" [Sunan Ibn Majah #3737] In another narration: ع ن اب ن ب ر ي د ة ع ن أ ب يه أ ن الن ب ي صلى هللا عليه وسلم ن ه ى أ ن ي ق ع د ب ي ن الظ ل و الش م س It was narrated from Ibn Buraidah, from his father, that the Prophet ﷺ forbade sitting between the shade and sun. [Ibn Majah] 12) The Prohibition of Laughing Too Much ﷺ Excessive laughter causes death of the heart, as the Prophet mentioned in a Hadith: ال ت ك ث ر وا الض ح ك ف إ ن ك ث ر ة الض ح ك ت م يت ال ق ل ب Do not laugh a lot, for laughing a lot deadens the heart. [Ibn Majah] There is no harm in laughing a little, but not excessively and all the time, turning the assembly into a joke - especially during assemblies
where we are talking about Allah and the Prophet.ﷺ We should respect these assemblies. 13) The Dislikeness of Burping in the Presence of People A man once burped in the presence of the Prophet,ﷺ and he said: ك ف ج ش اء ك ع ن ا ف إ ن أ ط و ل ك م ج وع ا ي و م ال ق ي ام ة أ ك ث ر ك م ش ب ع ا ف ي د ار الد ن ي ا "Withhold your burps from us! For the most hungry of you on the Day of Resurrection will be those who most ate their fill in this world" [Sunan Ibn Majah] 14) It is Recommended to conclude Assemblies with the following Supplication The Prophet ﷺ said: من جلس في مجلس فكثر فيه لغطه فقال قبل أن يقوم من مجلسه ذلك: سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن ال إله إال أنت أستغفرك وأتوب إليك إال غفر له ما كان في مجلسه ذلك "Whoever sits in a gathering and indulges in useless talk and before getting up supplicates: 'Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, ashhadu an la ilaha illa Anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilaika (O Allah, You are free from every imperfection; praise be to You. I testify that there is no true god except You; I ask Your Pardon and turn to You in repentance),' he will be forgiven for (the sins he may have intentionally or unintentionally committed) in that assembly." [At- Tirmithi] This can be said even after concluding assemblies of good, because of another narration: ع ن ع ب د ا لل ب ن ع م ر و ب ن ال ع اص أ ن ه ق ال ك ل م ات ال ي ت ك ل م ب ه ن أ ح د ف ي م ج ل س ه ع ن د ق ي ام ه ث ال ث م ر ات إ ال ك ف ر ب ه ن ع ن ه و ال ي ق ول ه ن ف ي م ج ل س خ ي ر و م ج ل س ذ ك ر إ ال خ ت م ل ه ب ه ن ع ل ي ه ك م ا ي خ ت م ب ال خ ات م ع ل ى الص ح يف ة س ب ح ان ك الل ه م و ب ح م د ك ال إ ل ه إ ال أ ن ت أ س ت غ ف ر ك و أ ت و ب إ ل ي ك.
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'as: There are some expressions which a man utters three times when he gets up from an assembly he will be forgiven for what happened in the assembly; and no one utters them in an assembly held for a noble cause or for remembrance of Allah but that is stamped with them just as a document is stamped with a signet-ring. These expressions are: Glory be to Thee, O Allah, and I begin with praise of Thee, there is no god but thou; I ask Thy pardon, and return to Thee in repentance. [Abu Dawoud] As-Sindi said, "This means that the good that occurred in the assembly will be kept for him until the Day of Judgement, and will be raised for Allah to accept, and it will secure him from destruction" **This refers to vain talk, not backbiting. When you backbite, you have transgressed against the person, and you should ask forgiveness from them. If they are not there anymore, then supplicate for them in their absence.