Etiquettes Of Entering And Leaving The House

Remember Allah when entering the house

Jabir Ibn. 'Abdullah reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

When a person enters his house and mentions the name of Allah at the time of entering it and while eating the food, Satan says (addressing himself: You have no place to spend the night and no evening meal; but when he enters without mentioning the name of Allah, the Satan says: You have found a place to spend the night, and when he does not mention the name of Allah while eating food, he (the Satan) says: You have found a place to spend the night and evening meal. (Muslim)

Note: The Hadith above mentions to say بِسْمِ اللهِ Bismillah (in the name of Allah) when entering one’s house and eating. Doing so will prevent the Devil from entering the house and eating the food. If the individual does not mention the name of Allah when entering and eating, the Devil will have a place to stay and food to eat.

Recite the following supplication when entering the house

Narrated AbuMalik Al-Ash'ari: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: When a man goes into his house, he should say:

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ خَيْرَ الْمَوْلِجِ وَخَيْرَ الْمَخْرَجِ بِسْمِ اللهِ وَلَجْنَا وَبِسْمِ اللهِ خَرَجْنَا وَعَلَى اللهِ رَبِّنَا تَوَكَّلْنَا 

“O Allah! I ask you for good both when entering and when going out; in the name of Allah we have entered, and in the name of Allah we have gone out, and in Allah our Lord do we trust."

He should then greet (give Salaam) his family. Narrated by Abi Dawud

Or you can recite the one bellow:

بِسْمِ اللهِ وَلَجْنَا وَبِسْمِ اللهِ خَرَجْنَا وَعَلَى اللهِ رَبِّنَا تَوَكَّلْنَ

Give Salam when entering the house

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said:

“...But when you enter the houses, greet one another with a greeting from Allah (i.e As-Salamu Alaikum (Peace be on you)),  blessed and good…” (24:61)

It is narrated by Anas in At-Tirmidhi that: 

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me: 'O my little son! When you enter upon your family then give the Salam, it will be a blessing for you and upon the inhabitants of your house.” 

When entering the house, enter with the right foot

It was narrated in Muslim and Bukhari by Aisha (RA) that “The Prophet (ﷺ) used to start everything from the right (for good things) whenever it was possible in all his affairs; for example: in washing, combing or wearing shoes.” 

Note: The Prophet (ﷺ) is our real model and we should follow his sunnah and stay away from what he prohibited us from.

Use a Siwak

It is narrated in Muslim and Abi Dawud that Aisha (RA), the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ) was asked what would the Prophet (ﷺ) do when he enter his house? She replied that the Prophet (ﷺ) began by using Siwak (Tooth-stick). 

When leaving the house recite the following supplication

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ تَوَكَّلْـتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُـوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ

“In the Name of Allah, I have placed my trust in Allah, there is no might and no power except by Allah.”

Whoever say the supplication above when leaving his house, it will be said to him “You have been sufficed and protected, and Shaitan will become distant from him” (At-Tirmidhi)

Another narrated in Abi Dawud

اَللَّهُـمَّ إِنِّي أَعُـوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أَضِـلَّ أَوْ أُضَـلَّ، أَوْ أَزِلَّ أَوْ أُزَلَّ، أَوْ أَظْلِـمَ أَوْ أَُظْلَـمَ، أَوْ أَجْهَلَ أَوْ يُـجْهَلَ عَلَـيَّ

“O Allah, I seek refuge in You lest I misguide others, or I am misguided by others, lest I cause others to err or I am caused to err, lest I abuse others or be abused, and lest I behave foolishly or meet with the foolishness of others.” 

Some practical tips:

We enter our dwellings multiple times a day as muslim let us practice these sunna and be mindful of them. By implementing them in our daily life would bring barakah and guidance and protection to us. I have the dua when leaving the house posted on my door on the inside and the dua when entering on the outside the door. The sight of them reminds me to say the supplications when leaving and entering my house and also a reminder for guests.

• When leaving or entering the house gently close or lock the door and do not slam the door, be mindful of those around and the neighbors. 
• When entering the house make your presence known by giving salam, announce your present, clear your throat or even tapping your shoes.
• When you ask permission to enter a house and you are asked who is-it? Do not just say it is me, say your name. Narrated Jabir: “I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) in order to consult him regarding my father's debt. When I knocked on the door, he asked, "Who is that?" I replied, "I" He said, "I, I?" He repeated it as if he disliked it.” (Bukhari)
• When you ring or knock on the door to be given permission to enter, knock gently and wait some time to knock again as you do not know what the other person is doing. The person might be praying, using the restroom, finishing something or even sleeping. If you knock the door 3 times with no response, simply leave, do not peek at the door nor the windows to see if someone is there. If you live in the house, waiting to give the person some time or use your phone to call. Do not bang at the door aggressively you might disturbed others. It is narrated in Bukhari by Anas that “Whenever the Prophet (ﷺ) asked permission to enter, he knocked the door thrice with greeting and whenever he spoke a sentence (said a thing) he used to repeat it thrice.”