al-Adab al-Islamiyya

al-Adab al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Etiquettes) is a treatise outlining Islamic personal manners, prophetic conduct, and daily devotional supplications grounded in the Quran and the Sunnah al-Adab al-Islamiyya.

Purpose and Scope

The work frames Islamic etiquette as a system aimed at producing psychological, spiritual, and physical balance in the believer al-Adab al-Islamiyya. It highlights the role of daily remembrances (adhkār) and prophetic guidelines in providing inner peace and alleviating psychological anxiety caused by material worries and apprehension about the future al-Adab al-Islamiyya. The text emphasizes that adherence to these etiquettes connects the individual directly with God and reinforces righteous conduct in both private and social spheres al-Adab al-Islamiyya+1.

Structure and Contents

The text arranges everyday manners into thematic sections supported by Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, and scholarly explanations:

• Entering and Leaving the Home: Rules regarding greeting one's family or empty dwellings with the salām, reciting designated entry and exit supplications, leaving dressed and covered, and invoking God's name to ward off Satan from entering the house al-Adab al-Islamiyya+1.
• Eating: Washing hands before and after meals, reciting the basmalah at the start and praising God upon finishing, eating with the right hand and from the food directly in front, abstaining from criticizing food, avoiding eating while reclining, permitting pleasant conversation during meals, licking the fingers, allowing elders to begin first, and supplicating for the host al-Adab al-Islamiyya+2.
• Drinking: Pronouncing God's name, drinking in three separate draughts, the dislike of drinking directly from waterskins or blowing into vessels, preferring to drink while seated, prohibiting gold and silver drinking vessels, avoiding overfilling the stomach, passing drinks to the right (al-ayman fa-l-ayman), and the server drinking last al-Adab al-Islamiyya+2.
• Sneezing and Yawning: Praising God upon sneezing, responding with يرحمك الله ("May God have mercy upon you") only if the sneezer praises God, replying with prayers for guidance, covering the face and lowering the voice, responding to non-Muslims with prayers for guidance, and suppressing or covering the mouth during yawns while avoiding raising one's voice al-Adab al-Islamiyya+1.
• Relieving Oneself: Reciting specific prayers before entering and after leaving the lavatory, avoiding the use of the right hand for cleansing (istinjāʾ), taking precautions against urine splash (istibrāʾ), refraining from facing or turning one's back directly toward the qiblah, and washing hands with water and soap afterwards al-Adab al-Islamiyya+2.
• Sleeping and Waking: Sleeping on the right side with the hand under the right cheek, reciting bedtime and morning supplications, dusting the bed before lying down, washing greasy substances from the hands, extinguishing fires, locking doors, covering containers, avoiding sleeping on the stomach, and sleeping in a state of ritual purity (wuḍūʾ) al-Adab al-Islamiyya+1.
• Dress, Adornment, and Appearance: Encouraging moderation, cleanliness, and fine dress for communal occasions such as Friday prayers and holidays; grooming the hair and beard; starting with the right side when dressing; and detailing prohibitions such as gold and silk for men, imitation of the opposite gender, ostentatious garments (thiyāb al-shuhrah), and altering natural physical features through tattooing or teeth filing al-Adab al-Islamiyya+5.
• The Road: Walking with humility, lowering the gaze, greeting acquaintances and strangers, removing harmful obstacles from paths, and fulfilling the duties of public spaces through enjoining good and forbidding evil al-Adab al-Islamiyya+1.
• The Mosque: Entering cleanly and fragranced while avoiding foul odors like garlic or onions (with women avoiding perfume when attending), reciting the supplications for walking to and entering the mosque, stepping in with the right foot and leaving with the left, maintaining composure and quiet, praying the two units of greeting the mosque (taḥiyyat al-masjid), engaging in remembrance, Quran recitation, and legal study, and prohibiting commercial transactions, searching for lost property, or reciting unsuitable poetry within the prayer area al-Adab al-Islamiyya+2.