The Shaykh’s clarification of the issue of drinking while standing.

The Shaykh : I mentioned to you earlier, in passing, the authentic hadiths that were reported regarding drinking while standing, or, to be more precise, the majority of the hadiths that I know. It is well known to you all that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) drank while standing. And I think he also drank while sitting, just as he prayed barefoot and prayed wearing shoes. Among the hadiths that explicitly state that he drank while standing is the one where he came to Zamzam and drank while standing. Another of these hadiths is that he came to a suspended water skin, untied its knot, and drank from its water. All of these hadiths indicate, on their apparent meaning, and when we examine them, that drinking while standing is permissible out of necessity or without necessity, out of need or without need. Why? Because these hadiths align with the principle that "the original ruling for things is permissibility." However, the scholars do not say that the original ruling for things is permissibility unless they do not find a text before them that compels them to move their jurisprudence from this principle to a branch that contradicts the principle. I think you understand the meaning of this statement. Now, let us look to see if we have other hadiths that compel us to depart from this principle or not. The first thing that comes to mind in this area is the hadith of Anas in Sahih Muslim: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade drinking while standing. It was said to him: What about eating? He said: That is worse.
Remember this, because this will give you a strong indication of what the Companion understood from the phrase "The Messenger of Allah forbade drinking while standing." That is, that drinking while standing is bad, because he said that eating while standing is worse. Now, in another narration in Sahih Muslim: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against drinking while standing. This is the second wording.
The third wording is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man drinking while standing. He said: . The man said: No, O Messenger of Allah. He said: .
Now let us engage in jurisprudence and try to reconcile these two types of hadiths: the verbal hadiths and the practical hadiths. Excuse me; it is correct, but let us reverse it. We say: the practical hadiths that we mentioned first, and then the verbal hadiths.
I am now compelled to ask you: Is the statement of permissibility closer, or is the statement of impermissibility closer?

The questioner : The impermissibility.

The Shaykh : Good. The statement of impermissibility is the closer one. Well, do we stick to this after we said it is the closer one? Do we stick to this in the sense that we adopt it, even now? I have adopted it for many years, but perhaps you were not prepared or had not studied the issue with precise jurisprudential study. But at least now you say frankly, as a believer, that the closer view is to say that it is not permissible, correct?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Well, if that is the case, what is the connection then to your previous question and linking this question to the issue that a general text, if part of its parts is not acted upon, or an absolute text, if its absoluteness is not acted upon? In light of my understanding of this, I told you: My brother, the issue of forbidding drinking while standing has no generality in the matter. It is directed at forbidding one single thing, which is drinking while standing, and it is one single thing. There is no general text that includes many parts, like, for example: . This is a general text. So if what some people say is correct, that his saying (peace be upon him): means: whoever innovates a good innovation in Islam, we say: in that case, we specify the general hadith with the specific hadith. But where is the generality in the hadith "He forbade drinking while standing," and the hadith "He saw a man drinking while standing and said to him..."? I do not want to repeat it. These are specific issues, they are not general at all. And so it appeared to me that you were mistaken in lumping the issue of drinking while standing into the issue of the principle that we established there.

The questioner : ... the action of the Companion agreed with the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and that they did not understand that the prohibition was for prohibition, this is what ... .

The Shaykh : Let it be so. This is a second research topic, but it has no relation to generality and specificity, it has no relation to the absolute and the restricted, it has no relation. So if you have a doubt in this, then we examine the issue from this angle, that this is what was not understood. We say: the one who said it is permissible did not understand the text. Do you want to research this?

The questioner : If you permit, I mean.

