Who does the one serving water start with when offering water to those present?
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The Shaykh : So the rule is that one starts with the person on the right of the one who entered, regardless of whether that person is young or old, and whether he is sitting in the front of the place and is old or young, whether in age, in knowledge, in status, and so on.
And finally, as I told you, the research is long, and we, as you know, are on a journey. If the Shari'ah had said, "Give water to the eldest of the people," it might be that next to me, for example, is a noble, learned man who is more knowledgeable than me, or who is older than me by a year, or younger by a year. How would you, the one serving, know? Are you in a state where you are now exercising independent legal reasoning and comparing this scholar with that scholar? Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Islam is a religion of ease and simplicity. I say on this occasion that the one who makes this comparison should be Ibn Khaldun in his time, with knowledge of the biographies of men. This is not possible except with men of the past, so what about the men present? But look at the ease in Islam: start with the right, and even a small child knows the right, and the matter is done. This is the Sunnah.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. And what if it was his father?
The Shaykh : And what if it was his father.
And finally, as I told you, the research is long, and we, as you know, are on a journey. If the Shari'ah had said, "Give water to the eldest of the people," it might be that next to me, for example, is a noble, learned man who is more knowledgeable than me, or who is older than me by a year, or younger by a year. How would you, the one serving, know? Are you in a state where you are now exercising independent legal reasoning and comparing this scholar with that scholar? Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Islam is a religion of ease and simplicity. I say on this occasion that the one who makes this comparison should be Ibn Khaldun in his time, with knowledge of the biographies of men. This is not possible except with men of the past, so what about the men present? But look at the ease in Islam: start with the right, and even a small child knows the right, and the matter is done. This is the Sunnah.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. And what if it was his father?
The Shaykh : And what if it was his father.