Part 35

Question: Does the above-mentioned hadith of Abu Hurairah 4 conflict with the hadith in which it is mentioned that the Prophet #% refused to eat lizard [meat]? And when the Prophet #8 said about lizard meat,

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') Ad-Daarimee related it (2047), and Al-Albaanee included it in his Silsilatus-Saheehah (392). Ahmad related it as well (26418).

"1 When grading this hadith in Irwaa Al-Ghaleel, Al-Albaanee said, “sahih,” and Al-Baihaqee related it (7/2580).

'5] Related by Bukhaaree (5409), Muslim (2064), Ahmad (9882), At-Tirmidhee (2031), Abu Daawood (3763), and Ibn Maajah (3259). And Al-Baghawee related it in Sharhus-Sunnah (2843).

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“1 find myself to be repelled by it,”

or in another narration, ‘This is meat that I never ate,” is that considered to be finding fault with food?

Answer: First, there is no contradiction between the two Ahadeeth. Second, what the Prophet #% said about lizards is not a form of finding fault with food; instead, he #% was simply explaining why he refrained from eating it, and at the same time he was making it clear that it is lawful to eat lizard meat. By saying what he said, the Prophet #% was simply explaining that he was not accustomed to eating a certain kind of food, and according to the other narration, he #% was giving the reason why he did not desire a specific kind of food. To say, “I do not desire to eat this kind of food,” is one matter, and to find fault with food is a different matter altogether.

14) The Ruling For Drinking And Eating While Standing Up

Scholars disagree about the ruling for drinking while standing up. Their disagreement has its source in various authentic Ahadeeth whose meanings are apparently in conflict with one another: some Ahadeeth forbid the practice of drinking while standing up, while other Ahadeeth convey an opposite ruling. Before we move on to discuss the issue in more detail, here are some of those narrations.

First, The Ahadeeth that forbid the practice of drinking while standing up:

a) Anas reported that the Prophet 3 reproached [people] for drinking while standing up.2

b) Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudree & said, “‘The Prophet # reproached [people] for the act of drinking while standing up.”!

c) Abu Hurairah 4 reported that the Messenger of Allah said,

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“Let no one from you drink while he is standing up, and whosoever forgets should induce vomiting.””""!

Second, Ahadeeth which indicate that it is permissible to drink while standing up:

a) Ibn ‘Abbaas & said, ‘I gave the Messenger of Allah # some Zamzam [water] to drink, and he #¢ drank [it] while he was standing up.”7]

b) Arf-Nazzaal said, “’” Alee 4 came to Ar-Rahbaa Gate, and he stood up and drank. He then said, ‘People hate that one : of them should drink while he is standing up, but indeed, . saw the Prophet #% do as you have seen me do.” And in the | narration of Ahmad: “He then said, ‘What are you looking at | if I drink while standing up, for indeed, I have seen the - Prophet # drink while he was standing up. And if I drink, ‘ sitting down, I have indeed seen the Prophet # drink, sitting '

d) It is related from both ‘Aaisha #% and Sa’ad Ibn Abee j

') Related by Muslim (2026). Ahmad related it as well (8135), but without the saying, “And whoever forgets should induce vomiting.” ;

1 Related by Bukhaaree (5615), Ahmad (797), An-Nassaaee (130), and Abu Daawood (3718).

' Related by Ahmad (4587); Ibn Maajah (3301), and Al-Albaanee gave a “sahih’ grade to Ibn Maajah’s narration of the hadith (3364); and Ad-

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Waqqaas that they saw nothing wrong in a person drinking while he is standing up. Also, both Ibn ‘Umar and Ibn Az-Zubair 4 were seen drinking while they were standing up."

Because of these apparently conflicting narrations, scholars disagree about the ruling of drinking while standing up. In my view, the most just view is the one here expressed by Ibn Taymiyyah: “To combine the meanings of the different Ahadeeth, we can assume that permissibility in this issue is limited to when there is an excuse.” He then cited some of the narrations mentioned above, relating Anas’s narration in its entirety: Qataadah related that Anas 4 said, “The Prophet 3 reproached [people] for drinking while standing up.” Qataadah related that he and others then asked Anas <, “And what about eating?” Anas 2 said, “That is worse and more wicked.” After relating the Ahadeeth, Ibn Taymiyyah went on the say, “As for the hadith of ‘Alee , one of its narrations indicates that he was drinking Zamzam. Ibn ‘Abbaas’s hadith is also about Zamzam [water]. The incident he related occurred during Hajj, when people make circuits around the Ka’bah and drink Zamzam. They would ask him for Zamzam to drink, but they wouldn't have a place to sit...So this and other examples (in ail of them, the person who drinks while standing up has an excuse) are exceptions from the prohibition. This is common in the Shariah: a forbidden deed becomes permissible when there is necessity; in fact, when there is necessity, actions even more severely prohibited become permissible. If there is necessity (one fears death through starvation), one can eat and drink forbidden foods, such as AlMaitah (an animal that died on its own, and not through slaughter) and blood.”

