The Manners of Attending Meetings

This Article will look at how the Prophet ﷺ would behave at meetings

The Prophet ﷺ acted in a certain way when attending meetings, gatherings or at simple get-togethers with the Companions.
There were things that he did and things that he would never do. The Prophet ﷺ was guided to the truth by Allah ﷻ .
Everything he did was a lesson to the people around him.
He had the best manners and made many statements regarding sitting in meetings and gatherings. One example was that the Prophet ﷺ told the people not to sit in the middle of the gathering. This is because someone who pushes into a group of people shows no consideration for anyone else:

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ cursed the one who sits in the middle of people’s circles. (Reported by Aboo Daawood)

The Prophet ﷺ also told the people not to ask anyone else to get up from his/her seat and sit in his/her place.
This also shows a lack of consideration:

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “Do not ask someone to give up his seat in order for you to sit there. Instead, widen the space and make room.” (Al-Bukhaari and Muslim)”.

There are some exceptions to this hadeeth. An example is for the one who sat in a place, then went to the bathroom and when he/she returned, found that someone was sitting in his/her seat. In this case the person can politely ask whoever it is to get up. Another example is if a student is sitting in the chair of the teacher. The best way to attend a meeting can be seen by the example of the Companions. They would come to the gatherings of the Prophet ﷺ and sit in the first place that was available to them. They would never step over or squeeze past people. They would not push others out of the way or tell people to get up. The Prophet ﷺ saw the good behavior of the Companions in meetings and get-togethers and agreed with what they did. From this example, all Muslims can learn good manners when attending meetings.
Good practices when attending meetings are having a good appearance, listening to what people say and showing good manners when speaking. Another good practice when starting a meeting is to remember Allah and to send blessings on the Prophet ﷺ . This will lead the people to remember Allah and to stay away from saying bad things.
The Prophet ﷺ also taught the Companions a du’aa to say at the end of meetings, gatherings or get-togethers. He said that a person who mentions the du’aa before getting up would be forgiven for any sins that were committed during the gathering. However, this does not mean that people can say bad things on purpose and then expect to be forgiven automatically. The du’aa is as follows:

قال رسول الله ﷺ : سبْحَانَكَ اللهُم وَبِحَمْدِكَ أشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ اسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ (رواه الترمذي)

How perfect you are Allah and all praise is for you. There is nothing worthy of worship except you. I ask Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance. (Reported in Tirmidhi)

What we learn from the lesson:

There were certain things that the Prophet ﷺ told the people not to do in meetings, gatherings and get-togethers.
When starting a meeting it is very important to remember Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ always finished a meeting with a specific du’aa.