Reconciling the Hadiths on Drinking While Standing and Urinating While Standing
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The questioner:
How do we reconcile the apparently contradictory hadiths regarding drinking while standing and urinating while standing? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
The truth is that there is no contradiction. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade drinking while standing, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) did so himself. This indicates that the command is not for obligation, and the prohibition is not for forbiddance. So, if one drinks while standing, there is no blame on him, and if he sits, that is better. So, how do we reconcile them?
If one drinks while standing in obedience to the prayer upon him, sitting is better, more quenching, and more beneficial. And if he drinks while standing out of need, haste, or other reasons, there is no harm. This is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which indicates that his prohibition is for dislike, and his command to sit is for recommendation. There is no contradiction in that, nor any conflict. Likewise, urinating while standing and urinating while sitting: urinating while sitting is better and more private. Urinating while standing is permissible if there is no exposure of the awrah (part of the body that must be covered), if no one sees it, if it is in a place where no one sees him, if he stands against a wall, for example, and urinates while standing out of need, speed, or for some other place, or for the convenience of people, there is no harm. It is established that what is depicted of him (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he mostly urinated while sitting. And it is established in the hadith of Hudhayfah that he urinated while standing; he went to his people’s latrine and urinated while standing. And it came in other hadiths. So, the correct view is that both are permissible, but with the condition of the awrah, that his awrah is not seen, and in a covered place where the awrah is not seen, there is no harm. But sitting is better than
The questioner:
Shaykh, in some places there are specific areas for standing urination, like, for example, airports.
The Shaykh:
There is no harm, there is no harm. If need calls for it, there is no harm. Note, is there no need, Shaykh? There are restrooms, meaning. The point is, if he urinates while standing and his awrah is not seen, and he does not touch his clothes with impurity, there is no harm.
How do we reconcile the apparently contradictory hadiths regarding drinking while standing and urinating while standing? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
The truth is that there is no contradiction. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade drinking while standing, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) did so himself. This indicates that the command is not for obligation, and the prohibition is not for forbiddance. So, if one drinks while standing, there is no blame on him, and if he sits, that is better. So, how do we reconcile them?
If one drinks while standing in obedience to the prayer upon him, sitting is better, more quenching, and more beneficial. And if he drinks while standing out of need, haste, or other reasons, there is no harm. This is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which indicates that his prohibition is for dislike, and his command to sit is for recommendation. There is no contradiction in that, nor any conflict. Likewise, urinating while standing and urinating while sitting: urinating while sitting is better and more private. Urinating while standing is permissible if there is no exposure of the awrah (part of the body that must be covered), if no one sees it, if it is in a place where no one sees him, if he stands against a wall, for example, and urinates while standing out of need, speed, or for some other place, or for the convenience of people, there is no harm. It is established that what is depicted of him (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he mostly urinated while sitting. And it is established in the hadith of Hudhayfah that he urinated while standing; he went to his people’s latrine and urinated while standing. And it came in other hadiths. So, the correct view is that both are permissible, but with the condition of the awrah, that his awrah is not seen, and in a covered place where the awrah is not seen, there is no harm. But sitting is better than
The questioner:
Shaykh, in some places there are specific areas for standing urination, like, for example, airports.
The Shaykh:
There is no harm, there is no harm. If need calls for it, there is no harm. Note, is there no need, Shaykh? There are restrooms, meaning. The point is, if he urinates while standing and his awrah is not seen, and he does not touch his clothes with impurity, there is no harm.
Source
ندوات الجامع الكبير مع الأسئلة - 50 — archive.org (1:18:43)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.