How do we reconcile the hadith prohibiting drinking while standing with the hadith in which it is established that 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) performed wudu and drank the leftover water from his wudu while standing?

The questioner : Well, there is a hadith narrated from al-Husayn ibn 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) in the collection of al-Nasa'i, stating that Imam 'Ali, his father, called him to perform wudu, and finally, after the wudu, he drank what remained while standing, and said meaning the intended person is his grandfather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). What is your opinion on that? And what is the point of contradiction between this hadith and that one?

The Shaykh : My opinion has already been answered.

The questioner: Yes

The Shaykh : It is not permissible except for a reason, except for a reason. The hadiths that came from the Messenger (peace be upon him) that he drank while standing include several authentic hadiths. In some of them, there is no explanation of why he drank while standing. In some of them, there is an explanation: he drank while standing from a suspended water skin, so he untied its knot and drank from it. A water skin was suspended by the Bedouins at that time on a peg; what is the purpose? To cool it. So it is not easy to lower it, so he untied its knot and drank while standing. Likewise, he drank from Zamzam while standing due to the heavy crowd. And in that case, these hadiths that contain an explanation of the reason do not establish the permissibility of drinking while standing without a reason. The other hadiths that do not contain an explanation of a reason are to be understood in one of two ways: either they are like their counterparts with a reason that has not reached us, or that was before the Messenger (peace be upon him) prohibited drinking while standing. The hadiths prohibiting drinking while standing are numerous. And from the principles of the science of usul al-fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence), it is a rule that if the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his action contradict, reconciliation between the saying and the action must be sought above all else. If reconciliation is not possible by any means, then the saying is given precedence over the action, because the saying is a general law for people, while the action may be due to an excuse, may be a specific privilege, or may have occurred before the prohibition. And when a possibility affects evidence, the argument based on it falls away. So the hadiths of the Messenger (peace be upon him) prohibiting drinking while standing remain decisive, with no abrogation of them.