15) It Is Disliked To Breath Or Blow Into A Drinking Container

One of the etiquettes of drinking is to neither breathe nor blow into a drinking container. Abu Qutaadah # related that the

[I Refer to Al-Muwattah (1720, 1721, 1722).

Messenger of Allah # said,

“When one of you drinks, then let him not breathe into the container...’

And Ibn ‘Abbaas % reported that the Prophet #% ‘prohibited the act of breathing or blowing into a [drinking] container’! When one breathes into a drinking container, it is feared that the drink inside will become contaminated or, among other possibilities, that something from his nose or mouth will fall into it. And when one [continually] blows into a drinking container, the drink slowly takes on a repulsive smell as it is mixed with the breath of the person who blows into it, especially if he has bad breath.

16) When Drinking, You Should Pause Three Times In Order To Breathe; Nonetheless, It 1s Still Permissible To Drink In One Go Without Pausing To Breathe

' Related by Bukhaaree (5630), Muslim (267), Ahmad (22059), At-Tirmidhee (1889), An-Nassaaee (47), and Abu Daawood (31).

1 At-Tirmidhee related it (1888) and said, “This hadith is Hasan sahih.” Abu Daawood related it too (3728), and Al-Albaanee gave his narration a ‘sahih’ grade. And bn Maajah also related it (3429), but without the mention of breathing.

Related by Bukhaaree (45631), Muslim (2028), Ahmad (11776), AtTirmidhee (1884), Ibn Maajah (3416), and Ad-Daarimee (2120). The abovementioned wording is from Muslim's narration of the hadith, and neither Ibn Maajah nor At-Tirmidhee related the second part of the hadith.

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You may consume your drink at one go, without pausing to breathe, and doing so is not Makrooh (disliked). When Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudree # entered upon Mirwaan Ibn Al-Hakam, the latter asked, “‘Did you hear that the Messenger of Allah 2 prohibited blowing into a drink?” Abu Sa’eed # said, “Yes, and a man said to him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, my thirst is not quenched from one swallow (i.e., from drinking continuously without breathing; hence I am forced to breathe into my drink).’ The Messenger of Allah #8 said to him,

‘So distance the cup from your mouth, and then breathe.’ He said, ‘I then indeed see filth inside of it.’ The Prophet # said, “Then pour it out,’”"41

Commenting on this hadith, Imam Maalik said, “It is as though I see license being given for one to drink with only one breath if he wants (in that the Prophet #% did not censure the man for saying that he would consume his drink in one big swallow). And so I see nothing wrong in drinking with one breath; the permission to do so is found in this part of the hadith: ‘my thirst is not quenched from one swallow.” Also commenting on the hadith, Shaikh Al-Islam said, ‘The hadith proves that if a person quenches his thirst with one swallow, without the need to breathe in between swallows, then that is permissible. And I know of no one from the Imams who ruled that it is obligatory to breathe [and pause in between swallows] and that it is forbidden to drink with one breath (i.e., at one go).”

"1 Related by At-Tirmidhee (1887), who said, “This hadith is Hasan sahih’’; Ahmad (10819); Maalik (1718), and the above-mentioned wording is from his narration of the hadith; and Ad-Daarimee (2121).

17) The Prohibition Of Drinking From The Mouth Of A Bottle Or Canteen

Abu Hurairah . said, “The Messenger of Allah #% prohibited the Practice of drinking from the mouth of a Qirbah or a Sigqaa (two kinds of jugs in which drinks are stored)..." Ibn ‘Abbaas & related the same except that he mentioned only one kind of jug ~ Siqaa.!?)

From this hadith we learn that, instead of drinking directly from the mouth of a jug, we should pour its drink into a glass and then drink from it. Although the wording of the hadith clearly indicates a prohibition of drinking from the mouth of a jug, scholars still disagree: some say that it is prohibited to drink directly from the mouth of a jug, but others - in fact, the majority of scholars - construe from the hadith’s wording the meaning of Karaahatut-Tanzeeh (a level lower than Haram - forbidden - but still meaning that something is extremely disliked). And yet another group of scholars hold that the Ahadeeth that indicate a prohibition in this issue abrogate the ruling of permissibility; or in other words, it was permissible to drink from the mouth of a jug, but then the above-mentioned narrations abrogated that ruling.