Some of the Prophet’s manners in his assemblies PBUH

 

In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Dear brothers, we are tackling the Prophet’s attributes, and we will be talking today about his manners in his assemblies.

He used to remember Allah in all his conditions:

Allah the Almighty says:

(O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.)

[Al Ahzab, 41]

The Prophet PBUH said:

He who remembers Allah of much remembrance is free from hypocrisy

A believer should spontaneously remember Allah without pretending, and that is because all his/her activities and concerns are Allah’s acquaintance oriented.
One of us should observe the subjects he tackles with others when he is with a friend, on a visit or in his travels, as the most repeated subject that is spontaneously mentioned in his conversations, will be the subject that concerns him the most and occupies his soul.
In comparison, he who remembers Allah a lot spontaneously, without pretending, without seeking something in return, and without affectedness, and he who mentions Allah’s Ayat one time and His orders in another, and talks a lot about His messengers and His miracles, will be the person who is connected with Allah beyond any doubt. Hence, whatever occupies your soul and thoughts is your definition as a person, and accordingly, mentioning Allah a lot indicates His love. Allah the Almighty says:

(But those who believe, love Allah more (than anything else))

[Al Baqarah, 165]

The other important issue dear brothers is that when you talk about Allah the Almighty, you attract the hearts, gravitate the sights, and unite people you are addressing, whereas when you talk about worldly life, people will go in different directions, as the poor will be in uneasiness, the rich will be arrogant, the needy will be distressed and he who owns a lot in this worldly life will be supercilious, therefore, the worldly life separates people and the hereafter brings them together. Hence, if you want your assemblies to be fruitful, you should remember Allah the Almighty.
The Prophet PBUH said:

If a group of people sit together remembering Allah, the angels will surround them, the mercy will shroud them, the peace will descend unto them and Allah will remember them among those with Him

[Muslim]

And those who gather in an assembly and don’t remember Allah will be leaving that meeting with the smell of a donkey carrion (figuratively).
By Allah dear bothers, and I am not exaggerating , when believers involve in pleasant conversation, a picnic, or a convention and they mention Allah a lot, you should believe one of them if he says: “ It is as if we were in Paradise”, as he is not exaggerating. You should know for sure that every knowledge session, learning meeting, a conversation that is tackling Allah’s creation, the companions, or the Prophets, and any convention for the sake of drawing closer to Allah, but will fill the soul with happiness and ecstasy.

Whoever visits the sick will be getting closer to mercy till he sits, and when he does he will indulge in it

[Ahmad]

The Muslim believer is taken up with Allah’s remembrance in his house, work, travel, meetings, conferences and all his conversations.
The Prophet PBUH said in Qudsi Hadith (Divine Hadith) that Allah the Almighty says:

I am just as My slave thinks of Me when he remembers Me, and if he remembers Me when he is alone I remember him, and if he remembers Me among a group of people, I will remember him among better group than his, and he who comes closer to Me one span, I come closer to him a cubit; and he who comes closer to Me a cubit, I come closer to him a fathom; and if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running

[Al-Bukhari]

It is worthwhile that your fame will be raised high, your name will be well-known, and people will praise you, all of which are gained through being loyal to Allah. Therefore, make this religion on the top of your concerns, and remember that Allah gives to those who are occupied with His remembrance more than what He gives to those who ask him, and take the Prophet PBUH as an example, as he always mentioned Allah in all his conditions. The Prophet PBUH said:

I was instructed to reflect in my thoughts, to remember Allah in my words, and to cogitate through my perception

All the countless signs surrounding the human being remind him of Allah.
You can call people to reflect on the glass of water for hours, same goes with food and drink and all the boons Allah bestowed us.
The three Kilogram’s infant, who was nothing nine month ago but a drop of unseen water, has a brain, nerves, a liver, a spleen, a Pancreas, a pituitary gland, a thyroid gland, kidneys, veins, arteries, and a heart, etc…this infant is a full human being.
You are surrounded with many signs which indicate Allah’s Greatness, and he is free of hypocrisy who remembers Allah a lot. Actually, Allah’s enjoinment is not concentrating only on remembering. Allah the Almighty says:

(O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.)

