Students standing up when the teacher enters

A question from a teacher whose pupils stand up for him when he enters, which he dislikes, in which Ibn Baz answered that standing up for a person who enters, by way of honouring him, is forbidden in the Sunna and is at the least strongly disliked; the teacher may neither like it nor order it but must forbid it, while rising to shake hands, to meet someone or to seat him is unobjectionable. ¹

The questioner said he is a middle-school teacher, and that when he enters the classroom the pupils stand up for him out of respect without his ordering them to, something he actually dislikes; he asked about the ruling. ¹

Ibn Baz answered that standing up is among the things the Sunna forbids: Anas said that when the Prophet came in the Companions did not stand for him, knowing how he disliked it, and the Prophet said that whoever likes people to stand up for him should take his seat in the Fire; so when the teacher enters the pupils must not stand but keep their places, greet him and wish him a good morning, while standing up for him is improper and at the least strongly disliked, and the teacher may not like it; if he does not like it there is no blame on him, but he must admonish them and tell them not to do it, and when they see he means it they will sit. ¹ He said he feared the teacher's dislike might be a claim rather than real, since one who truly dislikes it orders them to sit, so the teacher must warn them and show his displeasure at the practice; the pupils stand only out of fear of his harshness or of being failed, and if he sincerely forbids them they will not stand. He added that the Ministry of Education must instruct headteachers that this is not allowed, that the same applies to girls, who should not stand for their teacher, and that the General Presidency for Education should see to it so that this evil disappears from the schools. ¹

Ibn Baz then distinguished this from rising to meet and face a person in order to shake hands: if the teacher enters and one pupil rises to ask him something, shake his hand or seat him in his place, there is no harm. He cited Talha ibn Ubaydallah rising from the circle to Ka'b ibn Malik when God accepted his repentance, shaking his hand and congratulating him while the Prophet was present and did not object; the Prophet's words to the Ansar, 'stand up for your chief', when Sa'd ibn Mu'adh arrived on his donkey to judge in the matter of Banu Qurayza, so they rose and helped him down; and Fatima, who when the Prophet came in rose to him, took his hand and seated him in her place, while he rose to her when she came in. Such rising to meet, shake hands or walk someone out is unobjectionable, whereas the wrong is for people to stand in honour of the one entering and then sit down again without any handshake, which is at the least disliked or forbidden; for the one entering to like and enjoy it is not allowed and is threatened with the Fire, he may not order it, and he must forbid it until they grow used to staying in their seats, boys and girls alike. ¹ To teachers who say the standing alerts the pupils he replied that this is a satanic pretext, since they are alerted by his greeting when he enters, and a drowsy pupil can be roused by a word; and to one whose superior is angered by not being stood for, he advised explaining that standing is not allowed and that the Messenger disliked it, so that one who follows the Messenger should not love what he did not love. ¹

This answer was published on binbaz.org.sa, the official site of Ibn Baz's legacy, as no. 4065 under the heading of blameworthy manners, with no date on the page. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.