عربي
Home


Articles

Articles

Etiquette with the Beloved (Prophet Muhammad)
Author : Mufti Hani Al-Abid
Date Added : 31-07-2025

 

Etiquette with the Beloved (Prophet Muhammad)

 

Among the greatest etiquettes that a Muslim must possess is etiquette with the Prophet (peace be upon him). A Muslim whom Allah Almighty has honored with the sweetness of faith cultivates the culture of etiquette with His Messenger (peace be upon him) in his heart and mind, a culture that the Holy Quran called upon Muslims to embody.

Let us reflect on Surah Al-Hujurat to understand the importance of showing proper etiquette to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty says {what means}: "O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not. Indeed, those who lower their voices before the Messenger of Allah - it is those whose hearts Allah has tested for righteousness. For them is forgiveness and a great reward. Indeed, those who call you from behind the private chambers - most of them do not reason. And if they had been patient until you came out to them, it would have been better for them. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." [Al-Hujurat/2-5].

It is authentically narrated from Anas ibn Malik that he said: When this verse was revealed: "O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet..." [Al-Hujurat/2] to the end of the verse, Thabit ibn Qays sat in his house and said: "I am from the people of the Fire." He then refrained from coming to the Prophet (peace be upon him). So the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, saying: "O Abu Amr, what is the matter with Thabit? Is he ill?" Sa'd replied: "He is my neighbor, and I have not known him to be ill." Sa'd then went to him and mentioned to him the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Thabit said: "This verse was revealed, and you all know that I am among those with the loudest voices to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), so I am from the people of the Fire." Sa'd then mentioned this to the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Rather, he is from the people of Paradise" [Sahih Muslim]. In some narrations, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him: "You are not among them; rather, you will live in goodness and die in goodness."

Based on these verses, scholars have deduced the prohibition of raising one's voice near his noble grave (peace be upon him) and when reciting his hadith (peace be upon him), as a sign of etiquette with the Prophet (peace be upon him), because his sanctity after his death is like his sanctity during his lifetime.

There is another etiquette that we need to be reminded of – especially during the occasion of his birthday (peace be upon him) – which I direct to those in the field of Islamic da'wah (preaching), including writers and researchers. It is not befitting for someone writing about the biography of the Beloved (peace be upon him) to offer prayers upon the Prophet in a symbolic form, such as the letter (ص) or (صلعم). The scholarly literature of Islamic scholars, who dedicated themselves to serving the Shari'ah, has warned against writing the salutations upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) in an abbreviated form. Ibn Kathir, in "Al-Ba'ith al-Hathith," quoted Ibn al-Salah as saying: "And let the prayers and salutations be written in full, meaning completely without abbreviation or symbol. He said: And do not suffice with saying: (عليه السلام - 'alaihis salam'), meaning: Rather, let (صلى الله عليه وسلم - salla Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) be written clearly and completely" (Al-Ba'ith al-Hathith, Ibn Kathir/P.165).

This etiquette is something that the Shari'ah has called for and the Chosen One (peace be upon him) has affirmed. It is narrated in a hadith from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "I was the scribe of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) on the Day of Hudaybiyyah. He wrote: 'This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, and Suhayl ibn Amr have agreed upon.' Suhayl said: 'If we knew he was the Messenger of Allah, we would not have fought him. Erase it.' I said: 'By Allah, he is the Messenger of Allah, even if your nose is rubbed in dust! No, by Allah, I will not erase it.' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'Show me its place.' So I showed him, and he erased it" (Al-Sunan al-Kubra by Al-Nasa'i). The action of our master Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was a display of etiquette, as his soul would not allow him to erase the phrase "Messenger of Allah" after he had written it.

Qadi Iyad said in "Al-Shifa": "Know that the sanctity of the Prophet (peace be upon him) after his death, and his veneration and glorification, are as obligatory as they were during his lifetime. This applies when he (peace be upon him) is mentioned, and when his hadith and Sunnah are mentioned, and when his name and biography are heard, and in dealing with his family and descendants, and in glorifying his household and companions. Abu Ibrahim al-Tujibi said: 'It is obligatory upon every believer, whenever he is mentioned or mentioned in his presence, to humble himself, show devotion, reverence, calm his movements, and adopt the awe and veneration for him as he would for himself if he were in his presence, and to observe the etiquette with which Allah has taught us'" (Al-Shifa, Qadi Iyad Vol. 2/P.28).

Qadi Iyad, in "Al-Shifa," also presented wonderful examples from the pious predecessors [Salaf] that demonstrate the existence of these refined sensibilities and noble etiquette in dealing with the legacy of our master Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is narrated that Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) was approached by a man asking him about a hadith while he was reclining. He sat up and narrated it to him. The man said: "I wished you had not troubled yourself" (meaning, by sitting up while he was ill). He replied: "I disliked narrating about the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while reclining." And Malik ibn Anas, whenever he went out to teach the noble hadith, would perform ghusl (ritual bath), apply perfume, and wear new clothes. He would sit with humility, and incense (oud) would continuously be burned – a sweet scent filling his gathering – until he finished narrating the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

O Allah, make us observant of proper etiquette with Your Beloved, who guided us to You (peace be upon him), and inspire us with our rightful guidance, O Almighty, O Wise.

