The story that happened with Ibn Battah (may Allah have mercy on him).
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : And among these is one of the great scholars of the Hanbali school, namely Abu 'Abdullah Ibn Battah. This noble scholar was very strict regarding this standing up and explicitly stated that it is forbidden. They mentioned in his biography that one day he went out walking with a companion of his who was a poet. They entered the market and passed by a noble scholar sitting in his shop at his place. The scholar stood up for Ibn Battah, knowing that Ibn Battah hated this standing up with the utmost hatred. So that scholar who stood up for Ibn Battah excused himself to him with two lines of poetry. What did he say?
"Do not blame me for standing up, for my right *** when you appear is that I do not stand up
You are the most noble of creation to me *** and it is the truth that I honor the noble ones"
This is undoubtedly acceptable speech among people, but it is rejected by this jurist, Ibn Battah. Therefore, he said to his companion with him, who was a brilliant poet, "Answer him for me," and he was his student. So he said to that scholar who stood up for Ibn Battah:
"If you see no equality in you *** for me, and you show great respect
You have the merit in precedence and knowledge *** And we do not want from you reserve.
Then pardon me now from this standing up of yours, first *** for I will reward you with standing up for standing up
And I hate that very much, *** For in it is flattery and sin.
Do not burden your brother to receive you *** with what by which the forbidden is made lawful
And if our hearts are sound, *** We will suffice ourselves from tiring our bodies.
We are all confident in the love of his brother *** so why our agitation and for what?"
The truth is that the last part of the verse is the point of the poem, as they say in this matter, that we should train ourselves to rectify our hearts and that our outward actions match our hearts. The matter of this standing up is not like that. Therefore, this man said:
"And if our consciences are sound from us *** we are content not to tire our bodies
We are all confident in the love of his brother *** so why our agitation and for what?"
One of my friends in Damascus told me about forty years ago that we attended a gathering. We had barely sat on the chairs when a big rumor went out that the great gathering of so-and-so the Prince is now entering the door of the place. The eyes turned to the entrance. The Prince came, so we stood up. The Prince sat, so we sat. He said, we had barely sat when a second rumor came that so-and-so the Pasha is now entering. Indeed, the Pasha entered, so we stood up, then we sat. And so on. He said, I felt that under me we say in Syria "zambark," meaning a spring, known as this among you, or I don't know what it is called among you, a good zambark. He said, I felt that under me was a zambark that would sit me and raise me, and I would sit on top of it like that. Finally, I said to myself, until when? By Allah, there is nothing more comfortable than following the Sunnah, and I am not standing up no matter who enters. So I was at ease. Indeed, this verse of poetry:
"And if our consciences are sound from us *** we are content not to tire our bodies"
And this is observed in many gatherings if the great ones of the people are present, you find people like this, standing and sitting. Is this from Islam? This is not from Islam at all. In this part of the hadith, the speech ends regarding standing up for the one entering as a sign of honor.
There is standing up of another type, but it is specific to the owner of the house and the master of the house. The one entering or the one knocking on the door, the guest or the son says, "O father, so-and-so." He stands up, welcomes him, and seats him in the place appropriate for him, as we said earlier. But these are guests who have no relation to this one entering, so they do not stand up for him. However, they have a specific etiquette, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Mujadila 58:11] meaning, as you said in the morning, that the gatherings did not have these chairs and sofas and so on, but rather the ground, and there might be some cushions. The gathering might be full, so people make room to seat that man. As for standing up like this, the speech has preceded on it, and it is not prescribed. As for standing up to him, this is from the Sunnah of the owner of the house to welcome the guest.
From here, we must distinguish between standing up for the one entering, which is not prescribed, and standing up to the one entering, which is prescribed.
"Do not blame me for standing up, for my right *** when you appear is that I do not stand up
You are the most noble of creation to me *** and it is the truth that I honor the noble ones"
This is undoubtedly acceptable speech among people, but it is rejected by this jurist, Ibn Battah. Therefore, he said to his companion with him, who was a brilliant poet, "Answer him for me," and he was his student. So he said to that scholar who stood up for Ibn Battah:
"If you see no equality in you *** for me, and you show great respect
You have the merit in precedence and knowledge *** And we do not want from you reserve.
Then pardon me now from this standing up of yours, first *** for I will reward you with standing up for standing up
And I hate that very much, *** For in it is flattery and sin.
Do not burden your brother to receive you *** with what by which the forbidden is made lawful
And if our hearts are sound, *** We will suffice ourselves from tiring our bodies.
We are all confident in the love of his brother *** so why our agitation and for what?"
The truth is that the last part of the verse is the point of the poem, as they say in this matter, that we should train ourselves to rectify our hearts and that our outward actions match our hearts. The matter of this standing up is not like that. Therefore, this man said:
"And if our consciences are sound from us *** we are content not to tire our bodies
We are all confident in the love of his brother *** so why our agitation and for what?"
One of my friends in Damascus told me about forty years ago that we attended a gathering. We had barely sat on the chairs when a big rumor went out that the great gathering of so-and-so the Prince is now entering the door of the place. The eyes turned to the entrance. The Prince came, so we stood up. The Prince sat, so we sat. He said, we had barely sat when a second rumor came that so-and-so the Pasha is now entering. Indeed, the Pasha entered, so we stood up, then we sat. And so on. He said, I felt that under me we say in Syria "zambark," meaning a spring, known as this among you, or I don't know what it is called among you, a good zambark. He said, I felt that under me was a zambark that would sit me and raise me, and I would sit on top of it like that. Finally, I said to myself, until when? By Allah, there is nothing more comfortable than following the Sunnah, and I am not standing up no matter who enters. So I was at ease. Indeed, this verse of poetry:
"And if our consciences are sound from us *** we are content not to tire our bodies"
And this is observed in many gatherings if the great ones of the people are present, you find people like this, standing and sitting. Is this from Islam? This is not from Islam at all. In this part of the hadith, the speech ends regarding standing up for the one entering as a sign of honor.
There is standing up of another type, but it is specific to the owner of the house and the master of the house. The one entering or the one knocking on the door, the guest or the son says, "O father, so-and-so." He stands up, welcomes him, and seats him in the place appropriate for him, as we said earlier. But these are guests who have no relation to this one entering, so they do not stand up for him. However, they have a specific etiquette, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
when you are told, "Space yourselves" in assemblies, then make space; Allah will make space for you
ذا قيل لكم تفسحوا في المجالس فافسحوا يفسح الله لكمFrom here, we must distinguish between standing up for the one entering, which is not prescribed, and standing up to the one entering, which is prescribed.