His Manner of Sitting

A look back at the amazing features, appearance, characteristics, habits, and personality of our most amazing Nabi ﷺ, to help us understand how special he was.

Jibreel Alayhis Salam has said:

قَلَّبْتُ مَشَارِقَ الْأَرْضِ ، وَمَغَارِبَهَا فَلَمْ أَرَ رَجُلًا أَفْضَلَ مِنْ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

“I searched the east and the west, I left no stone unturned, but I did not find anyone like our beloved Rasul ﷺ.” (Mujamul Awsat-Tabraani)

His Manner of Sitting ﷺ

Describing our beloved Nabi ﷺ’s style of sitting the Sahabah give the following descriptions:

Sitting on the floor

Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه says that our beloved Nabi ﷺ mostly sat on the floor and he would have his meals whilst sitting on the floor. (Kanzul Ummal)

Sayyidah Qaylah Bint Makhramah رضي الله عنها says that she once saw our beloved Nabi ﷺ in the Masjid sitting in the ‘Qurfusa’ posture. She further says that seeing our beloved Nabi ﷺ sitting so humbly made the hair on her body stand on end. (Shama’il)

Similarly, Sayyiduna Abu Saeed رضي الله عنه says that our beloved Nabi ﷺ would sit in the Habwah posture whilst in the Masjid. (Shama’il)

What is Qurfusa and Habwah?

– Qurfusa and Habwah are two sitting postures which were common in the time of our beloved Nabi ﷺ.

– Both these positions reflect humility and humbleness.

– They both refer to sitting on the floor on one’s bottom, with the legs bent at the knees, both feet on the ground and the thighs pulled up against the chest.

– The difference between the two postures is that to keep the thighs close to the chest, in the Qurfusa position, the hands are braced around the shins, whilst in the Habwah position a piece of string or cloth is used to keep the hands free.

Humbleness and respect

Sayyiduna Anas رضي الله عنه says that cushions or rugs were never placed at his blessed sitting place in any gathering (as our beloved Nabi ﷺ preferred simplicity and was very humble). (Akhlaq an Nabi)

Sayyiduna Anas رضي الله عنه explains the respect our beloved Nabi ﷺ showed to others. He says that our beloved Nabi ﷺ never stretched out his legs towards anyone in the audience. (Ibn Majah)

Sitting cross-legged

Sayyiduna Jabir رضي الله عنه describes another manner in which our beloved Nabi ﷺ sat. He says that our beloved Nabi ﷺ would sit in the cross-legged posture after Fajr Salah until sunrise. (Abu Dawud)

Reclining and Leaning

Sayyiduna Jabir رضي الله عنه further explains that he once saw our beloved Nabi ﷺ reclining to his left side and leaning against a cushion. (Shama’il)

Sitting on a chair

Though our beloved Nabi ﷺ usually sat on the floor, he did occasionally sit on a chair as can be found in an incident narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Rifa’ah رضي الله عنه who says that he went to our beloved Nabi ﷺ to enquire about Islam. He says our beloved Nabi ﷺ came towards him and a chair was placed for our beloved Nabi ﷺ which he sat upon. (Muslim)

This was just a brief description of our beautiful, beloved and brilliant Nabi ﷺ, who was the most humble human and whose lifestyle and actions we should try our best to adopt.

يَارَبِّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ دَائِماً اَبَداً عَلٰى حَبِيْبِكَ خَيْرِ الْخَلْقِ كُلِّهِمِ

Other Portrait of Perfection Lessons


His Justice




His Poetry




His Generosity




His Blessed Recitation of the Qur’an




His Simplicity




His Manner of Sitting