Part 23

10) The Sitting Posture That Is Prohibited

There are certain modes of sitting that are prohibited, either because of the posture or because of the place in which you are sitting. As for the former, you may not sit down with your left hand behind your back, while you are leaning on the flesh adjacent to the thumb of your right hand. And as for the latter, it is forbidden for you to sit, with part of you under the sun and a part of you under some shade. Both prohibitions are based on the Sunnah of the Prophet 2%. Ash-Shareed Ibn As-Suwaid # said,

“The Messenger of Allah #% passed by me while I was seated thus: I had placed my left hand behind my back, and I was leaning on the Aaliyah (the flesh that is at the root of one’s thumb) of my hand. Then he # said,

“Do you sit in the position of those that have incurred [the] wrath fof Allah] upon them.)

And as for the other prohibition, Abu Hurairah 4 related that the Prophet # said,

eth 3 S4ef SE bp “If one of you is under the sun (Mukhallid said, “‘in the shade’)

and then the shade diminishes around him, so that a part of him is under the sun and a part of him is in the shade, he must stand up.) And in the narration of Ahmad, “He must move from his seat.) In another narration, Buraidah said that the Prophet #8 prohibited [us] from sitting between the shade and the sun] The reason behind the prohibition is that the Shaitaan sits in that manner; more than one Companion 4s related that the Prophet #% forbade a person from sitting between the sun and the shade; about sitting in that manner, he # said,

compilations that Jaabir Ibn ‘Abdullah # related that the said,

{1 Related by Ahmad (18960) and Abu Daawood (4848), and Al-Albaanee ruled that it is authentic.

81 Related by Ahmad (8753)

41 Related by Ibn Maajah (3790), and Al-Albaanee said, “sahih (3014).”

Chapter - 7 The Etiquettes Of Gatherings 147

“Let no one from you lie down and then place one of his legs over the other.’”"1]

Also, in both Bukhaaree and Muslim, ‘Abaad Ibn Tameem related that his uncle saw the Prophet # lying down in the Masjid, with one of his legs raised over the other.”! The two narrations are apparently in conflict with one another, so how is harmony achieved between them?

Answer: Some scholars say that the Prophet's action abrogated the prior prohibition; however, Ibn Hajr refuted this view, saying that the mere likelihood of abrogation in an issue is not sufficient proof to establish abrogation; which is to say that, in the first place, we must know which of the two conflicting narrations occurred first in time.

An-Nawawee, as well as others, gave an explanation that brings harmony between the two narrations. He said, “It is possible that the Prophet’s action was meant to indicate the permissibility of the said action. In so many words, he # said, if you want to lie down, you may lie down like this; and the position of lying down that I had forbade is not categorically forbidden; rather, the prohibition is limited to one who, by lying down in that position, exposes or is on the verge of exposing a private areas of his body. And Allah 3¢ knows best.’””

1 Related by Muslim (2099), Ahmad (13766), and At-Tirmidhee (2767).

"I Related by Bukhaaree (5969), Muslim (2100), Ahmad (15995), AtTirmidhee (2765), An-Nassaaee (721), Abu Daawood (4866), Maalik (418), and Ad-Daarimee (2656). The wording mentioned above is from Bukhaaree’s narration of the hadith.

is certain that no private area of his body wil! become exposed. And Allah 4 knows best.

11) The Prohibition Of Laughing Too Much

People show neither honor nor good Islamic etiquette when their gathering is dominated by laughter. Small doses of laughter energize as well as relax the soul; much laughter, however, is like a disease that destroys the heart. Abu Hurairah related that the Messenger of Allah # said,

“Do not laugh too much, for much laughter kills the heart.)

12) It Is Disliked To Belch In The Presence Of Others

Ibn ‘Umar said, “A man belched while he was in the company of the Prophet #%, and the Prophet #% said,

wich get Bei cl g us asi bp “Hold back from us your belching, for the one who is most filled

(in his stomach) among you in the world will be hungry for the longest period among you on the Day of Resurrection.’

