Islam
And Social Manners
S. M. Moin
Qureshi
Islam
not only revised the pedestal of man’s spiritual life, but paid equal
importance to ordinary rules and social etiquettes aimed at worldly refinement.
These were introduced at a time when the world was plunged into the gloom of
total savagery.
From
handshaking to home-calling, from sneezing to laughing, from walking to lying,
there is no conceivable movement for which Islam does not provide guidance to
its followers. The fundamental idea behind these teachings is two-fold viz. (I)
to honour one’s privacy, and (II) to promote fraternity among brethren. Thus we
find rules for meeting some one.
Once
a Companion wanted to meet Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) while he was in a lonely valley. The Companion narrated, “I went
to him and did neither salute, nor seek permission”. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Go back
and say peace be on you. May I enter?” This was a way of teaching manners to a newcomer. The Messenger of God
did not forget observance of formality in a decent society. A man once asked
him whether he should seek permission to see his parents. The Prophet (ﷺ) replied in the
affirmative. In this regard, the Qur’an stipulates the following procedure
which ensures privacy without exclusiveness and friendliness without undue
familiarity:
“O you who believe, do not enter
other houses except yours without first asking permission and saluting the
inmates … if you find that no one is in, and then do not enter unless you have
received permission. If you are asked to go away turn back. That is proper for
you…” (An-Noor: 27, 28)
Salam, the Islamic way of salutation
is unique. It means peace and conveys the message to the other person. “Be sure
that your life, property and honour are safe in my hand”. The reply also
signifies the same feelings. Salam, therefore, creates mutual sense of security
and peace at the very first encounter. The Holy Prophet (ﷺ)
advised the
believers, “Salute all whom you know and whom you know not”. He made it clear
that juniors shall salute the seniors, one passing to one sitting, one riding
to one walking and small group to the bigger group. He also maintained that the
best man was he who first greeted with a Salam. The motive is to remove the
least sign of vanity in man. The Qur’an ordains: “When a (courteous) greeting
is offered to you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or (at least)
of equal courtesy…” (An-Nisa: 86)
The two-way assurance of peace and
security is followed by handshaking which further strengthens the bonds of
love. Islamic shake-hand comprises holding both hands of a man by both hands of
the other man. The Prophet (ﷺ) underlined,
“…perfect way of greeting among you is shaking hands”. A step ahead of
handshaking is embracing and kissing which usually take place after return from
journey or at the time of proceeding on a journey. These rules of meeting and
greeting, however, apply only to the persons of the same sex__ males
or females.
Show Of Respect:
Standing to show respect to a person
who deserves respect on account of his age, erudition, benevolent works, etc,
is permissible in Islam provided that it does not inculcate sense of pride in
the mind of the person so respected. Every one shall dislike that others should
stand in his honour as the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) disliked it
for himself. As regards sitting manners, taking seat in the midst of an
assembly for a late comer is disallowed for the sake of decorum. The Prophet (ﷺ) cursed such a
person. Sitting partly in sun and partly in shade has been prohibited for health
reasons. The Prophet (ﷺ) exhorted, “When
one of you is in the shade and then the shade goes away from him exposing some
portion of his in the sun and some portion of his in shade, let him get up”.
The rules for walking require that
the gait should be humble and moderate. The Qur’an enjoins, “…do not walk with
hauteur on earth…” (Luqman: 18). While lying, one should desist from lying upon
belly (on the ground of hygiene), upon back raising up one leg upon another (as
it creates an impression of vanity) and upon the uncovered roof of a house
(from security point of view). When the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) rested at
night, he used to lie on his right side and when he had a sleep a little before
morning; he used to fix his elbow on the ground and place his head upon his
palm.
Paramount Virtue:
The Paramount virtue of Islam as a
world religion is that it has laid greater stress on morality. It teaches its
follower to cultivate civility, mannerism, social ethics, gentleness,
self-purification and wishing well for others. In presence of this guidance,
the believers mould their lives in accordance with the teachings of the
religion and shun what is forbidden by it. Strange though it might appear,
Islam, covering the whole gamut of human activity, even laid down rules for
yawning, sneezing and laughing.
Islam lays great stress on control
of tongue which carries the message of heart. The Qur’an asserts “keep your
voice low….” (Luqman: 19) at another place it holds, “speak of goodness to
men…” Al-Baqarah:83) this not only means outward courtesy from the “highest” to
the “lowest” among the people, but the protection of people from being
exploited, deceived, defrauded, or doped with things to full their
intelligence. Evils springing from misuse and abuse of tongue include quarrels,
rumour-mongering, indecent rebukes, immoral songs, sorcery, false promise,
false oath, vain talks, hypocrisy, backbiting, flattery, wrong counsels,
disputes and dissension, etc.
If vice is feared from the tongue,
the best course is silence, for silence has been treated as the better part of
valour. The Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever adopts silence, will get
salvation”.
The Prophet of Islam (ﷺ) who has been regarded in the Holy Qur’an as “a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day” (Al-Ahzab: 21) rose in the darkest spot and took up the mission of reformation of an uncultured society single-handedly. Gradually and steadily, however he gained numerous friends and supporters whose devotion is proverbial. Hence, within a marvelously short period of just twenty-three years, he founded a nation which eventually proved to be the torch-bearer of culture and civilization.
Post a Comment