Sunnan of Majlis

The Sunnahs of Majlis(Gathering)

1: Ask for permission:

Before entering any place or any private gathering at a home, or private area or property, such as one’s room, one should ask for permission. Allah (SWT) says:

“O you who have believed, do not enter houses other than your own houses until you ascertain welcome.” (An-Nur 24:27).

The Prophet (SAWW) said:

“Permission should be asked for three times; if you were given permission (then enter). Otherwise, go back.” (Musnad Ahmad 19175).

1-Say Salaam and greetings:

The Prophet (SAWW) said:

“When one of you comes to a gathering, let him say Salaam (greetings), and when he wants to leave let him say Salaam, for the former is not more of a duty than the latter.” (Abu Dawud 5208).

3-Making room for one another:

Allah (SWT) tells us that we should make room for others in Majlis. He (SWT) instructs us in the following verse:

“O you who believe! When you are told to make room in the assemblies, (spread out and) make room. Allah will give you (ample) room (from His Mercy).” (Al-Mujadilah 58:11).

 Asking someone to give up his place:

4-Do not take over someone’s place:

It is not right to take over someone’s seat or ask someone to give up his space. The Prophet (SAWW) said:

“If one of you gets up from his spot and then comes back to it, he has more right to it.” (Muslim 2179).

5-Mentioning the Name of Allah in all gatherings:

This point is very important as the Prophet (SAWW) said:

“No group gathers in a sitting in which they do not remember Allah, nor send peace and blessings upon their Prophet (SAWW), except it will be a source of remorse for them. If He Wills, He will punish them, and if He Wills, He will forgive them.” (At-Tirmidhi 3380).

 Carelessness and negligence from the remembrance of Allah in such gatherings bring misfortune and harden the hearts, this is really a scary situation.

6-Do not sit and talk on the pathways:

The Prophet (SAWW) said, "Beware! Avoid sitting on the roads (ways)." The people said, "There is no way out of it as these are our sitting places where we have talks." The Prophet (SAWW) said, "If you must sit there, then observe the rights of the way." They asked, "What are the rights of the way?" He said, "They are the lowering of your gazes (on seeing what is illegal to look at), refraining from harming people, returning greetings, advocating good and forbidding evil." (Al Bukhari 2465)

7- Supplicate before leaving the gathering:

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ   

" Purity belongs to You. O Allah (SWT), with Your praises, I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except You. I seek forgiveness from You and I repent to You)".

(Abou Dawood 4859, At Tirmidhi 3433)

You can say this dua as many times a day, as many people you meet in all day, these could be your relatives, neighbours, friends, colleagues, boss or employees etc. These meetings could be planned or just by coincidence. while standing for a few minutes with your classmates, or sitting with your family for a meal, chatting on phone or texting on internet, travelling with someone or attending a lecture/ a seminar, addressing a forum or busy at your work, always remember and praising Allah several times, this will keeps you in contact with Allah. Make sure to repent and ask for Allah’s forgiveness for whatever happens during those meetings.