The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade a person from eating while leaning, so what is the understanding of this hadith?

The questioner : In the hadith, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade eating while leaning. What is the understanding of this hadith? Then, regarding the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith , what is the description of this leaning?

The Shaykh : The leaning in the first hadith is not the same as the leaning in the other hadith. In the opinion of the majority, the leaning in the first hadith is *al-tarwib* (sitting on one's heels). Do you know *al-tarwib*? Yes, the *al-tarwib* that is the opposite of *al-iftirash* (sitting with legs to one side) in prayer and the opposite of *al-tawruk* (sitting on one's buttocks). This is *al-tarwib*. Some scholars interpret this leaning in the hadith as *al-tarwib*. In that case, this leaning contradicts the leaning mentioned in the hadith of the major sins, because the leaning in the hadith of the major sins is for a person to be leaning like this and speaking in his natural state and at his ease. So when he reaches a sentence he wants to emphasize, he sits up straight and said and so on. What appears to me, and Allah knows best, and I have mentioned this on many occasions, is that the leaning mentioned in the second hadith, the hadith of the major sins, is exactly the same as the leaning in the hadith . