بَابُ الْقِيَامِStanding for Others

¹ His statement: “Stand for your leader”: It is said in Radd al-Muhtar: “It is permissible, rather recommended, to stand in honor of an arriving person if they are worthy of respect.” It is said in Al-Qunyah: “A seated person in the mosque standing for someone entering to honor them, or a Qur’an reciter standing for someone approaching to honor them, is not disliked if they are worthy of respect.” In Mushkil al-Athar: “Standing for another is not disliked in itself; what is disliked is loving that others stand for one. If one stands for someone for whom standing is not customary, it is not disliked.” Ibn Wahban said: “I say: In our time, it is desirable to do so, as not standing may cause resentment, hatred, and enmity, especially in a place where standing is customary. What is reported of warnings against it applies to those for whom standing is obligatory, as practiced by the Turks and non-Arabs.” I say: This is supported by what is cited in Al-‘Inayah and elsewhere from Shaykh al-Hakim Abu al-Qasim, who would stand and honor the wealthy when they entered but not the poor or students of knowledge. When asked about this, he said, “The wealthy expect honor from me, so if I neglect it, they are harmed, while the poor and students seek only a response to their greeting and discussion about knowledge.” The full discussion is in Ash-Sharnablali’s treatise.

¹ His statement: “Do not stand as the non-Arabs stand”: It is said in Al-Mirqat: “Perhaps the explanation is that they stood in a formal manner, so he prohibited that and expressed it as standing in general for emphasis, or the intended meaning of standing is remaining standing.”

¹ His statement: “The Prophet prohibited a man from wiping his hand on the garment of someone who did not clothe him”: That is, he prohibited wiping one’s hand on a stranger’s handkerchief. One should wipe with his own handkerchief or one given by his servant or son. It is evident that if the garment’s owner consents, it is permissible, and likewise, if it is known that the person stood from the seat willingly, there is no issue with sitting in it, as inferred from Allah’s statement: Make room in the assemblies [Al-Mujadilah: 11], and His statement: When you are told to make room, then make room [Al-Mujadilah: 11]. This is also supported by the Hadith: “The front of the mount belongs to its owner unless he permits otherwise,” and similar rulings are numerous in the branches of jurisprudence, such as the chapter on the front of the funeral procession. The Companion’s refusal to sit was either due to doubt about the man’s consent, as he may have stood due to someone’s order or out of shyness, or out of caution and piety, or because he understood the Hadith in absolute terms. As stated in Al-Mirqat.

¹ His statement: “and then returns to it is more entitled to it”: It is said in Al-Mirqat: “It is apparent that if he leaves nothing in the seat, his claim to it lapses, reverting to its original permissible state. This is supported by what follows, that he (ﷺ) would remove his sandals when he stood intending to return, as in the Hadith.”

¹ His statement: “It is not lawful for a man to separate two people except with their permission”: It is said in Badhl al-Majhud: “The Hadith may mean not separating them by sitting between them if there is not enough space, as sitting between them would constrict and harm them. Or it means if they are engaged in a friendly conversation, sitting between them would disrupt it.”