Etiquettes and how we accomodate them!

[Sophist]

I miss Qamiir

[bilan]

salaam

i guess it is personal choice and has nothing to do with being western. but i once read that sheikh mohamed abdo(he was president of azhar in 1930)went to france and ate with his hand in a resturant, so this french lady get mad and called the manager and told him to get this "uncivilized" man out of the resturant, so he said to the lady he can be sure where his hand has been, but can she say the same thing about her forks and spoons.so those of you who would not eat with their hands because it is not clean are they sure the spoons are clean.

[Blessed]

I don't think that it is a question of eating with your hands or a fork. But deep-seated xenophobic tendencies on part of the brother. This attitude is really common among many Somalis in the west and it manifests itself in many ways. Most obvious are the Somalis who'll sit in a coffee shop and spend the entire afternoon talking about how ignorant, jaahil badaw some Somalis are for not adopting societies status quo. Some even go as far as insult the dress style of hijaabi sisters. Hibo’s ordeal is just a minor example of a common problem with our people.

 

As for the brother; it is entirely his prerogative if he wants to eat with a fork (I do most of the time) but being educated doesn’t give him any right to dictate to others or to shun established cultural practices –especially when members foreign to that culture are appreciating it and learning about it. Whether he considers hygienic or otherwise.

 

Also, I agree with Sophist, I don’t think being westernised has anything to do with action – as westerners are far more tolerant of, if not intrigued by other cultural practices than we can ever dream of being. Tell your friend that.

[OG_Girl]

Ok,let me put this way, I did not bring this topic to keep arguing with some people BUT since what I study is Islimc Law and Islamic Law is taken from the Qur’an and Sunnah.a lot of people disagreed with me here with out naming any and I know they were very sincere I did my research to find the TRUTH .I will try my best to make it short.

 

First let me say what is Sunnah? :

-Sunnah means the way of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It includes everything he said, did, and approved of. We know the Sunnah from the statements called Hadiths that have been handed down from the Companions of the Prophet.

 

The Sunnah is divided into confirmed (Sunnah mu’akkadah) and optional (Sunnah ghair mu’akkadah).

According to Islamic jurists,:

* The confirmed Sunnah also should not be neglected, though it is not as important as the fard.

 

* The optional Sunnah is recommended, but if someone neglects it, there is no sin or blame on that person.

 

Sunnah can also refer to those things that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did in order to bring himself closer to Allah, in contrast to those things that he did simply out of habit or custom. So, for example, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) slept on a simple mat out of habit or custom. We are not required to follow him in this. But he also went to sleep on his right side and advised us to do the same. Thus sleeping on the right side is a Sunnah, something he did to please Allah. But the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

Also ate with his fingers because that was the custom at the time. Thus, it is not a Sunnah for us to eat with the fingers.

 

Thus we can see that the Sunnah has several related meanings.

 

There is nothing WHITE OR BLACK... this way or that way ... there so many things in between.!!

 

PS:Deferences between Islamic scholers is (Rahmah for us ) mercy for us and make our life easier to follow which one we want.

Salam

[Grad Student]

i will add a breif comment: most western diplomats go through rigorous culture appreciation before serving a post in any country, an extreme case would be ..where some of them have been invited by their host to a dinner and been served uncooked bull's eye as the first course because in that region they are at ...it's an honor to give the guest the eye fresh so to speak. so, the point is no culture is inferior to another since everything is relative to human behavior-eating with your hands(washed or not washed).

hibo, i wanna have a biryani with ya of course with my hands

[Reality Check]

OG girl

 

*clap clap*

[LuCkY]

Hibo what Can I say you wiLL see peopLe Like that and worse in ur Lifetime but You toLd him right!

 

Anywhoo I beLIeve that its a personaL choice.Some Days I prefer to eat with My Hand other times Using a Spoon and a Fork.

 

YaLL Can Argue However Long U Want But In THe End IT ALL COmes Down To PersonaL Choice.

[Rahima]

As much as it's always best to avoid such circumstances, certain issues become inevitable and as Muslims we must fulfil our responsibilities by clarifying and if need be defending the Sunnah of Rasuallah.

 

So basically the issue at hand here is the eating with ones hand. If one out of their own will chooses to eat with spoons/forks/knives (as opposed to the hands) and does so without belittling eating with ones hands, then inshallah it is fine for there is no harm in that. However, the problem arises when one is clearly belittling an act of established Sunnah (irrespective of its classification, mu'akadah or not, punishment or no punishment). Belittling the Sunnah is most certainly not a trivial issue for Rasuallah said:

 

"That anyone who rejects my Sunnah is not of me". (Bukhari and Muslim). NOTE: my sunnah, no classification here.

 

I don't wish for this to seem like personal attacks, but I hope it is obvious which particular comment I am speaking of. Subxanallah, I don't understand how anything which Rasuallah did could be disgusting.

 

Furthermore, let us remember that to mock, reject or belittle anything established in Islam is to abrogate ones Islam (of course unless it is based on ignorance, which I sincerely hope it was, for at least that is an excuse in front of Allah).

 

Therefore folks, in light of the prophet's advise:

 

Adhere very closely to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided successors after me; bite on to it with your molar teeth, and beware of the newly invented matters.

 

Repent from such things and never contemplate such thoughts again.

 

The prophet s.a.w also said: Islam began as a stranger, and it will revert to being a stranger just as it began. So give glad tidings to the strangers.

 

We are proud to hopefully be strangers!

 

BTW, the hadith concerning the raxmah of differences is daciif. Read sifatus-salaah, the comments of Shakh Al-Bani (Rahimuallah).

 

Allah has said in the Quran " And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is an awful torment". (3:105). Therefore, through Ikhtilaaf on established matters (with proofs) we will only attain Jahanam and not the Mercy of the Creator.

 

I'll leave it at that, if I have offended anyone then I apologise, I have tried to keep any personal comments to myself and have instead opted for the proofs from the religion.

[Qac Qaac]

jazakillah khayran.. sister Rahima.. thank u.

 

exactly we shouldn't belittle the sunnah of the prophet scw... subxanallah...

[rudy-Diiriye]

hey, i am just comfortable eating with utensils! might be a pizza or rack of lamb! coz when i sit for a well deserved meal, i wanna be all relaxed and chilling! its probably out of habit!!

 

however, i did eat with hands on my maher or engagement day! but something strange happen. some dude that i didnt know sat next to me and the wadaad! he sat to my left.

 

ok while he was eating, all of sudden he started pointing his finger to his mouth looking around! so i throw him a tissue!

 

guess what! he looked at me and told that i would have understood what he meant, if i was from hargeysa!! huh! i go say what!! so he repeats same line!

 

i look at him and said, hey bro, i thought u were just looking for a tissue (napkin)!! everybody starting laughing!! its seems, there this big joke about istraaho back in xamar!

 

when he told me the joke, i busted out loud!! i cant tell the joke, coz i dont understand it, but if u can tell it, let me know again. it sounded so funny then!! peace!