The Shaykh : Excuse me; I say: if the hadiths of the Messenger (peace be upon him) are explicit, and we said something similar to this there; we said regarding the saying of a Companion: if it is alone, then the Muslim is not obligated to act upon it. But if a Companion or two Companions join it, and there is no one from the Companions who contradicts them in that regard, let alone someone who contradicts the Sunnah; in that case, we act upon the saying or the action of these Companions. Do you remember that I said this?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Good; the condition here is missing, my brother. Here the statement of the permissibility of drinking while standing is absolute, because the Companions or some of the Companions said so. The condition that we mentioned there, which is a necessary condition, is missing here, because this contradicts his sayings (peace be upon him). And we have mentioned from the practical hadiths that he drank while standing and drank while sitting. So we take from this practical hadith what is consistent with his verbal hadith, and we do not take from this practical action that contradicts the verbal hadith. So if the hadith about the Companion comes to you from the beginning vague and not detailed, whether he saw him before or after; how is it permissible for us to argue with it? Is it clear?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Well; then his saying: , is it possible to interpret this as disliked?

The questioner : It cannot be, for example, ... .

The Shaykh : Do not wander, do not wander. The best speech is what is little and effective. I am asking you: Is it possible? You say: It is possible. You say: It is not possible. The matter ends. If you say: It is not possible, the matter is over. If you say: It is possible, I ask you why? I mean, do not think I will let you escape easily!! [Everyone laughs!] Until we continue the topic until we reach the end, either to agreement or to separation in view, in view meaning in understanding.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : No, it is so, when we say in understanding, what is your opinion? It is something in which Satan shares with the human being, and this human being knows that if he did that, Satan shared with him in his wealth, in his wife, his child, so he thought that this could be a disliked act of avoidance.

The questioner : No, it is not a disliked act of avoidance, but I say: is there between the Prophet ... .

The Shaykh : No no, excuse me, excuse me.

The questioner : A question, if you please.

The Shaykh : No, ask whatever you want, but the question I direct to you, I want to build castles and towers upon it, do you see? So if you say: it is possible or it is not possible, the meaning of the matter changes completely. So now I told you: do you imagine that if the Messenger said to a Muslim person that if you did such and such, Satan mixed with you in your food and your drink, you say: it is possible that this is a disliked act of avoidance? You say: No.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So, tell me: what is it? Prohibition.

The questioner : But I have a question?

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : And it is whether the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in the hadith that the reason for Satan’s mixing with him was his drinking while standing? Did he mention this in the hadith? And is it possible that there is another reason?

The Shaykh : Ah, you have reminded me, you are Ibn Hazm! What do you do, my brother, with the hadith? He said to him: ? What did this man say? He said: No, does the cat drink with me? He does not approve of it for himself. And the cat, you know, is from the household pets; meaning if it ate from your food, it is permissible for you to eat from this food, correct? Despite that, the man avoided it and refused to be a partner in drinking with this domestic animal, which is what? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said about it: ; like servants, meaning. Despite that, he elevated himself and raised his status above approving that the cat drink with him. He said to him: . Do you see that this person who elevates himself from being a partner in drinking with the cat of the house would approve of himself being a partner in drinking with Satan?

The questioner: No.

The Shaykh : Well; so your question has no place in the grammar, as the grammarians say; because this is sufficient!

The questioner : Did a hadith come ...

The Shaykh : Listen – may Allah bless you – suppose there are other things, suppose whatever other possibilities you wish, but is not the text that came to us in the hadith sufficient for you to understand that this drinking is a cause for Satan to share in the drinking with the drinker? Is not this sufficient to indicate to you that this drinking is not merely disliked for a reason of disapproval, but rather – as I said – disliked for a reason of prohibition?

The questioner : I understand that by this it becomes disliked for a reason of prohibition, but my question remains; which is...

The Shaykh : Not at all, not at all.
So you will see when the dust settles *** Is it a horse under you or a donkey?
[Everyone laughs!] Please, go ahead.

The questioner : I am saying: Did it come in the hadith so that we reach the conclusion you want?

The Shaykh : No problem, please go ahead.

The questioner : And that the cause of the sharing is drinking while standing, I assume there is nothing indicating this.

