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Does anyone know what Islam says about left-handed?
Quotes from Holly Qur’an and Hadeeses would be appreciated.

Thanks

Larissa20 wrote:Does anyone know what Islam says about left-handed?
Quotes from Holly Qur’an and Hadeeses would be appreciated.

Thanks

umm there is nothing about left-handed people in the Quran or Hadeeth as far as i know. I wonder why they would have a special mention ?

I am left handed. According to Islamic customs and several Hadith, eating or shaking hands with the left hand is incorrect etiquette. My personal experience as a child, as I am quite naturally left handed, is that my parents would continue to place utensils in my right hand or remind me to do so until it became second nature. Now I am ambidexterous and continue to write with my left hand. There is no indication that being a left handed person is something negative, yet it is encouraged to use the right hand to eat, open the Quran, do wudu, etc.

I believe that it is a Sunnah to eat and do wudu with the right hand. A sunnah is defined as something that is recommended but not required in Islam.

PrettyPenny wrote:I am left handed. According to Islamic customs and several Hadith, eating or shaking hands with the left hand is incorrect etiquette. My personal experience as a child, as I am quite naturally left handed, is that my parents would continue to place utensils in my right hand or remind me to do so until it became second nature. Now I am ambidexterous and continue to write with my left hand. There is no indication that being a left handed person is something negative, yet it is encouraged to use the right hand to eat, open the Quran, do wudu, etc.

I believe that it is a Sunnah to eat and do wudu with the right hand. A sunnah is defined as something that is recommended but not required in Islam.

Could you please write here the Sunna and the Hadith? Recently, on one of forums we had an argument about left-handed, I couldn't find exactly of what I said (the post has been lost or deleted), something that it is prejudice, but someone accused me that what I "slandered" is “Kufr” that get a person out of Islam. The person accused me to be not knowledgeable, and that Prophet Muhammad ordered everyone to eat only by right hand. That Hadith states that the person, who eats by left hand is a Devil (Hadith “Sahiha”), that to tell about Prophet’s Sunna - prejudice (in fact - lie) and express abhorrence toward Profet's words is a “Big Kufr” and who is saying that is Unfaithful, and not a Muslim. (We didn't talk in the topic about Islam and Prophet, as I remember, and I only said something against the custom) Can you please comment the incident?

All I can say is that religion is between yourself and Allah. Only he can judge you, no one else, only he has the right to decide your value as a Muslim, no one else. Rather than taking what someone else has said to heart do your research and reach an educated conclusion. There are many websites on the web that can shed more light on the subject.

Please keep in mind there are 5 pillars in Islam. They are considered the pillars that define one as a Muslim. These are:

Belief in the Oneness of Allah, Prayer (5 times a day), Fasting (during Ramadan), Hajj (once in your life), Charity.

Thanks PrettyPenny. I love how Muslims are wasting there time arguing retarded things when if you look around we have so many more grave problems !!!

MaaaD wrote:Thanks PrettyPenny. I love how Muslims are wasting there time arguing retarded things when if you look around we have so many more grave problems !!!

. That was exactly why I stopped participating on that site. We have a lot of more to do, so many people need our help, so many more essential things have to be done.

To PrettyPenny: Thank you very much for your support. It is too hard to hear when someone says that your child is "a devil" and your late mother was "a devil" (both left-handed), that "you are not faithful" and "you are out of Islam", when you are trying to be a good Muslim, by behavior and by every-day actions. That is why it hurts so much. Although, I am better now, thanks to everybody.

Larissa - there are numerous hadith that talk about doing clean things with the right hand and reserving dirty tasks to the left hand.

There is wisdom in this command - basic hygiene in fact - eating was done with the hands and it makes utmost sense to not use the hand used for eating for dirty tasks.

The Sunnah and Hadith are quite strong on this point - to use the right hand to eat and to greet each other by shaking right hand etc. This way a Muslim keeps their right hand clean and a fellow Muslim is assured by the knowledge that the hand they are being offered is clean.

Prettypenny's description of what Islam teaches is spot on - it says that we should all use our right hands for good things, but does NOT pass judgement on left-handed people. I know a number of left handed muslims who do not find it onerous to eat with their 'weaker' hand.

