Explanation of the Hadith: (Whoever loves for people to stand for him when he enters, let him take his seat in the Fire).

The Shaykh : This is a severe warning from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) directed at the arrogant and haughty who enslave people, even though their mothers gave birth to them as free men. They want everyone to stand for them whenever they enter, just as slaves stand for their masters. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is a clear hadith from this perspective. However, many scholars who have written on this issue stop at the apparent meaning of this hadith in its indication, saying that its connection is with these arrogant and haughty people, and that it has no connection whatsoever to those who submit to them and stand for them. I say: this view is a superficial view, or if you will, a superficial view, because this hadith must be interpreted not only by looking at its words and the meanings contained in those words, but it must also be looked at within the limits of the general Islamic rules and schools of thought, among which is His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): . In reality, this hadith is directed at the one who loves standing for him. But we must note that since we know that this one who loves standing for him has this severe warning, what should our position be toward this lover of this forbidden standing? Do we help him to take his seat in the Fire, or do we help him to have between him and the Fire whatever Allah wills of trenches that distance him from the Fire? Undoubtedly, based on the previous verse, it is upon us to help him to be upright and never to help him to return to the Fire. How is that to be done? By standing for him or by not standing for him? I think the answer is clear: if we accustom him to standing for him, he will become greedy for this standing. And if we accustom him to not standing for him, he will not find any hope for this standing, and that is what we want. So from here we know the secret of the narration of Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) of this hadith on the occasion of his entering upon two men, where one of them stood for him and the other did not. Mu'awiyah directed his disapproval at the one who stood (contrary to the reality of today). Mu'awiyah directed his disapproval at the one who stood for him, and there is nothing wrong with this, because this is the natural matter for this Companion. But the strange thing that many people do not understand even today is: when Mu'awiyah disapproved of that person who stood for him, he argued against him with this hadith. What is the point of the argument? The hadith should be said by him to himself: he does not love standing; because the Messenger said: . But he disapproves of the one who stood for him. If you understand the brief preamble above, you understand the place of Mu'awiyah's citation of this hadith. It is as if he is saying to the one who stood: If you stand for me, even out of respect as they say today, the first time, the second time, and the third time, my self will become accustomed to loving this standing, until a time comes when I enter upon you and you do not stand for me for some reason, and I disapprove of you. And the meaning of my disapproval of you when you left standing for me is that this standing has become in the balance of my heart; I have come to love it, and I have come to disapprove of the one who does not stand for me. So this person who accustomed this arrogant, haughty one to loving this standing is the one who entangled him in this entanglement, and he is the one who caused him to take his seat in the Fire. Therefore, this hadith came regarding those who love standing. But you, who stand for those who love standing, must cut off the path for them by not accustoming them to this standing. And so you find in such humble gatherings that none of us has in his mind a love of standing for him. He does not find there a person who prefers this standing, because he knows that the one who stands is contrary to the Sunnah, and the one who loves this standing takes his seat in the Fire. And this helps him in that, those who are contrary to the Sunnah by standing for these people. So there is a close connection between the existence of people who love standing, and the Messenger (peace be upon him) warned them to take their seat in the Fire, and those people who stand for them, even if they know that this standing is not prescribed. So this hadith is a valid hadith, but it has a valid indication which is hidden, and perhaps it has become clear to you. And with this amount, it is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Now we open the floor to our brother, Professor 'Umar al-Ashqar, from our Salafi brothers who came to visit us from Kuwait, so we take this as an opportunity, and we hope that he will speak with what benefits his brothers, if Allah wills (Blessed and Exalted is He).