Sitting is a routine activity that every human take for granted. In Islam, it is as important as any other human activity. One can earn the pleasure of Allaah just as one can earn His wrath by mere sitting. The following are some guidelines to earn Allaah's pleasure while sitting.
The Best Sitting is One That Remembers Allaah
Allaah's Messenger (salallaahu alayhi wa•sallam) went out to the circle of his companions and said:
"What makes you sit there?"
They said: We are sitting here in order to remember Allaah and to praise Him because He guided us to the path of Islam and He conferred favours upon us.
Thereupon he adjured by Allaah and asked if that were the only purpose of their sitting there.
They said: By Allaah, we are not sitting out here for this very purpose.
Thereupon he (the Prophet (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"I am not asking you to take an oath because of any allegation against you but for the fact that (Angel) Jibril came to me and he informed me that Allaah, the Exalted and Glorious, was talking to the angels about your magnificence." (Muslim)
Sit At The Edge
Jabir ibn Samurah (RA) said:
"Whenever we came to the Prophet (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam), one of us used to sit at the end (of the assembly)." (Abu Dawud)
Cover Your Nakedness
Abu Said al-Khudri (RA) narrated that when the Messenger of Allaah (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam) sat within the mosque, he used to draw his cloth closer with his hands." (Razin)
The Worse Sitting Is One That Disobeys Allaah
Allaah says:
"When you hear the Verses of Allah being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them." (Q4[Nisaa]: 140)
Not In The Middle Of An Assembly
Hudhaifah (RA) said:
"Whosoever takes seat in the midst of an assembly has been cursed by the tongue of Muhammad." (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud)
Don't Separate Two People
Abdullahi ibn Amr narrated that the Prophet (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"It is not lawful for a man to make separation between two except with their permission." (Tirmidhi)
The Owner Of Seat Has A Greater Right
Allaah's Messenger (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam):
"Whoever gets up from his seat and comes back to it, is more entitled to it." (Muslim)
Greet The Person You Meet At A Sitting
Allaah's Messenger (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"The younger person should greet the older one, and the walking person should greet the sitting one, and the small number of persons should greet the large number of persons." (Bukhari)
Not Partly In The Sun & Partly In The Shade
The Prophet (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"When one of you is in a shade and then the shade goes away from him exposing some portion of him in the sun and some portion of him in the shade let him get up." (Abu Dawud)
Not Between Them Without Permission
The Messenger of Allaah (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"Don't sit between two men except with their permission." (Abu Dawud)
Don't Deny Someone Of His Seat
Allaah's Messenger (salallaahu alayhi wa sallam) "No man shall make a man stand up from his seat and then sit therein. But make accommodation wide and sufficient." (Bukhari)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited