Etiquette Of Sitting At A Meeting according to Islam (Al Mujadilah : 11)

Etiquette Of Sitting At A Meeting according to Islam

O you who believe, if it is said to you, "Be spacious in the assembly," then be spacious, Allah will make room for you. And when it is said, "Stand up", then stand up, Allah will raise those who believe among you and those who are given knowledge by several degrees. And Allah is Knowing of what you do (Al Mujadilah: 11)

Qatadah says that this verse was revealed regarding the assembly of remembrance. That's because when they see someone from them who has just arrived, they don't give room for a seat in front of the Messenger of Allah. So Allah commanded them that some of them should provide space for the others to sit.

Muqatil ibn Hayan said that this verse was revealed on Friday, while the Messenger of Allah on that day was in the suffah (porch of the mosque); and the place is full of people. The Prophet's habit was to glorify those who took part in the battle of Badr, both from the Muhajirin and from the Ansar. At that time a number of people from among the experts of the battle of Badr came, while people other than them had taken their seats near the Messenger of Allah. So those who had just arrived, stood facing the Messenger of Allah and said, "May peace be upon you, O Prophet of Allah, and also His blessings."

Then the Prophet (SAW) answered their greetings. After that they also greeted the people who were present, and the people who were present answered their greetings. So they could only stand there waiting to be given space for them to sit in the assembly. The Prophet SAW knew the cause that kept them standing, because there was no room for them in the assembly. Seeing this, the Prophet SAW felt bad, so he said to the people around him from the Muhajirin and Ansar who were not from the Badr experts, "O So and so, stand up. Also you, ai Fulan". And the Prophet SAW invited several people to sit before him from among the Muhajirin and Ansar Experts of Badr. This treatment displeased the people who were ordered to get up from their seats, and the Prophet SAW knew this situation from the facial expressions of those who were told to get up from their seats.

So the hypocrites gave their response, "Don't you think your friend is doing justly among human beings? By Allah, we consider it unfair to them. Verily a people have taken their seats near their prophet because they like to be around his prophet. But their prophet told them to get up from their seats, and invited those who came late to sit in their places.

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, "May Allah have mercy on the one who gives space for his brother to sit."

So since then, they hastened to widen the seat for their brother, and this verse came down on Friday.

The Messenger of Allah said, "Do not ask someone else to stand up from his assembly and then he sits in his place, but widen and widen your seat."

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: Do not let any of you expel his brother (from his seat) on Friday, but let him say "Spawn your seats".

The Prophet (SAW) has said: Let no one throw his brother out of his seat, then he sits in his place, but (say) "Be spacious, may Allah grant you spaciousness."

Fiqh scholars differ regarding the permissibility of standing out of respect for someone who comes. There are several opinions among them; of them there are those who give rukhsah (generosity) in this case because it is based on the evidence of the hadith which states: "Stand up to respect your leader"

But among them there are those who forbid because of postulated another hadith of the Prophet SAW which states: "Whoever feels happy when people stand up to honor him, then let him get ready to take his seat in hell".

Among the scholars there are those who respond to this issue in detail, namely that standing up to respect someone is allowed, if the respected person has just arrived from a trip, while that person (judge/ruler) is within his jurisdiction.

This is shown by the hadith which narrates that when Sa'd ibn Mu'az was the judge of the Banu Quraizah, and the Prophet saw him arriving, he said to the Muslims: "Stand up to honor your leader".

This respect is aimed at nothing but the decision of Sa'd ibn Mu'az later to be respected and obeyed; only Allah is All-Knowing. As for if the habit is made a tradition, then it is a habit that is carried out by the people of 'Ajam (other than Arabs). Therefore, in the books of the sunnah it is stated that there is no one more beloved to them (the Muslims), other than the Messenger of Allah. And when he came to them, they did not stand up for him, because they knew that he did not like it

In the hadith narrated in the books of Sunnah, it is stated that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) had never sat at the very end of an assembly, but he always sat in the middle of the assembly. While the companions sat near him according to their rank. So Abu Bakr As-Sidiq r.a. sitting on his right, Umar r.a. on his left, while in front of him is often Uthman and Ali, because both of them are scribes of revelation. And it was the Prophet himself who ordered them to do this.

