Manners of Gathering

Islam gives consideration to the general feeling of people who gather at any place; so people would desire to gather. Therefore, Islam instructs its followers to be clean; they should not come with a bad odor that bothers others, and they should come well-dressed so that people would not be harmed by his sight. Islam also instructs people to pay attention to the speaker without interrupting him and to sit where they find room without crossing people or causing them any inconvenience.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said about the gathering of the Friday Prayer (Jumu’ah):

“Whoever takes a bath on Friday, applies some scent on if any, wears the best of his clothes, then attends Friday prayer without crossing over people’s necks and performs whatever rak’ahs he is able, and then keeps quiet when the Imam mounts the pulpit until he concludes prayer, his prayer will be an atonement for the whole week preceding that prayer.” [Abu Dawood & Ibn Majah]

If someone sneezes, he should say,

“Alhamdulillaah.” (All praise is due to Allah)

Those who hear him should say,

“Yarhamuk-Allahu.” (may Allah have mercy on you)

The one who sneezes should again reply to them by saying, “Yahdeekumullaah wa yuslihu baalakum.” (may Allah guide you and improve your heart, your living, and your affairs).”

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“When one of you sneezes, let him say, Alhamdulillaah, ’ and then let his brother or companion say to him, Yarhamuk-Allahu, and then let him (the one who sneezed) say, Yahdee kum-ullaah wa yuslihu baalakum.” [Reported by al-Bukhari]

From its manners is what Abu Hurairah (RA) related, that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“When one of you sneezes, let him place his hands on his face and lower his voice.” [Reported by al-Haakim]

When someone feels like yawning, they should try to stop it as much as possible. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“Indeed Allah loves sneezes but hates yawns. When one of you sneezes and then thanks and praises Allah, it is his right that every Muslim that hears him says “Yarhamuk-Allah”. As for yawning, it is from Satan, so let a person try to suppress it as much as possible. And if one of you sighs, “Aahh!” [while doing so], Shaytaan laughs.” [Reported by al-Bukhari]

One should not belch in public. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“A man belched while in the company of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), and so he said to him: ‘Save us from your belching, for the most satiated in this life will be hungry for the longest time on the Day of Resurrection.’ ” [Reported by at-Tirmidhi & Ibn Maajah]