They all laughed at me

They All Laughed at Me

I still remember my first day in the UK in university. The professor entered the room, I stood up. "Good morning, sir."

All my colleagues were laughing at me. I realized — here they call the professor by the first name. John.

John. He's your friend or something? You call him sir, mister, last name, professor. Some respect. No — "John, how's it going?" I can't do this. We like our classes and systems and respect — sitting and standing.

The Prophet's Humility

But what amazed me — when I heard for the first time — that the Prophet entered the room and his companions stood up, and he told them:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 5230)

"Do not stand up as the non-Arabs do, venerating one another."

He said: "This is what the Romans and the Persians do. This is not what we do."

"When I enter the room, do not stand up."

And if you want people to stand up for your entrance — you have a problem. Why? You think you're special? You're not special. Let them stay seated. You go down to them. This is how the Prophet would be in his humility — he would go down to people.