The Meaning of Leaning in the Saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “I do not eat while leaning.”
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The Meaning of Leaning in the Saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “I do not eat while leaning”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I do not eat while leaning” Does this include drinking? Is leaning always blameworthy? And what is the reason for the prohibition?
First: The saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): “I do not eat while leaning” is not a prohibition, but it indicates one of the etiquettes of eating, which is that a person should not eat while leaning, following the example of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); because eating while leaning may lead to two harms: The first harm is that eating while leaning indicates that the one doing it has arrogance, pride, and haughtiness.
The second danger: That eating while leaning means eating while at rest, and one may eat a lot because he is comfortable and at ease. For this reason, Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) included eating while sitting cross-legged with this,Meaning: like this,He says: do not eat like this; this is part of leaning; because if a person eats like this, he eats a lot,But the correct view is: that it is not leaning, and leaning is: when a person leans on his right or left hand.
So this is the reason the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) does not eat while leaning, so that he does not overdo it in eating and eat too much. It is well known that eating too much is an error in the Shari'ah and in medicine.As for the Shari'ah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Enough for the son of Adam are mouthfuls that straighten his back—‘mouthfuls’ is the diminutive form for minimizing—if it is absolutely necessary, then one-third for his food, one-third for his drink, and one-third for his breath” If a person had accustomed himself to this rule from the beginning, he would have been at ease, and indigestion and obesity would have decreased in him, and laziness would have decreased. So he eats one-third, drinks one-third, and leaves one-third. And when he is hungry, he eats,It does not mean: it is necessary that you do not eat except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You have allocated one-third for food, one-third for drink, and one-third for your body. And when you are hungry, eat. This is if it is absolutely necessary; otherwise, the mouthfuls are sufficient for you.
But—as you know—as we are accustomed to now, a person eats until he is very full, so you find him becoming lazy and relaxed, and sleep comes to him. And perhaps he eats in a way he knows will affect him and harm him,And he says: We endure—Meaning: Do you endure? Why do you eat?—Shaykh al-Islam says: If a person fears harm from his eating or fears indigestion, then eating is forbidden for him.
Meaning: That he commits a sin.
And therefore we advise our brothers, and we start by advising ourselves first—I ask Allah to help us—not to eat a lot or drink a lot, but only as much as is needed: one-third, one-third, and one-third. And when we are hungry, praise be to Allah, the good is present.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I do not eat while leaning” Does this include drinking? Is leaning always blameworthy? And what is the reason for the prohibition?
First: The saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): “I do not eat while leaning” is not a prohibition, but it indicates one of the etiquettes of eating, which is that a person should not eat while leaning, following the example of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); because eating while leaning may lead to two harms: The first harm is that eating while leaning indicates that the one doing it has arrogance, pride, and haughtiness.
The second danger: That eating while leaning means eating while at rest, and one may eat a lot because he is comfortable and at ease. For this reason, Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) included eating while sitting cross-legged with this,Meaning: like this,He says: do not eat like this; this is part of leaning; because if a person eats like this, he eats a lot,But the correct view is: that it is not leaning, and leaning is: when a person leans on his right or left hand.
So this is the reason the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) does not eat while leaning, so that he does not overdo it in eating and eat too much. It is well known that eating too much is an error in the Shari'ah and in medicine.As for the Shari'ah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Enough for the son of Adam are mouthfuls that straighten his back—‘mouthfuls’ is the diminutive form for minimizing—if it is absolutely necessary, then one-third for his food, one-third for his drink, and one-third for his breath” If a person had accustomed himself to this rule from the beginning, he would have been at ease, and indigestion and obesity would have decreased in him, and laziness would have decreased. So he eats one-third, drinks one-third, and leaves one-third. And when he is hungry, he eats,It does not mean: it is necessary that you do not eat except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You have allocated one-third for food, one-third for drink, and one-third for your body. And when you are hungry, eat. This is if it is absolutely necessary; otherwise, the mouthfuls are sufficient for you.
But—as you know—as we are accustomed to now, a person eats until he is very full, so you find him becoming lazy and relaxed, and sleep comes to him. And perhaps he eats in a way he knows will affect him and harm him,And he says: We endure—Meaning: Do you endure? Why do you eat?—Shaykh al-Islam says: If a person fears harm from his eating or fears indigestion, then eating is forbidden for him.
Meaning: That he commits a sin.
And therefore we advise our brothers, and we start by advising ourselves first—I ask Allah to help us—not to eat a lot or drink a lot, but only as much as is needed: one-third, one-third, and one-third. And when we are hungry, praise be to Allah, the good is present.