Entering or Leaving a House

CHAPTER 3

HOW TO ENTER

When we enter or leave our house, office, we should always proceed with our right foot first as this was the sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). With the masjid, we should enter with the right foot but leave with the left. This should be accompanied by one of the following dua'as:

Du'a when entering the house

Dua'a when entering the Masjid

‘I take refuge with Allaah, The Supreme and with His Noble Face, and His eternal authority from the accursed devil. In the name of Allaah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allaah. O Allaah, open the gates of Your mercy for me.’

Dua'a when leaving the house

‘In the name of Allaah, I place my trust in Allaah, and there is no might nor power except with Allaah.’

Dua'a when leaving the Masjid

‘In the name of Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allaah. O Allaah, I ask You from Your favour. O Allaah, guard from the accursed devil.’

When entering or leaving the house we should be careful not to push open the door in a violent manner or slam it shut, nor leave it to close by itself wildly. We should close the door gently with our hand. Wild actions stand in contrast to the gracefulness of Islam that we are honoured to belong to. The adab of entering should be in a gentle manner, reflective of our character. A Muslim should be gentle in every way, when he sells, when he buys, when he enters the house and every other area of life.

Aisha (رضى الله عنها) narrated from the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم):

"Gentleness adorns every act. It's absence will tarnish it"

(Sahih Muslim)

So we should be weary of our gentleness when entering or leaving the house. For instance if we storm in to our house, banging and stomping in as if we are a wild animal, what impression will that give to those within the home. Will they not be scared, or in dread of your visit? When a husband/wife returns home from work, they should for instance leave thier work, any stress or issues they may have faced throughout the day, outside the door, entering in a gentle composed manner, with a smile. Today, we are so obsessed with our own lives we forget the true essence of our actions, or that we may be acting more like animals than humans, than Muslim...

With respect to calmness, this is especially important in salah, in that it teaches us to be calm, punctual, soft and disciplined.

Abu Huraira (رضى الله عنه) narrated:

Once the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) entered the mosque, a man came in, offered the prayer and greeted the Prophet(صلى الله عليه وسلم). The Prophet(صلى الله عليه وسلم) returned his greeting and said to him, "Go back and pray again for you have not prayed." The man offered the prayer again, came back and greeted the Prophet(صلى الله عليه وسلم). He said to him thrice, "Go back and pray again for you have not prayed." The man said, "By Him Who has sent you with the truth! I do not know a better way of praying. Kindly teach Me how to pray." He said, "When you stand for the prayer, say Takbir and then recite from the Qur'an what you know and then bow with calmness till you feel at ease, then rise from bowing till you stand straight. Afterwards prostrate calmly till you feel at ease and then raise (your head) and sit with calmness till you feel at ease and then prostrate with calmness till you feel at ease in prostration and do the same in the whole of your prayer."

(Sahih Bukhari)