Islamic manners and etiquette
Ruling on students standing when the teacher enters the classroom 📃
Q: May Allaah reward you and may Allaah bless you. May Allaah inspire you to do the right thing and guide you to the truth. May Allaah benefit us from what we heard, and may Allaah forgive us, you and all Muslims, Amen. The questioner says, O Sheikh, in many schools in Muslim countries in the educational system, the students stand up when the teacher enters. Is this permissible?
A: They infer this from the words of the poet: Stand up for the teacher and give him veneration. The teacher is almost a messenger. Some of them read it as a verse and hadith. This action is included in the hadith of the Prophet, may Allaah’s prayers and peace be upon him, forbidding people to stand up for him, and the people of knowledge have many fatwas prohibiting that. The advising teacher should prevent his students from doing so. If he enters, the students stand up, and if he sits, they sit. This is included in the prohibition and warning that was mentioned before. Yes.
Is it established in the Sunnah that Companions used to stand for the Prophet ﷺ 📃
Q: Questioner says: Is it established in the Sunnah that the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, used to stand for the Prophet, may Allaah’s prayers and peace be upon him, when greeting him and shaking hands with him?
A: What is indicated by the Sunnah is that standing, if it is for a purpose, and is not just standing up only to venerate, or to imitate a person standing in veneration for him, if it is for a purpose, then there is nothing wrong with it. And there have come many narraations that indicate this, whether the purpose was greeting or the purpose was to help, “Stand up to your master” or the purpose of embracing, like what was mentioned in the story of Jabir with Abdullah bin Unais. If it was for a purpose, then there is nothing wrong with it. The prohibition is to stand up to him as veneration, as Imam Al-Bukhari, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “The chapter on a man standing up to a man as veneration,” that is, for this reason only. Also it was mentioned, Fatimah standing up for her father, if he entered, she stood up and greeted him, kissed him, and seated him. All of these are if it is for a legitimate purpose. The prohibition is for standing for the purpose of veneration. From the example of that, a person enters the gathering and those present stand up to venerate him. And when he took his place in the gathering, and they sat down, they sat down as well. They didn't stand up for greeting nor for embracing, nor for help, nor for any other purpose, but only for glorification.