Is it common to have no furnishings?

[meta]

Hello. I have a question about furnishings in Muslim families homes. My job requires me to enter peoples houses for repairs. I visit many places with with occupants of all religions and have no problems what so ever.

I have noticed in a few Muslim homes/apartments that the occupants have almost no furnishings. there are beds in the bedroom maybe a small tv in the living area, a laptop, otherwise completely empty living area.

I wanted to know is this common practice for the faith? I could certainly see the merit of not filling your home with items that you don't "need". It just seems a little odd to me to walk into lived in places that are empty, i know that some of these places the occupants have been there for about 2 years, so its not a 'just moved in" factor.

Anyhow.. I appreciate any help in the matter.. I have to write a report for my boss, and I want to make sure any of my words are informed.


thanks forum folk.

Meta.

[S_87]

i can only speak for myself but i would say i dont no any house that has no furnishings, infact some have too much.

[alcurad]

hmm, maybe they were students and so on, so they don't have much need/ability to get more furniture?
it is part of the faith not to be excessive, although I wouldn't classify having furniture as that:)

[meta]

Thank you Amani,

My family background is from country that has a large muslim population, so I grew up with muslim kids, I know a muslim household was much like any other, with way too much stuff.

Thanks and if anyone knows a specific reason why some muslim households would choose to have no furnishings?

Maybe there is a specific smaller denomination of Islam that practices this?

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[Vito]

I noticed this a lot with the Hindus down here. I used to do air conditioning and noticed a lot of their houses seemed pretty 'empty' but, I always found their garages to be packed with stuff. It was actually nice because it made my job easier :D

[UmmSqueakster]

We've been to a few somali friends' homes that were emptier then the normal house. The living rooms generally have cushions along the wall with a tv to one side and that's it. Can't speak to what's in their bedrooms, since we were simply there for dinner.

Me personally, I have waaaay too much junk - lots of little nicknacks and whatnot. I'd like to go for a minimalist look with simple scandinavian furniture, but I'd need to get rid of a lot of stuff before I could pull that look off.

[youngsister]

We've been to a few somali friends' homes that were emptier then the normal house. The living rooms generally have cushions along the wall with a tv to one side and that's it. Can't speak to what's in their bedrooms, since we were simply there for dinner.

Me personally, I have waaaay too much junk - lots of little nicknacks and whatnot. I'd like to go for a minimalist look with simple scandinavian furniture, but I'd need to get rid of a lot of stuff before I could pull that look off.

Really? My house is the opposite quite a lot of furniture Alhamdullah and I also need to get rid of a few stuff:-[

[aadil77]

We've been to a few somali friends' homes that were emptier then the normal house. The living rooms generally have cushions along the wall with a tv to one side and that's it. Can't speak to what's in their bedrooms, since we were simply there for dinner.

Me personally, I have waaaay too much junk - lots of little nicknacks and whatnot. I'd like to go for a minimalist look with simple scandinavian furniture, but I'd need to get rid of a lot of stuff before I could pull that look off.

I've noticed this coming from arab culture, they usually like to sit on the floor against cushions.

Its better and more simple look, saves you from spending extravagently on furniture then

[meta]

I want to thank you all for your responses. I find this forum informative and interesting.

When I was googling for an answer I found some forums to be pro or anti muslim. I'm not interested in the differences and I felt the LI Islamic Forum was a place I should be able to get an intelligent answer.

Thanks again

Meta

[transition?]

I've noticed this coming from arab culture, they usually like to sit on the floor against cushions.

Its better and more simple look, saves you from spending extravagently on furniture then

lol. not just Arab culture. Indian culture too.

[Intisar]

lol. not just Arab culture. Indian culture too.

Somali too, we call it fadhi carbeed. Fadhi or fadhiso meaning to sit, and carbeed plural for carabs. They're awesome, and leave space for more people masha'Allaah.

My mom loves decorating, and over the span of my entire life we've had too much in our house. From drapes in the largest rooms, to big love seats and sofas, sometimes I wonder why there aren't any guests to accommodate it all lol. I guess it depends, cause my mom wants to make this home more like our home back in Somalia. I agree with Janaan too though, some Somali houses are soooo empty, so it's not all the same.

[transition?]

Somali too, we call it fadhi carbeed. Fadhi or fadhiso meaning to sit, and carbeed plural for carabs. They're awesome, and leave space for more people masha'Allaah.

My mom loves decorating, and over the span of my entire life we've had too much in our house. From drapes in the largest rooms, to big love seats and sofas, sometimes I wonder why there aren't any guests to accommodate it all lol. I guess it depends, cause my mom wants to make this home more like our home back in Somalia. I agree with Janaan too though, some Somali houses are soooo empty, so it's not all the same.

:sl:

After 17 years of living in America, lol my family occasionally eats our dinners on this long mat (dustar khan) on the living room floor lol. Some habits are tough to break.

My mom wanted a basement for that reason -- stuff all the guests. There's hardly any furniture only this uplifted platform (looks like a Qawalli band is going to play any minute)...
We used to have Arabic classes, and we'd all gather on the floor...

[Yanal]

:sl:
This would be an opinion question i guess...
My house and my relatives aswell as my other muslim friends have a ton of furniture but some muslims feel like they dont need it and dont spend their money which is good so you can spend more on charity,but some like spending which isnt bad but you must have some for charity.