The reference to being a devil, is based on hadith that Shaytan eats with his left hand eg:

'The Description of the Prophet, may Allah Bless Him and Grant Him Peace' of Malik's Muwatta.
49.4.6 Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Bakr ibn Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Umar from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When you eat, eat with your right hand and drink with your right hand. Shaytan eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand."

There is also another hadith about the Prophet admonishing strongly a companion who insisted on eating with the left hand.


Being left-handed is not equivalent to being a devil, but to eat with your left hand is to disobey the instructions of the Holy Prophet, pbuh.

As far as writing etc - there is nothing in Islam that says these need to be done with the right hand.

Cheers,
Shafique

Thank you. I will teach my child to eat with right hand. I knew that we have to eat and drink with right hand but I didn't read all Hadith, and I didn't know [how important is this. Your post shows that there is always a nice, decent way to answer.

well if the child is lefthanded then why disturb th ebalance? why cant he use right for other stuffs reserved for left?I mean logic should be used all the time. As long as u have faith in God left or right doesnt matter

sniper - it's a question of etiquette and courtesy, and a sign of faith.

Islam teaches people to be mindful of God and to be courteous to other people.

You offer your right hand to others and as a Mulslim the thought 'I wonder where that hand has been' does not enter your mind and there is no hesitation in taking the food being offered by the right hand, or shaking the hand that is being offered.

Let me put it another way - in Muslim cultures it is quite offensive to be offered food or drink with the left hand.

Therefore the left-handed Muslims just get used to using their right hands to eat and to offer food, drink and shake hands.

This is not a big thing - all left handed people I know have no problem in shaking hands (for example) - they don't put their left hands out and insist that others follow them.

Let me repeat though - Islam does not say that being left-handed is bad in anyway, writing etc can be done with either hand.

It's just a matter of training - everyone who drives a manual car in the UK, SA, India, Pakistan etc has to change gears with the left hand - even though the majority of people are right handed.

cheers,
Shafique

Shaf, Hear what you're saying, however I would say it only applies if you directly pick up food and eat with your hands. If you're using knives and forks, what's the problem as you're using utensiles. Plus the fork should always be in the left hand not the other way around.

If you're left handed it simply means that you use the right side of your brain more for everyday tasks, and left handed people tend to be more creative.

All the women in my family are left handed. But I'm pretty capable of using both hands. And yes if you force a child to use their right hands when they are naturally left-handed you will indeed upset their natural balance for things.

Chocs - yes the Muslim etiquette does relate to eating with the hand.

I personally do eat with a fork in the English manner - i.e. in the left hand (as opposed to our American friends who eat with a fork in the right hand).

The muslim scholars I've asked agree that eating with a fork in this way is ok in Islam, you are eating off a fork. However there are some muslims who prefer to even avoid doing this and eat with the fork in the right hand.

When using a spoon, I use my right hand - and when eating with my hands, always the right hand.

As for unbalancing a child - I would agree if you ask a child to do everything with their right hand. However, here we are only talking about eating and drinking.

In the same way that it is unnatural for right handed people to eat off a fork in their left hand - but we learn it anyway as a point of etiquette - it doesn't upset any balance. Holding a cup or putting food in your mouth with your right hand instead of left is just a matter of preference and training.

My 2 eldest daughters are both right handed, but as toddlers they would quite ambidextrously put food in their mouths with both hands. They would also reach for food with both hands (alternatively). The 2 year old still occasionally reaches for food with her left, but we just say 'other hand' and she switches.

One just learns to do somethings according to etiquette, and in this case I don't believe that there is any chance of unbalancing a left handed child.



Cheers,
Shafique

On the Issue of which hand..? Ppl please understand that religions are created by humanbeings.. otherwise, persons from other religions must b evil creatures.. or just tell me this, i keep both my hands clean. The religious teachings are from a time where there was nothing called as Soap. Looking at it from a different view, what if someone born with a problem with right hand( one of my cousine is) is he a devil? or do u think ppl dont shake hands with him.. gimme a break.. time of new thoughts have come ppl wake up..believe in equality, believe in humanity than anything let that be the religion..

