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Standing Up to Greet (Hadith No. 2677)
Bismillah.
Hadith no. 2676 (below) is a repeat. Read it here.
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 279 :
Narrated by Abu Ishaq
A man asked Al-Bara (radiallaahu `anhu), “O Abu ‘Umara! Did you flee on the day (of the battle) of Hunain?” Al-Bara (radiallaahu `anhu) replied while I was listening, “As for Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) he did not flee on that day. Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith was holding the reins of his mule and when the pagans attacked him, he dismounted and started saying, ‘I am the Prophet, and there is no lie about it; I am the son of ‘Abdul Muttalib.’ On that day nobody was seen braver than the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam)'”.
Today’s Hadith:
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 280 :
Narrated by Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (radiallaahu `anhu)
When the tribe of Bani Quraiza was ready to accept Sa`d’s (radiallaahu `anhu) judgment, Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) sent for Sa`d (radiallaahu `anhu) who was near to him. Sa`d (radiallaahu `anhu) came, riding a donkey and when he came near, Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said (to the Ansar), “Stand up for your leader.” Then Sa`d (radiallaahu `anhu) came and sat beside Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) who said to him. “These people are ready to accept your judgment.” Sa`d (radiallaahu `anhu) said, “I give the judgment that their warriors should be killed and their children and women should be taken as prisoners.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) then remarked, “O Sa`d! You have judged amongst them with (or similar to) the judgment of the King Allah.”
Ruling on standing up for who comes in..
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah gave a detailed answer to this question based on shar’i evidence:
It was not the custom of the salaf at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs to stand up every time they saw him [the Prophet] (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as many people do. Rather Anas ibn Maalik said: “No person was dearer to them than the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but when they saw him they did not stand up for him because they knew that he disliked that.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2754; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. But they may have stood up for one who was returning from away, in order to greet him, as it was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up for ‘Ikrimah, and he said to the Ansaar when Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh came: “Stand up for your chief.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3043; Muslim, 1768. That was when he [Sa’d] came to pass judgement on Banu Qurayzah, because they said that would accept his verdict.
What people should do is get accustomed to following the salaf in their customs at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), for they are the best of generations and the best of speech is the Word of Allaah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). No one should turn away from the guidance of the best of mankind and the guidance of the best of generations and follow something that is inferior to it. And the chief or leader should not approve of that among his companions, so that when they see him they should not stand up for him, rather they should simply greet him in the usual manner.
With regard to standing up for one who has come from a journey and the like, to greet him, that is fine. If it is the custom of the people to honour one who comes by standing up for him, and if that may make him feel insulted if they do not do it, and he does not know the custom that is in accordance with the Sunnah, then it is better to stand up for him, because that will create a good relationship between them and will remove rancour and hatred. But if a person is familiar with the custom of some people that is in accordance with the Sunnah, not doing that will not offend him.
Standing up for a newcomer is not the standing mentioned in the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever likes the people to stand up for him, let him take his place in Hell.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2755; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. That refers to when they stand up for him when he is seated; it does not refer to when they stand up to welcome him when he comes. Hence the scholars differentiated between the two types of standing, because those who stand up to greet a newcomer are equal with him, unlike those who stand for one who remains seated.
It was proven in Saheeh Muslim that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led them in prayer sitting down, because he was ill, and they prayed standing, he told them to sit down and said: “Do not venerate me as the Persians venerate one another.” And he forbade them to stand in prayer whilst he was sitting, lest they resemble the Persians who used to stand for their leaders whilst the leaders were seated. In conclusion, the best is to follow the customs and attitude and views of the salaf as much as possible.
If a person does not believe in that and is not familiar with this custom, and if not dealing with him in the manner in which people are accustomed to showing respect will lead to a greater evil, then we should ward off the greater of two evils by doing the lesser of them, and do that which serves a greater interest at the expense that which serves the lesser interest.
Source: IslamQA
How should we greet scholars and leaders?
The correct way to greet scholars is to greet them with salaam and shake their hand. Many ahaadeeth have been narrated concerning the virtue of these actions. It is also permissible to kiss their heads or hands sometimes, but that should not be taken as a habit or custom, especially if it is done instead of shaking hands.
With regard to embracing, that is permissible when someone comes from a journey or after a long absence, or to express one’s deep love for the sake of Allaah and so on.
Muslim (54) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread the greeting of salaam amongst yourselves.”
And it was narrated that Qataadah said: I said to Anas: Did the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) shake hands with one another? He said: Yes. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5908.
And it was narrated that Anas said: When the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) met they would shake hands with one another, and if they came from a journey they would embrace one another.
Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Awsat (1/37); classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2647.
It was narrated from ‘Awn ibn Abi Juhayfah that his father said: When Ja’far came after he had migrated to Abyssinia, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) embraced him and kissed him between the eyes.
Narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer (2/108); there are many corroborating reports which were mentioned by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in al-Talkhees al-Habeer, 4/96/ it was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2657.
It was narrated that Usaamah ibn Shareek said: We stood up for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and kissed his hand.
Narrated by Abu Bakr ibn al-Muqqari in Juz’ Taqbeel al-Yad, p. 58. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said: Its isnaad is qawiy. Fath al-Baari, 11/56
Read more on IslamQA
Most Superior Charity II (Ahadith 1206 – 1207)
Bismillah.
Volume 2, Book 24, Number 507:
Narrated Abu Huraira :
The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, “The best charity is that which is practiced by a wealthy person. And start giving first to your dependents.”
Volume 2, Book 24, Number 508:
Narrated Hakim bin Hizam
The Prophet said, “The upper hand is better than the lower hand (i.e. he who gives in charity is better than him who takes it). One should start giving first to his dependents. And the best object of charity is that which is given by a wealthy person (from the money which is left after his expenses). And whoever abstains from asking others for some financial help, Allah will give him and save him from asking others, Allah will make him self-sufficient.”
- Best time to give in charity: when you’re wealthy.
- Best people you can spend on: your family.
- Upper hand is better the lower hand (giving is better than taking).
- No begging for financial help.
Similar Hadith here.
So take your parent/spouse/sibling shopping next time you plan on doing some Sadaqah? :P
Got Long Hands? (Hadith No. 1200)
Bismillah.
Volume 2, Book 24, Number 501:
Narrated ‘Aisha (RA):
Some of the wives of the Prophet (SAW) asked him, “Who amongst us will be the first to follow you (i.e. die after you)?” He said, “Whoever has the longest hand.” So they started measuring their hands with a stick and Sauda (RA)’s hand turned out to be the longest. (When Zainab bint Jahsh (RA) died first of all in the caliphate of ‘Umar(RA)), we came to know that the long hand was a symbol of practicing charity, so she was the first to follow the Prophet and she used to love to practice charity. (Sauda (RA) died later in the caliphate of Muawiya).
The more you give, the longer your hands get. ;)
Body Language (Hadith No. 84)
Salam,
Bismillah.
I’ve seen many people who barely use body language while talking. It’s really important to use this tool in order to engross the audience. A teacher should definitely practice it. As the Prophet (SAW) used to do..
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas:
Somebody said to the Prophet (during his last Hajj), “I did the slaughtering before doing the Rami.’ The Prophet beckoned with his hand and said, “There is no harm in that.” Then another person said. “I got my head shaved before offering the sacrifice.” The Prophet beckoned with his hand saying, “There is no harm in that.”
Prophet (SAW) didn’t move a lot while talking/delivering sermons etc. His hand moved and the face gave expressions. Descriptive enough, yet decent.
So, do use body language while having a conversation/teaching. But keep it balanced. Bot too much, not too less.
Wassalam!
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