13) It Is Recommended To Conclude Gatherings With The ‘Atonement Of A Gathering’ Invocation

Man being weak, Shaitaan strives constantly to lead him astray. One way he does so is to tempt Muslims to speak falsehood in their gatherings. But since Allah 4¢ is Most Merciful to His slaves, He 4¢ has legislated, through the instruction of their Prophet #, certain words they can say to atone for any wrong they may have spoken in a given gathering. Abu Hurairah # reported that the Prophet #% said,

{I Related by Ibn Maajah (4193), and Al-Albaanee ruled that it is authentic

'2] Related by At-Tirmidhee (2478), who said, “This hadith is Hasan Ghareeb.” Ibn Maajah also related it (3350), and Al-Albaanee ruled that it is Hasan (3413); and Al-Baghawee related it in Sharhus-Sunnah (4049).

chapter - 7 The Etiquettes Of Gatherings 149

“Whoever sits in a gathering, in which there was much clamor and noise (people speaking simultaneously out loud, so that, to an outsider, only the sound of clamor is heard), and says before he stands, ‘How perfect You are, O our Lord, and I praise You. None has the right to be worshipped except You, | seek Your forgiveness and turn in repentance to You,’ then Allah forgives

him for what occurred in that gathering.”

\nd this is the wording from At-Tirmidhee’s narration of the Jadeeth: “How perfect You are, O Allah, and I praise You. I bear vitness that none has the right to be worshipped except You, I seek ‘our forgiveness and turn in repentance to You.”"! In another aration, ‘Aaisha 4 explained that when the Prophet #% would sit na gathering or when he would pray, he would speak certain vords. She # asked him what those words were, and he # said,

Sy oy wash Saks Ca Soe 5 US Se

“If one spoke well (about good things), then [those words] are like a seal to them (to the good words he spoke during a gathering) until the Day of Resurrection. And if he spoke otherwise, then those words are atonement for him; they are: ‘How Perfect You are, O Allah, and I praise You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn in repentance to You.’”"*!

| Related by Ahmad (10043), and with Abu Daawood it is related through ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Amrun Ibn Al-‘Aas_ (4857). And Al-Albaanee ruled that it is authentic, except for the saying, “Three times.”

Related by At-Tirmidhee (3433), who said, “This hadith is Hasan sahih Ghareeb.”’

Related by An-Nassaaee (1344), and the wording mentioned above is from his narration of the hadith. Ibn Hajr said about his narration, “Its chain is strong.” Ahmad related it as well (23965).

The Manners Of Speech ;

Allah 3 said: 5 6 IY Sis cay EN They AU SED |

“And follow not (O man, i.e., say not, or do not or witness not, etc.) that of which you have no knowledge e.g. one’s saying: “I have seen,” while in fact he has not seen, or “I have heard,” \ while he has not heard). Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allah)” :

The Messenger of Allah 2 said, Gh nthe ga el ge ge ge “Whoever guarantees for me what is between his jawbones and what is between his legs (i.e., that he uses his tongue and his

private parts for what is lawful only), then I guarantee Paradise for him.”

Islamic Manners That Pertain To Speech

1) Preserving One’s Tongue

Falsehood, slander, backbiting, and lewd speech - the Muslin must protect himself from these and all other forms of speech. Or in other words, the Muslim should protect his ton, from all that Allah and His Messenger # have prohibited.

Words have a greater impact than one might think: one mij say a single word or phrase that ruins his life and destroys prospects for success in the Hereafter; on the other hand,

night say a single word or phrase, which is so meaningful in a pave sense that Allah 3 raises him by many degrees. The phet # said,

ig 6 Sah Or sw SS ys es & alm tise atch Sp ' “Verily, a slave says a word, without contemplating [its

implications], and because of it, he slips into the Hellfire further | than the distance between the East and the West.’

And in another narration, the Prophet # said,

A gp Sal by gp A Gy BAe! acs, feed sn by “Verily, a man speaks a word to make his companions laugh, but

" because of it he falls down from farther than the Thurayyah (the

’ Pleiades, a cluster of stars, of which six are easily visible to the naked eye).””

Although some words might be the cause of misery and punishment, other words are the cause of superiority and happiness. The Prophet #% said,

BI iy Se ALY a 05.5, g, waldit, issih Sp VCE ab ai hs y, cacy led ah by tess We Be

“Verily, a slave says a word that is pleasing to Allah, and though he doesn’t give it any importance, Allah 3& raises him [a number of] degrees because of it. And verily, a slave says a word that Allah is angry with, and though he doesn’t give it any importance [when he says it], he will fall because of it in the Hellfire.)