[Al Ahzab, 41]

The Divine enjoinment is concentrating on the “much remembrance” rather than a mere remembrance.

No special places in his assemblies:

The places are for everyone, no special place for a particular person like when some say: this place is for such and such, that is because believers are equal and only the pious is the one who is closer to Allah, unlike the western countries customs, which we imitate, such like tagging the seats where people are going to sit according to their positions, with names on them to assure that certain people sit in the first row, and those in less positions sit in the second row and so froth. Islam’s teachings are opposite to this, as one should sit wherever is available for him in an assembly. If you don’t put some people in the first raw they will consider it as underestimating of their importance and some might swear not to attend again, well, this is against the Prophetic Sunnah as the Prophet PBUH himself used to sit wherever was available to him.
Moreover, when a Bedouin walked into the Prophet’s assembly PBUH, he was not unable to distinguish the Prophet among his companions, as it was narrated that he asked: Which one of you is Muhammad? The question to be asked here is: Where was the Prophet PBUH sitting? And this means that he didn’t have a huge seat or a huge cushion to sit on, and he didn’t have a special adorning cloth to put on. on the contrary, this question indicates that the Prophet PBUH was sitting on the floor with his companions with nothing special save his shining face, as the companions answered the Bedouin: Muhammad is the one with the shinning face PBUH, in addition, it indicates that the Prophet didn’t hear him or else he would have answered him by saying: “That will be me”. Therefore, we were instructed by the Prophet to sit wherever is available in any assembly we attend.
The companions were sitting once (honoring the comer to the assembly is a virtue of the sitting person), and the Prophet PBUH was sitting, and next to him was our Master Ali who stand up when Abu Bakr entered to give him his seat, so the prophet PBUH admired that act by saying:

No one knows the virtue of the virtuous more than the people of virtue

Hence, giving someone important your seat is a virtue, unlike the opposite situation when the important person insists to have a special seat which will be against Sunnah. You are important wherever you sit, as you are the one who gives importance to the seat not the opposite.

He used to give every companion his share of attention:

It is not an accepted manner to be in a meeting talking to two persons (who might be powerful or rich) and leaving the other ten aside without looking at them, without talking to them, and contemning any comment they make. It is a prophetic manner to give the same share of attention to all the people in the assembly by looking at them, smiling at them, and shaking hands with all of them, and this is applicable even if there were 2000 persons, and still every one of them might think that he is the closest to you due to the equality through which you treat all of them.
Jaber Ibn AbduAllah said: once Sa’d came in so the prophet PBUH said:

Here is my uncle, let everyone show me an uncle better than him

[At-Tirmizi]

Narrated Anas that the prophet PBUH said:

Each nation has a trustworthy, and the trustworthy of my nation is Abu Ubaida Ibn Al Jarrah

[Al-Bukhari]

And the Prophet PBUH said also:

Who bring me news from them (Ahzab’s day), Zubair said: I do, then the Prophet PBUH asked again: Who bring me news from them, Zubair said: I do, then the Prophet PBUH said “Every Prophet used to have a Hawari (i.e. disciple), and my Hawari is Az-Zubair bin Al-’Awwam

[Sahih Al-Bukhari]

The Prophet PBUH said:

Ever nation before you used to have a narrator and if my nation were to have a narrator, he will be Omar

[Bukhari]

Ibn Omar said:

One day the Prophet PBUH came out after sun rise and said:” I had a vision before dawn, as if I was given the keys and weights, as for the keys, here they are, and as for the weights, they are what you use to weigh with, they were put on one pan and my nation was weighed against them and they outweighed it, then Abu Bakr was put in the pan against them and he outweighed them, then Omar was put in the pan and he outweighed them, then Uthman was put in the pan and he outweighed them, then the weights were taken away

[Ahmad]

The Prophet PBUH had known each one of his companions in terms of loyalty, exalting, and how much close to Allah everyone of them was. He described each one of them of what he deserved without wronging or singling out any of them.
Usually, tyrants and powerful figures hate to be mentioned with someone else, assuming that the rest of people should be in the shadow and only they deserve to be in the spot light unlike the prophet PBUH.