Home: Its Etiquette from Sunnah Perspective

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Once in a time, I read a very beautiful quote says that "A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams."  There are differences between a house and home. 

Benjamin Franklin said: "A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body". Thus, which one do you prefer?

I need a home, not only a house..

In Islam, home is the place that we enjoy every moment with the beloved ones. The Quran teaches Muslim how to ask permission to enter house and command to respect neighbor. The Prophet PBUH also supports this matter in his Prophetic Traditions. especially mentioned about the etiquette in new house as discussed by Muslim Scholars.

Here are some etiquette of moving into the new house according to the Sunnah.

1) Thank Allah:

First and foremost be grateful for the blessing of Allah, because being grateful is one of the noblest of  deeds. Indeed it is Allah alone that has blessed you and if you are thankful, Allaah will increase you even more in His blessings. Allah says: “And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: If you give thanks, I will give you more (of My Blessings); but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily, My punishment is indeed severe” [Surah Ibraaheem:7] 

 

2) Say this Dua:

Someone asked Sheikh Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen what a person should say if he enters his home. He said:
“Praise be to Allah. When a man enters his house, he should say….

 أعوذ بكلمات الله التامَّات من شر ما خلق

'(I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of that which He has created)’ three times. If he says this, then nothing will harm him until he leaves that place.”

Also when the Prophet PBUH something that he liked, he would say:

الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ الذِي بِنِعمَتِهِ تَتِمُّ الصَّالِحَاتُ

  (Praise be to Allaah by Whose grace good deeds are completed).” (Ibn Maajah)

There is also another Du'a, from the Quran, Allah says:

رَبِّ أَنْزِلْنِي مُنْزَلًا مُبَارَكًا

"My Lord, let me land at a blessed landing place, and You are the best to accommodate [us]." [Surah al Mu'minun: 29]

3) Say Bismillaah and prevent the Shaytaan from entering:

Saying  Bismillaah on entering your house will keep the Shaytan out. The Prophet PBUH said:
“When a man enters his house, and mentions Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, when he enters and when he eats, the Shaytaan says: ‘You have no place to stay and no dinner.’ But if he enters and does not mention Allaah when he enters, the Shaytaan says, ‘You have found a place to stay.’ And if he does not mention Allaah when he eats, he says: ‘You have found a place to stay and dinner.’” (Muslim) .
 

This is not only for a new house, rather it includes all houses and all times of entering. So start your life in your new house with the remembrance of Allah.

4) Say Masha Allah:

When you admire your new house, say:

 مَا شَاءَ اللهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلا بِاللهِ

That is because Allah said in the story of the two men in Surah al-Kahf:  “It was better for you to say, when you entered your garden: ‘‘Ma sha’ Allaah la quwwata illa Billaah (that which Allaah wills (will come to pass! There is no power but with Allaah)’ If you see me less than you in wealth, and children” [Surah al-Kahf:39]

Ibn al-Qayyim said: “The one who enters his garden or house and sees something that he likes in his wealth or his family should hasten to say these words, and if he does, no harm will befall the thing that he admired.”

 5) Protect your house from Envy and the Evil Eye:

One of the ways in which you can seek protection for your new house from the evil eye and envy is to say what the  Prophet PBUH taught us.

 أُعِيذُكَ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّةِ مِن كُلِّ شَيطَانٍ وَهَامَّة ، وَمِن كُلِّ عَينٍ لَامَّةٍ

(I seek refuge for you in the perfect words of Allah from every devil and poisonous reptile, and from every envious evil eye).” (Bukhaari)

6) Read Surah al-Baqarah:

Reading this blessed Surah will drive the Shayaateen away from your house. The  Prophet PBUH said: “Do not make your houses into graves, for the Shaytaan flees from a house in which Surah al-Baqarah is recited.” (Muslim)

 

Shaykh Ibn Baaz said : “It seems – and Allaah knows best – that by means of the reading of all of Soorat al-Baqarah, either on the radio or by the owner of the house, that which was mentioned by the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) may be achieved, namely Shaytaan fleeing from that house. (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa)

This shows us that any way that the reading is achieved is sufficient, be it reading it yourself or playing it on the CD, radio, etc.

7) Invite people to dinner:

Make food and invite people to come and eat, because that is a way of showing gratitude to Allah. The Ulama tell us that holding a feast after acquiring property is called “wakeerah” and it is mustahabb (recommended) to do so, like all kinds of feasts that are given on happy occasions.  

8) Stay away from innovations:

There is no proof in the Qur’aan or Sunnah that justifies holding Qur'aan Khwaanis or ‘Khatams’ of ‘Yaa Salaamu’, etc. when a person moves to a new house. We don't have any authentic reports about the Prophet PBUH or the Companions reading the different parts of the Qur'aan or holding Khatams when they, for example, migrated to Madinah and moved to new houses. As a matter of fact, they didn't do this EVER, at any part of their lives, whether they moved or not moved.

Also there is no proof in the Shari'ah of other innovations that people have invented when they first move into new houses such as taking the Qur'an, or taking water and salt before anything else into their new house, burning chilies at the doorstep, etc. That is all superstition and thus forbidden.

9) Adhan:

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states: "Adhan (call to prayer) is a form of Dhikr (remembrance of Allah); it has been prescribed as a summons to prayer for the specific purpose of informing people of the arrival of the time of Prayer.

While mentioning the specific benefits of Adhan, the Prophet PBUH said that it drives away the Satan while eliciting positive responses from good spirits.  Since Adhan is a form of Dhikr, there is nothing wrong if a person calls Adhan before settling down in a house-- if his intention is simply to drive away devils-- although ideally it would have been better for the person in question to gather his own family members and pray two Rak`ahs of Nafl (supererogatory) prayer thanking Allah for His favor, and read parts of the Qur’an. 

However, simply calling Adhan before occupying a house will not guarantee that the house is protected against devils. 

InsyaAllah, I'm moving to a new house that I will make it a Home for us build new happy life together. May Allah make everything easier for me. Please bless our Home...

References:

- Asma binti Shameem, "Etiquette of Moving into a new House"

- Fatwa Management System, "Calling Adhan into a new house: is it a Bid'ah?" 

- Amir's Blog, "Adab Memasuki Rumah Baru"

**Only Allah knows how difficult to get a Home.