Reconciling the hadith: “Magnify, magnify” with the hadith: “The right one, then the right one.”

The questioner: And the hadith: Should one not begin with the eldest, then the one next to him... the eldest? Because lying... the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is less than...?

The Shaykh: What we know—may Allah bless you—is that one of the ways to reconcile hadiths when we perceive some contradiction is to narrate each hadith in the context in which it was reported. Perhaps you can recall with me that this hadith you mentioned came in the context of speaking before the one to whom the matter is to be elevated. Perhaps you can recall.

The questioner: In the case of... which you mentioned?

The Shaykh: Yes, indeed. So in that case, since it does not have a generality that includes what is not in its context, it should not—under these circumstances—be used to contradict a specific hadith in a specific context. Rather, each hadith is applied in the place where it was reported. So if the hadith: —which is in "Sahih al-Bukhari" as I recall—then in that case, it should not be used to contradict... beginning with the right hand of the one who pours, which is established in two hadiths: the hadith of Anas ibn Malik and the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd. In them, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked for water, and he was brought milk mixed with water in a cup. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) drank, and some remained in the cup. On his right was Ibn Abbas, and in another narration: some Bedouins. On his left was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and in another narration: ... The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked permission from the one on his right to allow him to give water to the one on his left, but he refused and said: “I would not prefer anyone over the leftover of your drink, O Messenger of Allah”—or as he said. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) gave him this cup, and he addressed those sitting until there was nothing... in their hearts when they saw the Messenger (peace be upon him) had preferred the Bedouin over the great sheikhs... or Ibn Abbas over Abu Bakr. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , = -- and peace be upon you -- = This is the wording of Anas. As for the wording of Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi, he said: .
So we observe in this authentic hadith narrated in al-Bukhari and Muslim from the two famous Companions, Anas and Sahl, we observe that the one who pours, we observe matters, the first of which is that the one who pours began with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) because he asked for water, so the story fell outside the scope of being used as a general rule. However, the Sunnah is to begin giving water to the eldest of the people. The beginning was only because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked for water. After that, when we look at the continuation of the hadith, we find that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he had drunk what he drank and some remained for Sa'd in..., and he wanted to give water to Abu Bakr because of his high status, but he asked permission from the one on his right, and we found that he became the one who pours now. If the prevailing idea in some countries is that the one who pours begins from his right, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)—excuse me—if the prevailing idea in some countries is that the one who pours begins with the eldest of the people and began with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had no need to ask permission from the one on his right, whether Bedouin or Ibn Abbas. But what we see—as we mentioned earlier in the authentic narration—is that he asked him for permission. So if it were not because he was the most deserving to be started with by the Messenger (peace be upon him) in giving water because he was on his right, he would not—as we said earlier—have needed to ask his permission. When he did not give permission, he gave him [the cup] and said... of those present, the legal ruling , or . So in that case, the Sunnah of giving water is not the Sunnah of speaking. This first hadith: is used in its place. And this hadith which the Messenger (peace be upon him) applied and legislated for the people after applying it by his saying: remains in the Sunnah of beginning with the right in giving water. So we do not see a contradiction—praise be to Allah—between the two hadiths.

The questioner: All right, O Shaykh, what is your opinion regarding the issue of as an issue of analogy?

The Shaykh: ... But the answer is the same.

The questioner: Is... (peace and blessings be upon him) the one who pours or the one who asks for water?

The Shaykh : No.

The questioner: The Messenger in this case is the one who asks for water.

The Shaykh: No, he is the one who pours now.

The questioner: ... that the one who pours is the master of the house.

