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Preface

Since the beginning of history, human societies, even primitive tribal communities, have all developed rules to regulate the conduct of personal and social relations. The oldest book on manners, The Instructions of Ptah Hotep, attributed to the ancient Egyptians, records the instructions of a father to his son about proper behaviour. Every people has observed its own rules and norms; manners have changed tremendously over the centuries, indeed, even within a single people they have varied considerably from one place to another at one and the same time. Regarding Muslims, it is true that many elements of Islamic manners still dominate different spheres of daily life in the Muslim world. Nevertheless, it is also true that alien elements have had a wide and increasing influence. This is due primarily to a weak interaction with the Islamic faith. But the fact that no standard text on the subject exists has also contributed. This work is a response to the need for such a text, making the details of Islamic manners readily accessible to the largest possible audience.

The importation of certain elements of Western manners into the Muslim’s daily life has come out of the recent and continuing interaction with the West. But even before that interaction had been established, the Islamic way of life had been subject to non-Islamic elements, chiefly the result of innovation. To meet this challenge, a Muslim must Islamize his conception of manners by deriving them from the basic sources of Islam, the Qur’ān and the Sunnah. He must distinguish between normative Islam and historical Islam, between Islam and non-Islam; he must point to many practices which, ungrounded in normative Islam, yet prevail among Muslims. Having done this, the way ahead will be clearer for Islamic communities to rid themselves of cultural influences that have penetrated into Muslim life over the centuries.

The importance of teaching and training Muslim children to act in accordance with Islamic manners at all times and in all places cannot be over-stated. It is hoped that this book will, insha’Allah, help to fill the gap noted above, and serve as an accessible handbook to determine what manners suit a particular occasion or circumstance. For ease of reference, each chapter is organized in point form and intended to be complete in itself. Inevitably, where themes common to different chapters are treated, some points have had to be repeated: the alternative, much tedious cross-referencing, we judged to be a greater hindrance to the objectives of the book.

Finally, the author would be grateful to readers for any advice on errors of omission or commission. Comments should be directed to:

Dr. Marwan I. AI-Kaysi,

Humanities Department,

Yarmouk University,

Irbid, Jordan.