Project "Revive a Sunnah" Week 8

Week 8: November 24th-December 1st 2006
(2nd-9th of Dhul Qa'dah 1427 AH)

The setting: A lecture being delivered by a prominent shaykh who visits North America every five years or so.
You are sitting down and listening attentively to the amazing lecture this shaykh from overseas is giving. You are enjoying it so much because you can feel your eeman increasing by the second, and you can feel the mercy of Allah descending in that setting. All of a sudden, nature calls, and you have to leave the lecture setting for a moment. Even though you try to fight it in order to continue listening to the lecture, your body can no longer take it, so you slowly get up and leave. After a couple of minutes, you come back only to see your seat taken by someone. You make eye-contact with the brother who took your seat, and he looks at you for a moment, then turns his face towards the speaker. Subhan Allah, the nerve this brother has! You are a bit sad because you had one of the best seats in the house, and you don't wish to cause fitnah, so you settle for a seat somewhere near the back. Now, the lecture does not feel the same, and you cannot stop thinking about that brother who took your seat. Hmm, so what happened here? What is wrong with this situation? What sunnah can we revive based on this situation? The answer lies below.

From the Ahadith:

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "If someone leaves his seat (for one reason or another) and returns to it, he is better entitled to it.''
[Muslim].

We sometimes see this happening in our communities. A person leaves, comes back and sees his seat taken by someone. The person who took his seat does not even try to move, let alone give the seat back to the initial owner. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa salaam) has taught us everything...even what to do when someone gets up from his seat and returns to it. Hence, let's take this reminder, and work together to revive this sunnah of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), which is not practiced mainly due to ignorance, insha Allah.

You are most welcome to direct any Feedback/Comments/Suggestions

/Nominations to albosnawi@gmail.com

May Allah reward you all.
Praise be to Allah and may the blessings be upon the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).

Wa Salaamu Alaykoum,

Kemal Smajlovic