then applies some of his own oil, or touches a little of the perfume in his house, and goes out without separating two people; he then performs whatever prayer is written for him and listens attentively when the imam begins to speak—he will be forgiven for everything between that Friday and the next. Reported by al-Bukhari.

[Commentary]
Al-Nawawi—may Allah have mercy on him—quoted these two hadiths in the Bāb Ādāb al-majlīs wa’l-jalīs (Chapter on the Etiquette of Gatherings and Companions). Part of the etiquette of a gathering is that when someone enters a group, he should sit wherever the circle happens to end for him. This was the practice of the Prophet ﷺ and of the Companions when they came to his assembly: no one would advance to the head of the gathering unless another person offered him that seat or a place at the front had already been left for him; in that case there is no harm. But to cut through the gathering as though saying to the people, “Move aside so I can sit at the head,” contradicts the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ and of his Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—and betrays a measure of arrogance and self-admiration.

If a man is truly a person of virtue, admonition, and knowledge, then whatever place he sits will become the head of the gathering: people will naturally turn toward him when he speaks and will ask him when they wish to pose a question. For this reason the Messenger of Allah ﷺ