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

Article Number [ Previous | Next ]

Read for Author




Comments


Captcha


Warning: this window is not dedicated to receive religious questions, but to comment on topics published for the benefit of the site administrators—and not for publication. We are pleased to receive religious questions in the section "Send Your Question". So we apologize to readers for not answering any questions through this window of "Comments" for the sake of work organization. Thank you.




Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on someone who is uncertain whether he omitted one of the ab‘āḍ of the prayer, such as being uncertain whether he omitted the first tashahhud?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The ab‘āḍ include the middle tashahhud and the qunūt in Fajr prayer — for which sujūd as-sahw (the prostration of forgetfulness) is prescribed if left out. Whoever is uncertain, during the prayer, whether he omitted one of these elements, should proceed on the assumption that he did not perform it, and should perform sujūd as-sahw accordingly.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik (p. 63): "If he is uncertain... whether he omitted a specific ab‘āḍ element, or whether he performed sujūd as-sahw, or whether he prayed three or four rak‘ahs — he proceeds on the assumption that he did not do it, and performs sujūd as-sahw."
The original principle (al-aṣl) for someone uncertain about [having performed] the first tashahhud is that he assumes he did not perform it. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on swearing an oath by the Prophet ﷺ, and does such an oath take effect according to Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, requiring expiation upon its breach?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Swearing an oath by a created being is disliked (makrūh) in our Shāfiʿī school. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Swearing by a created being is disliked — such as swearing by the Prophet, the Kaʿbah, Jibrīl, the Companions, or the Prophet's family. Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: 'I fear that swearing by other than Allah the Almighty may constitute an act of disobedience.' The scholars of the school explained this to mean: that is, something forbidden and sinful — indicating that he had some hesitation in the matter. Al-Imām stated: the established position of the school is that it is categorically not forbidden, but rather disliked. Furthermore, whoever swears by a created being, his oath does not take effect and no expiation (kaffārah) is required if he breaks it." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn wa ʿUmdat al-Muftīn, Vol. 11/P.6]
According to the Ḥanbalī school, however, expiation becomes obligatory upon one who swears by our master the Prophet ﷺ and then breaks his oath. Imām al-Bahūtī al-Ḥanbalī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "No expiation is required for swearing by other than Allah the Almighty, even if the oath is broken — because expiation was made obligatory for swearing by Allah and His attributes, out of reverence for His names, and nothing else is equal to Him in this regard... except in the case of swearing by our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, for expiation becomes obligatory when one swears by him and then breaks the oath. This was explicitly stated in the narration of Abū Ṭālib, because he is one of the two conditions of the two testimonies of faith by which a disbeliever becomes a Muslim. Ibn ʿAqīl held the view that swearing by any of the other prophets, peace and blessings be upon them all, carries the same ruling." [Sharḥ Muntahā al-Irādāt, Vol. 3/P.441]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Does sacrificing one sheep avail for the entire household?

In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Offering an Udhiyah (sacrificial offering) is a communal Sunnah (Sunnah Kifayah) for members of the same household, provided that their financial maintenance is undertaken by a single provider. By "communal Sunnah," we mean that when one person performs it, the religious recommendation is fulfilled on behalf of the entire household, though the spiritual reward itself belongs uniquely to the one who offered it.
 
Therefore, if any member of the household performs the sacrifice—even if it is someone who is not legally responsible for the household's expenses, such as the wife or one of the children—the recommendation is fulfilled for everyone in that home. However, the reward does not automatically extend to the other members unless the person offering the sacrifice explicitly intends to share the reward with them—similar to how performing a funeral prayer (Janazah) fulfills the communal obligation for everyone, yet the specific reward is earned by those who actually prayed.
 
Additionally, a single sacrifice is sufficient for a man who is married to more than one wife. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

What is the correct point at which to raise the hands when standing up for the third rak‘ah (after the middle tashahhud)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Raising the hands while saying the takbīr [when rising for the third rak‘ah] is a recommended sunnah, and omitting it does not affect the validity of the prayer. The proper time for this is after rising from the middle tashahhud, once one has fully stood up.
It is stated in I‘ānat aṭ-Ṭālibīn (Vol.1/P.158): "His statement, 'and rising from the first tashahhud' — meaning, this manner [of raising the hands] is also a sunnah when he rises from the first tashahhud, that is, when he stands upright from it.
Consider [the question]: when precisely does the raising of the hands begin? Is it at the very start of rising from the first tashahhud, or after he has reached the minimum position of rukū‘ [i.e., once fully upright]? The apparent, [correct] view is the latter — even though the outward wording [of the text] might suggest the former — because at the very start of his rising, he is still relying on both hands [to push himself up, and therefore cannot yet raise them]."
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik (p. 53): "If his prayer extends beyond two rak‘ahs, he sits after them in the iftirāsh position, recites the tashahhud, and sends blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ alone, without [mentioning] his family [at this point]. He then stands while saying the takbīr, supporting himself with his hands; and once he has stood upright, he raises them level with his shoulders." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

See More