The story of the "right hand"

1) It was called the right because its "right" .. in arabic its called "Yameen" which means ease and comfort...ect

2) when it comes to the right hand, the right side. the person on the right side, then in islam people like to start with that not to question that .. it starts from the beliefe that all the prophet's deeds are good and for the good of the man kind.

For example, we were asked to sleep on the right hand side, no one asked why (although thats fine as long its for the sake of knowledge not arguing). Science have reviled that when a person sleeps on his right hand side makes his stomch much comfortable and the chances of getting bad dreams are so low. Why? its because when you are sleeping on the left hand side the heavy liver and pancreas comes on Top of the stomch and makes it very hard for it to digest and move. which subsecwantly causes some problems for the gots and the breathing system to be irritated.

3) not eating with the right hand doesnt make you a "kafer" or the "Devil" but.. it should be th right hand since we believe that the saitn eats with the left. if the person has a problem with the right hand.. then he has nothing to worry about.. he has already been excused by God him slef (Quran and Hadith mention that) but as long as you are capable of Eating with the and your erogance is stopping you from eating with the right hand, then thats the bad thing.

4) many of the "Sahabah" the prophet's companions where left-handed, there is nothing wrong in that at all. at the contrary, its a gift you have been given so you want be punished for!! as long as you are using it in the right way.

5) the new kinds of science have made thousands of discover that starts from infants before they born.. space, and futuristic things which were mentioned in the Koran. speically the science of Energy. using speical device which could prove that.

6)etiquette is an arabic word like thousands of other english words like:

Hospital
Credit
Cover
Table
and many many others

it was Abu AlAsuad Aldo'ali (Died 1300 years ago)who came up with this term which consist originally of 2 words: Alati keet". it means the procedure for situation X situation is so and so. etiquettes and mannars are normally created by a specific civilization where its concedred as its one of its Identity and what basically defines it. thats why its different from a place to another. which also doesnt mean that its a must OR its something necessarilyshould be bad.

Thanks to everybody for contributing to this topic, for being ethic, and for such informative discussion!

regarding the muslim view of left-handedness, well, we own a small shop that specializes in (among other things) left-handers' supplies. of course, we had to go to various government offices to get the necessary license etc. etc. before opening. as such, we met many, many muslims and to be perfectly honest we had no negative reactions whatsoever whenever we told them that we would be selling items for left-handed people. they were actually very enthusiastic and would begin counting the number of left-handed people they know and would call their colleagues over to hear what we planned to do.

and actually, since we're christian lebanese i'm not sure if the stigma attached to left-handedness is a muslim "thing" or an arab/middle eastern cultural perspective. in fact, it does appear to be a global (for lack of a better word) misconception that left-handedness delineates some lack of intelligence or a tendency toward clumsiness or the inability to perform to the same standard as right handers (i'll explain my use of the word global in a minute).

my sister is a lefty and when she was a child (she's 25) the teachers at our elementary school tried to get her to write with her right hand (it was a lebanese school in nigeria and the teachers were either lebanese or nigerian). our parents realized early on that instead of making things easier on her it was making everything much more difficult as it meant she was going against everything her brain was telling her to do; they went in to the school and asked that the teachers leave her to be as lefty as she wanted.

as it turned out, this was more beneficial than anyone expected because unlike many left-handed people who learn to use their right hands for certain tasts she is absolutely not ambidextrous in any way. her right hand is as useful to her as my left hand is to me (ie: not at all) which is, for example, why she doesn't cook (can't open tins, can't cut bread/meat/etc. properly). in fact, i think the first time she opened a tin was about two months ago with a left-handed tin opener.

the reason i said "global misconception" is because the number of westerners (europeans, americans, canadians) who have visited us and mentioned that they or their siblings used to be forced to write/eat/etc. with their right hand despite being left-handed is astounding. i had previously been under the impression that this aversion to left-handedness was an purely arab/african (ie: "developing nations") feeling.

what do you mean...'left-hander supplies'....

i dont get it. cant you just put the object, in your left hand?

^

bushra21 wrote:what do you mean...'left-hander supplies'....

i dont get it. cant you just put the object, in your left hand?

