It is stated in the hadith that among the etiquettes of the gathering is that the one who pours drinks should give to the one among them who is best in knowledge or oldest in age, and then he should start with the one on his right.

The questioner : It is stated in the hadith that among the etiquettes of the gathering is that the one who pours drinks should give to the one among them who is best in knowledge or oldest in age, and then he should start with the one on his right.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : ... prioritizing the right.

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : ... prioritizing the right.

The Shaykh : Prioritizing the right ... in the middle.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : What you mentioned is known in almost all Islamic countries, but this is contrary to the Sunnah.

The questioner : There is no god but Allah...

The Shaykh : ... Yes, so who established this methodology?

The questioner : ... And it is ignorance for the one who pours drinks to start with the right of the Prophet.

The Shaykh: Allah is the Greatest!

The questioner : It is transmitted like this ... .

Another questioner : ... for the Sunnah has been turned into a religious innovation, and the religious innovation into a Sunnah.

The questioner : ... and the best is that it be the one among them who is oldest in age, then the one sitting on the right. So if the one on his left is better than him in knowledge and ...

The Shaykh : Listen now, all of us, by the grace and mercy of Allah, agree upon a correct creed, the summary of which is His saying - peace and blessings be upon him - : , is that not so? , it has come and time is tight, and time can bear expansion, but we will approach the topic from the nearest path.
It is in "Sahih Muslim" - pardon me - in "Sahih al-Bukhari" from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik with a chain, and from the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd with another chain, that the Prophet - peace and blessings be upon him and his family - asked for water. What did he do? He asked for water, and the meaning of "asked for water" is: he requested to be given a drink. Pay attention to this point; I did not request to be given a drink, did I? I did not request to be given a drink, so there is nothing after that. Here, the Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - asked for water, so he was brought milk mixed with water in a cup. The cup ... naturally has something of civilization in it. So he drank - peace and blessings be upon him - until he was satisfied and had enough. On his right was Abdullah ibn Abbas, and on his left was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. So he said to Ibn Abbas, who was on his right: He said: No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I do not prefer anyone over the leftover of your drink. So he gave it to him, and he said: , and this is the wording of the hadith of Anas, and the wording of the hadith of Sahl is: .
Now, if a question is asked: Why did the one who pours drinks start with the Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him and his family? The answer is: because he asked for it. So it is not valid to use this hadith as evidence for starting with the elder of the people, do you understand me? Because the starting was because he asked for water. If the elder of the people or the younger one asks for water, it is obligatory to give it to him; because he is the one who asked for water. Is that clear?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: Good; secondly - and here is the strong argument - : When the Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - drank and there was a leftover in the cup, he looked at the one on his right and found him to be a young boy who had not yet reached puberty, Ibn Abbas. And on his left was Abu Bakr. If the one who pours drinks started with the elder of the people, he would not have been allowed to ask permission from the young boy on his right and give to the one on his left; because he is the elder of the people. But we found that the Prophet - peace and blessings be upon him - did not start with him except after asking permission from the one on his right. So when he did not give permission, he gave it to him and made the attendees understand that none of you should be upset in his heart; why would he leaveThe Shaykh : the noble one and give to the small child? The answer is: he gave them in advance , and in another narration: , this is the text of the hadith.
So the rule is that the one who enters starts from the right, regardless of whether that person is young or old, and whether the one sitting in the front of the place is the elder or the young one; whether in age or in knowledge or in status, and so on.
And finally: the research - as I told you - is long. We, as you know, are on a journey. If the one who pours drinks for the people, and if the Shari'ah said: give the elder of the people a drink, it is possible that there is another man next to me, for example, a noble scholar, who is more knowledgeable than me and close to my age. I am one year older than him, or he is one year older than me. What is your situation, you who are the one pouring drinks? Do you need now to perform independent legal reasoning and make a choice between thisThe Shaykh : And thisThe Shaykh , Islam is a religion of ease and simplicity.
I say on this occasion to the one who wants to make this choice that he should be Ibn Khaldun of his time, meaning he should have knowledge ... , and this is not possible even for the men of the past; so what about the men present? But how is the ease in Islam? Start with the right, and the small child knows the right, and the matter is done. This is the way.

The questioner: May Allah reward you with good. And what if it was his father?

The Shaykh: And what if it was his father. I am making things easy with something, and ask an experienced expert about it. You know the Sunnah, so apply it in places where it does not lead to commotion and confusion, and ... the traveling imam is not far from you. But in public gatherings where this correct hadith has not reached their ears, say in ... the depths of your hearts, there is no power and no strength except with Allah, until people learn this Sunnah. You walk with the custom, but spread it among yourselves so that it moves slowly, like a pebble I throw into still water, and it makes what? The first circle, then the second, then the third, until it covers the sea so that the eye cannot encompass it. And so ... the Sunnah slowly, as He - the Exalted - said: ... .