The Shaykh: No problem, we mentioned earlier something as it is said, that does not accept dispute or disagreement. The one who pours began with the Messenger (peace be upon him) because he asked for water. Did you understand this issue? It is not said: Why did the one who pour begin with the Messenger (peace be upon him)? Because the answer is clear. Now, when the cup remained in front of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and he wanted to give water to the one on his right or left; who is the one who pours? It is the Messenger (peace be upon him). The role of the first one who poured has ended, especially since he gave water to the Messenger, because the Messenger asked. So here it is very clear that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the cup in his hand is the one who pours. So it is not permissible for us to ignore this tangible reality that is clear to the touch, and say that the Messenger (peace be upon him), if he was the one who pours, wanted to begin from the one on his right, but he knows and from him we learned that Abu Bakr is more deserving of respect and magnification and honor, and so on. If he were not the one who pours and began with him, no one would deny that, and no one would blame him. How is it that he is the one who brought the Shari'ah...? And when there was a need for him to ask Ibn Abbas for permission, but he actually asked to make people understand that I am excused in the custom of people who imagine in their minds that the motive for giving water is Abu Bakr. If we wanted to judge by our minds, we would say that this is the knowledge: to begin with the eldest of the people. But he (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to invalidate this and establish a legal ruling: to begin with the right. But he wanted to combine... the Sunnah of the right with drawing attention to the fact that the owner of the right can prefer others with his right. When Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) refused—and all of us are that man, am I or you? All of us are that man completely—because here, as he (peace be upon him) said approximately: , this is the famous and praiseworthy envy. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) wanted, as it is said in some expressions, to kill two birds with one stone. On one hand, he wanted to legislate a general Sunnah for the people, and on the other hand, he wanted to legislate that there is no objection to contradicting this general Sunnah by the owner of the right preferring others who are more noble and more knowledgeable than him, and so on. But if the owner of the right refuses, no one has authority over him. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him this right, then confirmed it with the previous hadith, and there is no need to repeat it.
Then here is something that sound empirical observation requires; the one who pours is usually not required to be cultured; such that he knows the ranks of men, their measures, their ages, their differences in knowledge, and the like. If it is said to the one who pours: Begin with the eldest of the people as it is in the hadith: , this is the first thing that should be observed in it is age... he, so it is a burden on the one who pours of what is similar to what is said in books of theology—and unfortunately they differed in that—can Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) burden His servants with what they cannot bear? The Asha'irah held that Allah can burden His servants with what they cannot bear. And what we know, as He (the Exalted) said: ; so does Allah burden any one who pours who enters any gathering like this to do a detailed examination, and see ifThe Shaykh : ... is more deserving or that oneThe Shaykh : The one sitting there in the front of the place? I do not know; especially if one of them has recently dyed his beard to cover his gray hair, and there is no blame on him for that, while the other has removed some of the dye and the trace of gray remains, like me, for example, where I am not able to pay much attention to dyeing the beard, but I do so this year, praise be to Allah, in many cases; so here, this water-giver will be confused between this one and that one; this conflicts with the ease and leniency of Islam, as for .
Some people say: If a boy distinguishes his right from his left, that is enough for him to be commanded to pray. If you... this is because it is a recommended practice clearer than this statement. So if we look at all of this, I think the tranquil souls will be at peace with this ruling, and they will place it in its proper position. And the hadith: is in the discussion, and the hadith of the miswak also says "enlarge" in that, and this is among the aspects I pointed to that facilitate for students of knowledge reconciling the hadiths where something of a contradiction may appear between them, and there is no contradiction, praise be to Allah, in them.

The questioner: All right, O Shaykh—may Allah reward you with good—you said the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was the second water-giver, but now he asked permission from the one on his right, but... they have a desire, so perhaps they will be affected if so-and-so is given preference over them.

The Shaykh : It is good.

The questioner: They are affected by his being given preference over them.

The Shaykh: Good, so is this in all gatherings?

The questioner: If we find this.

The Shaykh: But... take and give, I answered you with a word; what you say is good, and , I asked you: Is this in all gatherings?

The questioner: No, it is not in all gatherings.

The Shaykh: ...Allow me, allow me, so since it is not in all gatherings; in a gathering like the one you are describing, the answer has come that they give preference to so-and-so, and there is no harm in that, but in the other gathering?

The questioner: It may not be so.

The Shaykh: So I say: What is the action in that case?

The questioner: He starts with the one on the right.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.

The questioner : And to you.

The Shaykh: That is what we seek.