The Shaykh’s mention of a story indicating the discomfort and annoyance some people feel when standing for those who enter gatherings
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The Shaykh : As they say, if I forget, I will not forget. In Damascus, there is a library called the Hashemite Arab Library.
The questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Its owners are among the distinguished people of Damascus, and the eldest among them is Ahmad 'Abd, a man of literature, virtue, and poetry. He has other righteous brothers, one of whom is named Hamdi, who responded to the Salafi call to a great extent. He told me the following story: "We were once invited to a large celebration, and we were seated in the front rows, as is the custom and tradition. We had barely sat down when a rumor spread through the gathering that Prince So-and-So is coming. So, all eyes turned to the door. The Prince entered, and we stood up, and we remained standing until he sat in his place in the first row, which had been prepared for him. Before we could settle, another rumor spread that Pasha So-and-So is coming. Indeed, the Pasha entered, and we stood up. We had barely sat down when [the rumor spread] that Minister So-and-So is coming. The Minister entered, and we stood up. Here is the joke: I said to myself, 'This is a job. I am not a poet by nature, but it is as if there is a belt under me; I sit and I stand, I sit and I stand. By Allah, we have no escape from this problem, except that we follow the school of So-and-So, meaning what I heard from him... People stand and sit as if there is something under them... This is a reality that occurs in public gatherings. In fact, this is part of the social hypocrisy that has spread and pervaded the Islamic lands. Although this is easy regarding other matters, unfortunately, we are speaking of this regarding students of knowledge like us, and those who love to always follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."
Please proceed.
The questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Its owners are among the distinguished people of Damascus, and the eldest among them is Ahmad 'Abd, a man of literature, virtue, and poetry. He has other righteous brothers, one of whom is named Hamdi, who responded to the Salafi call to a great extent. He told me the following story: "We were once invited to a large celebration, and we were seated in the front rows, as is the custom and tradition. We had barely sat down when a rumor spread through the gathering that Prince So-and-So is coming. So, all eyes turned to the door. The Prince entered, and we stood up, and we remained standing until he sat in his place in the first row, which had been prepared for him. Before we could settle, another rumor spread that Pasha So-and-So is coming. Indeed, the Pasha entered, and we stood up. We had barely sat down when [the rumor spread] that Minister So-and-So is coming. The Minister entered, and we stood up. Here is the joke: I said to myself, 'This is a job. I am not a poet by nature, but it is as if there is a belt under me; I sit and I stand, I sit and I stand. By Allah, we have no escape from this problem, except that we follow the school of So-and-So, meaning what I heard from him... People stand and sit as if there is something under them... This is a reality that occurs in public gatherings. In fact, this is part of the social hypocrisy that has spread and pervaded the Islamic lands. Although this is easy regarding other matters, unfortunately, we are speaking of this regarding students of knowledge like us, and those who love to always follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."
Please proceed.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.