15 Importance of Etiquette in Islam

Islamic Etiquette, or familiar to hear as Adab in Islam is the manner conducted by our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah may be upon him) while he interacted with people around his surrounding. Adab is the thing we do as modest people. It includes certain principles such as how we treat others, how we eat, how we speak, how we worship Allah, how we respect the teachings, etc. Therefore, in this post, we are going to find out the importance of etiquette in Islam.

1. We Need to Be Perfect Believers

As muslims, we must be so certain to realize that praying is not the only way to gain deeds. We need to be kind and conduct good manners in order to complete our prayers. It is almost impossible to practice the teachings of islam, meanwhile we neglect the importance of Adab. For it is actually a part of our faith. Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah may be upon him) once said:

“The perfect believer in respect of faith is he who is best of them in manners.” Hz Abu Hurairah (RA)

2. We Need to Follow The Path of Our Prophet (PBUH)

Adab is apparently a knowledge bestowed upon our beloved Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) by Allah to be taught to all muslim in the world. By knowing about that fact, we must start following his teaching because our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) is the role model of humanity as it is told in the Qur’an:

“You have indeed in the messenger of Allah a good example for those of you who look to Allah and the Last Day, and remember Allah always.” (Qur’an 33:21)

3. We Need to say Bismillah Before Eating

Saying bismillah before eating is a sunnah according to some hadith. Our beloved Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) said for so many times in the hadith below. He said, saying bismillah would give us strength against satans. He also said that bismillah gives the blessing upon our foods.

“If a person mentions the Name of Allah upon entering his house or eating, Satan says, addressing his followers: ‘You will find no where to spend the night and no dinner.’ But if he enters without mentioning the Name of Allah, Satan says (to his followers); ‘You have found (a place) to spend the night in, and if he does not mention the Name of Allah at the time of eating, Satan says: ‘You have found (a place) to spend the night in as well as food.” (Muslim).

“If he had said Bismillah, it would have sufficed you (all). When any one of you eats food, let him say Bismillah, and if he forgets to say Bismillah at the beginning, let him say Bismillah fi awwalihi wa akhirih (In the Name of Allah at the beginning and at the end)’” (Al-Tirmithi and others).

see also: eating habits in islam

4. We Should Take Care of Our Cleanliness

“Truly, God loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves.” (Quran 2:222)

Really, cleanliness is a part of faith as muslims who implement the teaching of Islam. Our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) said that cleanliness is not only important, yet compulsory. To maintain our cleanliness, at least there are three aspect we need to pay attention to.

The first is purification or ritual washing before performing prayer. The second is keeping the body, clothing, and environment clean. The third is removing the dirt or grime that collects in the various parts of the body, such as teeth, nostrils, under the nails, in the armpits and around the pubic area.

see also: benefits of modesty in Islam

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5. We Need to Consult in The Discussion and Decision Making

Adab also includes the public affair of our life, especially regarding to our household. We need to respect any ideas from others as meaningful and valued. Additionally, we need to seek as many opinion as possible from others and appreciate what they say. Consultation is what is firmly told by our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) to solve any problems we have.

“Invite all to the way of your Lord with wisdom and goodly advice. And argue with them in a most becoming manner. Verily your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path and who receive guidance” (Qur’an 16:125).

6. We Should Treat Our Parents with Good Manners

Allah places higher duty for our parents. Therefore, we need to respect them by implementing good manners in our interaction. Our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) once said that after performing prayers, we need to be good and dutiful to our parents. In the Qur’an, it is also clearly told:

“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents…” (Al-‘Isra’:23)

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7. We Have to Respect the Holy Qur’an

Al Qur’an is the sacred symbol of Allah. It is the holy symbols among other several kind such as the Holy Prophet and the Holy Ka’bah. We need to respect the teaching on the Holy Qur’an by reciting it in our purest heart and never deny the truth on it.

“These are the verses of Allah which We recite to you with the truth; so forsaking Allah and His signs, what will they believe in? Ruin is for every great slanderer, excessive sinner. Who hears the verses of Allah which are recited to him, then remains stubborn, proud, as if he did not hear them; therefore give him the glad tidings of a painful punishment. (Qur’an, 45:6-9)

8. We Treat Guests Well, That Is Good!

Our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) has taught us how to treat guests as the perfect muslims. The simplest way is by giving them the pleasurable experience. We have to greet them warmly, welcome and take them to the appropriate room. Our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) also showed his respect to his guests by providing them good meals and drinks. He said, “…Let the believer in God and the Day of Judgment honor his guest.”

9. We Have to Start Paying Attention to Salaam

Whenever someone says Assalamualaikum, we often neglect the importance of replying their salaam. To tell the truth, Assalamualaikum means “may peace and blessings of Allah descend upon you.” Our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) told that replying and giving Salaam is a sunnah as told in the hadith below:

“The Muslim has five rights over his fellow-Muslim: he should return his salaams, visit him when he is sick, attend his funeral, accept his invitation, and pray for mercy for him when he sneezes” (Bukhari)

10. We Should Share Smiles to Others

Smiling is the form of charity. Our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) once said that smiling to our brother’s face is a form of charity. There’s nothing wrong about his statement as actually smiling is very very contagious. It can spontaneously make other people feel the happiness we have. And for your information, our Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah may be upon him) loved to smile more than anyone else as told in the hadith below:

“I have never seen anyone more in the habit of smiling than the Messenger.” (At-Tirmidhi)

Others

Besides those 10 importance of etiquette in Islam that’s been explained so far, there are some left unmentioned:

• We should avoid every bad habit and conversation
• We should concentrate and answer the Adzan
• We should avoid lies as hard as we could
• We should eat with the right hand
•  We should eat only halal and clean food.

Finally, there are 15 importance of etiquette in Islam that we must commit in order to gain the most tremendous reward as Allah’s believer. May peace and blessing of Allah be upon us till Jannah!