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "Let those who have the mind and intellect sit beside me, then those who are after them, then those who are after them."

This is nothing but intended so that they can understand from him, what he said. Because of this, he (peace be upon him) ordered those sitting near him to get up and to sit in their places the people of Badr who had just arrived. This is sometimes because they do not appreciate the position of the experts of Badr, or so that the newly arrived experts of Badr can receive their share of knowledge as has been received by those before them, or perhaps to teach them that those who have that virtue (expert Badr) should be prioritized to be in front (close to the Prophet SAW).

Rasulullah SAW said: "Straighten all rows, align (your) shoulders, close all emptiness (saf), and soften your hands towards your brothers, and do not let your vacancy (saf) be occupied by Satan. Whoever connects his saf, then Allah will relate to him; And whoever breaks the row, Allah will cut off his relationship with him.”

That's why Ubay ibn Ka'b who is considered an expert in the Qurra, when he reached the first row, he took someone from him, who was one of the weak-minded people, then he entered the first row and replaced him. He did so because he adhered to the following hadith which says:

"Should accompany me from you, virtuous and reasonable people"

 Unlike the attitude of Abdullah ibn Umar, he did not want to sit in the place of someone who rose from him for him, because he practiced the hadith mentioned above.

In a hadith, it is stated that when we (the companions) were sitting with the Messenger of Allah, suddenly three people came. One of them found an emptiness in halqah, so he entered and sat on it. While the others just sat behind the people, and the third person left again.

Then the Messenger of Allah said: "Remember, I will tell you about the best of the three people. As for the first one, he took refuge in Allah, so Allah made a place for him. As for the second person, he feels ashamed, so Allah is ashamed of him. And as for the third person, he turned away, so Allah turned away from him."

Rasulullah SAW said, "It is not permissible for a person to separate between two people (in an assembly), except with his permission".

Abdur Rahman ibn Zaid ibn Aslam said that in the past they (the companions) when they were in the presence of the Prophet SAW at his house, and the time for dispersal had arrived, then each of them wanted him to be the last person to disperse from his side. And there were times when the Prophet SAW objected to the situation, because perhaps the Prophet SAW had other needs. For this reason, they were ordered to leave when it was time for the assembly to disband.

The Word of Allah SWT: Surely Allah will exalt those who believe among you and those who are given knowledge by several degrees. And Allah is Knowing of what you do (Al Mujadillah: 11)

That is, do not think that if anyone among you gives room for his brother who has just arrived, or he is ordered to get up from his seat for his brother, that will reduce his right (lowering him). No, even that is a high degree for him in the sight of Allah SWT, and Allah will not waste that reward for him, in fact He will reward him in this world and the hereafter. For, indeed, whoever humbles himself to Allah's commandments, Allah will surely exalt his position and make his name proud.

It is narrated that Nafi' ibn Abdul Haris met Umar r.a. in Asfan, and previously Umar had appointed him to be his amil in Mecca. So Umar asked him, "Who will replace you to rule the valley expert (i.e. Mecca)?". Nafi' replied, "I appointed as my successor to them, Ibn Abza - one of our former slaves-". Umar asked, "You adopted as your successor to take care of them a former slave?". Nafi' replied, "O Amir al-mu'minin, indeed he is a reader of the Book of Allah, an expert in qiraat and memorizes the Qur'an) and an expert on astronomy and an expert in history." So Umar r.a. said in a tone of approval, that we don't remember that your Prophet said: "Verily Allah exalts a people by virtue of this Book (Qur'an) and humiliates others because of it".