Ways to Sit during the Khutba

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

I recently heard that it is not permissible/makrooh to sit during the khutba in hawba, where one sits and draws his knees up and holds them, also known as ihtiba. Is there any basis for this?

Answer

This manner of sitting during the sermon is disliked in the Shafi’i school. [Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj]. They reason that it tends to make a person fall asleep, making him miss the sermon.

However, in the Hanafi school, it is permitted to sit in this manner and other ways. [Laknawi, ‘Umda al-Ri’aya].  As long as you can pay attention to the speaker the seating manner does not matter.

The sermon is an important part of the week. Taking one practical point from it and applying it in one’s life can bring considerable improvements to a Believer in a short time.

May Allah allow us to benefit from what we learn.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

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Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.