No, you cant. Not always.
Even cutting paper with scissors - sometimes you cant.
Even if you put the scissors in your right hand, for some reason it doesn't cut.

I'm a lefty......4 leaf clover - what kind of stuff do you sell?

bushra: left handers' supplies have to be designed differently. ineed referred to scissors: there are a couple of difficulties lefties face with scissors. first, the grip of some scissors are slanted so they'll sit comfortably on your thumb and fingers when you use them - for a lefty, the slant is in the opposite direction and it's really quite painful. second, the blades on all scissors are positioned in such a way that when a left-hander uses the scissors they can't see what they're cutting. so on a pair of left-handers' scissors, the blades are positioned in an opposite manner. try a few basic, daily tasks with your left hand.

1) open a tin
2) open a "side open" wallet (you'll end up opening it upside down and everything will fall out).
3) write (if you hold the pencil the way you would in your right hand, it'll block the paper and you won't be able to see what you're writing; that's why many lefties write with a claw-like grip - it blocks less of the paper).
4) get a ruler and try drawing a line of a certain length (you block the numbers so you have no idea when you've reached the required length)
5) sharpen a pencil

i could go on and on and on .... but i won't do you get the idea now though? basically, everything that lefties use has a mirror design when compared to the right-handed counterparts. it's actually such a simple idea when you think about it huh?

ineed: what do you need (other than a cool nick )? rulers? fish knives? desert forks? pens? document holders? writing pads? knives? toddler training cups? handwriting books? scissors? secateurs? guitar? golf set? you could check out our site www.4leafclover.ae and see almost everything we've got. if there's something we haven't got that you need, let me know and we'll try and get it.

by the way, on the 25th of this month i'll be giving a short presentation to a ladies group called creative mumz. if you'd like to learn a bit more about the "lefty world" feel free to check out their site (www.creativemumz.bravehost.com) and contact faryal amir (creativemumz@gmail.com) in case you'd like to join.

Good info clover!

thanks freza

i think i make such an effort to learn as much as i can about being left-handed and try so hard to reverse the misconception about left-handedness because i took it very much to heart and very personally when people would make fun of my sister or talk to her as if she was incapable of understanding when we were younger.

by the way everyone, i've just been told that creative mumz has a new website: www.creativemumz.com. so check them out there instead.

HSBC in the UK, will even issue left-handed cheque books. If you're left-handed it's virtually impossible to write in a normal one.

Check out these sites:

www.AnythingLeft-Handed.co.uk

www.theleftyshop.com

Right-handed scissors are really hard to use, as are tin-openers. Plus computer mice are always right-handed, so basically most left-handers end up learning to use their right hand for those. You end up being ambidextrous in a way, as there are just so many things that are geared towards right-handed people, that you don't really have a choice.

left-handers are smarter - in someplacess called "southpaws" (no kidding).

choc: didn't know that about hsbc! i wonder if they do it here - gotta ask. anythinglefthanded are our suppliers by the way - so what they've got, we've got

concord: i've heard "southpaws" ... i can't quite remember where though; i think it was a canadian customer who mentioned it .... i could be totally wrong though. there was an article a few months ago about how lefties earn more than righties (http://www.slate.com/id/2147842/?GT1=8483) - if it's not there and you'd like to read it, let me know and i'll pm the article over to you

The term "southpaw" comes from the game of baseball. A baseball diamond is (or was) built so that the batter would be standing on the West "corner" of the diamond as not to face the sun (in the late afternoon). The pitcher's lelt hand (paw) would be in the south quadrant (thus southpaw)... Makes no difference nowadays as most baseball games are played at night/or are indoors. The term is also used in boxind and tennis. Its origin (from baseball) is from the late 1800's.

nice info! i didnt know that, a lot of my friends are leftys but they never said anything so i figured it wasn't a problem. my mistake.

i love knowing stuff like this (helps a heck of a lot in trivial pursuit!!)

i suppose many lefties don't say anything because either they've gotten used to it or else they figure there's no point in saying anything. you know what i mean? i wonder if lefty supplies would make a difference to those left-handers who have become somewhat ambidextrous.