The Shaykh : I told you just now – may Allah bless you –: suppose whatever you wish, I gave you the answer before your question. I say: suppose whatever you wish; because I say: this which came to us in the hadith is sufficient for you to remain with what you said, that the hadith indicates that this is disliked for a reason of prohibition.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Wait, let me tell you, now I am saying: It did not come. Okay?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : You say it, did it come?

The questioner : I am asking you.

The Shaykh : And what did I do?

The questioner : No, I mean I am saying: Did this come in the hadith?

The Shaykh : My brother, I told you: It did not come, it did not come except this which I heard you recite.

The questioner : So do we end up with things that clarify this hadith?

The Shaykh : Things that clarify this hadith.

The questioner : They are hadiths that clarify this hadith.

The Shaykh : Well, I am with you.

The questioner: And that is...

The Shaykh : Wait a little, wait a little. After we learned that it did not come, but this which we mentioned is what did come; so what does this which came indicate?

The questioner : It indicates prohibition.

The Shaykh : Good; so what did you benefit from your previous question, and whether there is something that came or not? You did not benefit; therefore I said:
So you will see when the dust settles *** Is it a horse under you or a donkey?
Why? Because I know that whatever my answer to you is, the ruling will remain the same, and you are witnessing it yourself. I told you: Nothing else came at all except this. What does this which came indicate? You said: It indicates the prohibition of dislike, correct?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Now please, understand this prohibition of dislike in light of the actual hadiths; what do you do?

The questioner : There is nothing wrong with it.

The Shaykh : Nothing, the ruling will remain disliked for a reason of prohibition, and this is a Hanafi term, and it is forbidden in the term of the majority; therefore it is not permissible for a Muslim who is able to drink while sitting to intentionally drink while standing except for a need or dire necessity, these are known exceptions in all the rulings of the Shari'ah, not just in this ruling.

The questioner : The hadith... O Shaykh, when he ordered him...: Is it authentic?

The Shaykh : This...

Another questioner : I mentioned the hadith: .

The Shaykh : Yes, the brother reminded us – may Allah reward him with good – with my question about a hadith, and reminded me of the completion of the previous hadith in his question about a hadith other than the previous one, I hope the brotherThe questioner : will spare the time to listen to it, the brother is asking about a hadith, so he reminded me that the hadith of the cat or the devil has a completion, its hadith is: , or rather the wording is: , this hadith is in "Sahih Muslim", but it is not authentic. You take it and spread it that Al-Albani criticizes al-Bukhari and criticizes Muslim, say whatever you want, but in the chain of this hadith in "Sahih Muslim" there is a man whose name I think is 'Umar ibn Hamzah, and he is poor in memory by consensus. If the religion were by desire and wishing – and it is not by wishing – I would have wished that this hadith were authentic; why? Because it is in strictness, from one who forgot, not from one who did it intentionally, , but we rested from this hadith when we studied its chain, and it became clear that it is weak.
Do not rush, be patient, Allah is testing us with you tonight, be patient, be patient! [Everyone laughs!].

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : I mean if I say to you: Allah is testing you tonight; does it mean testing you with evil? ""And We will test you with good and evil as a trial"" .

The questioner : With evil and good in the verse.

The Shaykh : Oh?

The questioner : With evil and good in the verse.

The Shaykh : How is the verse?

The questioner : ... with good and evil.

The Shaykh : With evil and good?

Another questioner: Yes.

Another questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Yes, this hadith reminded me that the completion of the previous hadith is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah who said: . He said to him: . And the hadith with the authentic chain is in "Musnad Imam Ahmad". Now the question comes to confirm what we agreed to understand is that it is forbidden by prohibition: Do you imagine that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would obligate the Muslim, when he does a permissible thing, to say: Vomit what you drank? Knowing that inducing vomiting and emptying the stomach may harm its owner, but this – also – is another proof that drinking while standing is a very reprehensible matter; therefore it was good in reason that the Shari'ah came with this punishment, that he says to him: , but not for one who drank while forgetting, as came in the other hadith.
This is what I have regarding this issue.