Driving etiquette and traffic guidelines of the prophet ﷺ

Driving etiquette and traffic guidelines of the prophet ﷺ


1. The prophet would drive gently: Jabir bin 'Abdullah (radiyallahu anh) narrated in his famous narration describing the Hajj of the prophet: He (ﷺ) pulled the nose string of al-Qaswa’ so forcefully that its head touched the saddle (in order to keep her under perfect control), and pointing with his right hand, advised the people to be moderate (in speed) saying: “O people! Calmness! Calmness!" Whenever he passed over an elevated tract of land, he slightly loosened the nose-string of his camel until she climbed up. This is how he reached al-Muzdalifah. [Saheeh Muslim]

2. It is against the Sunnah to horn and cause noise pollution to hurry up: Ibn 'Abbas reported: I accompanied the Prophet (ﷺ) while we were returning from 'Arafat. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard behind him a loud noise of beating and of driving the camels forcibly. He pointed towards it with his whip and said, "O people! Proceed calmly. No virtue lies in rushing." [Agreed upon]

3. Today, a lot of people look up-to western etiquette and spend time and money to learn them. They think that prophet only taught how to do ablution but it is him who said: "Verily Allah has prescribed ihsan (proficiency, perfection) in all things." (Saheeh Muslim)

4. Yet many drive in a way which will cause accident for a guaranty. This harms oneself and the others well, although Allah has made the wealth and property of a believer sacred just like how blood of the believer has been made sacred. The prophet also reminded: "There should be neither harming (darar) nor reciprocating harm (dirar)." (Sunan Ibn Majah)

5. Therefore, it is from the religion to drive following proper traffic guidelines and it is a sin to not follow it. The one who doubts that driving in a wrong direction, or racing and drifting on a busy road and causing accidents are not sinful acts must recall the statement of the prophet: "And wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and causes uneasiness in the breast, even though people have repeatedly given their opinion in its favour.” (Musnad Ahmad)