What is the ruling on eating while standing?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : According to the Shari'ah... I see here the position of the Companion's fatwa, and he was the servant of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), Anas ibn Malik; for when he narrated the prohibition of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) against drinking while standing, he was asked: "What about eating?" He said: "It is worse."
The questioner : Well, why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not include eating in the prohibition along with drinking, meaning just as he did regarding food, namely:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1800Sahih (Darussalam)?
The Shaykh : The reason is that we do not attribute many of our sayings and fatwas to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Do you know the reason?
The questioner : How?
The student : You are the last one to be at ease, come on, pay attention, but just for a bit.
The Shaykh : Do you know the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan an-Nasa'i 5381Sahih (Darussalam)?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh :Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1326Sahih (Darussalam) .
The student : Our Shaykh, he needs a little sugar.
Another student: We want to ask him.
Another student: He needs a little.
Another student: He needs a little, uncle, here.
The Shaykh : Yes, he needs a little sugar.
The student : Put a little, do not overdo it...
...
The Shaykh On what basis is ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) performed?
The student : On matters where there is no explicit text.
The Shaykh : Well done; that is the answer, the answer to the question I asked you, or my answer which includes the answer to your question. I said: The reason is that we issue fatwas based on opinion and do not say: "The Messenger of Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said"; because it would be issued from ijtihad (independent legal reasoning). And so we say, in answer to your previous question regarding Anas, is the answer clear to you now? It means clearly that Anas did not have a text that the Messenger prohibited eating while standing; he had a text that he prohibited drinking while standing. When the question came to him, he used his ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) and said: "This is worse than eating."
The questioner : Than drinking.
The Shaykh : Than drinking, but we have a hadith, and this hadith makes us moderate in this ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) and not attach anything else to it; and that is that a person eats while walking. If he eats while walking, we do not say: this is prohibited; why? For two reasons: The first reason is that we do not have a text from a Companion, as we established for you earlier regarding eating while standing. The second reason is that we have a text from Ibn 'Umar, narrated that they used to eat while walking in the time of the Messenger; so there is a difference between eating while standing and eating while walking, is that clear?
The questioner : Yes, it is clear.
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner : Well, why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not include eating in the prohibition along with drinking, meaning just as he did regarding food, namely:
When one of you eats, then let him eat with his right hand
إذا أكل أحدكم فليأكل بيمينهThe Shaykh : The reason is that we do not attribute many of our sayings and fatwas to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Do you know the reason?
The questioner : How?
The student : You are the last one to be at ease, come on, pay attention, but just for a bit.
The Shaykh : Do you know the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):
If a judge passes judgment and strives to reach the right conclusion and gets it right, he will have two rewards
إذا حكم الحاكم فاجتهد فأصاب فله أجرانThe questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh :
And when he judges and is mistaken, then he receives one reward.
وإن أخطأ فله أجر واحدThe student : Our Shaykh, he needs a little sugar.
Another student: We want to ask him.
Another student: He needs a little.
Another student: He needs a little, uncle, here.
The Shaykh : Yes, he needs a little sugar.
The student : Put a little, do not overdo it...
...
The Shaykh
If the ruler exerts his effort
إذا اجتهد الحاكمThe student : On matters where there is no explicit text.
The Shaykh : Well done; that is the answer, the answer to the question I asked you, or my answer which includes the answer to your question. I said: The reason is that we issue fatwas based on opinion and do not say: "The Messenger of Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said"; because it would be issued from ijtihad (independent legal reasoning). And so we say, in answer to your previous question regarding Anas, is the answer clear to you now? It means clearly that Anas did not have a text that the Messenger prohibited eating while standing; he had a text that he prohibited drinking while standing. When the question came to him, he used his ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) and said: "This is worse than eating."
The questioner : Than drinking.
The Shaykh : Than drinking, but we have a hadith, and this hadith makes us moderate in this ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) and not attach anything else to it; and that is that a person eats while walking. If he eats while walking, we do not say: this is prohibited; why? For two reasons: The first reason is that we do not have a text from a Companion, as we established for you earlier regarding eating while standing. The second reason is that we have a text from Ibn 'Umar, narrated that they used to eat while walking in the time of the Messenger; so there is a difference between eating while standing and eating while walking, is that clear?
The questioner : Yes, it is clear.
The Shaykh: Good.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.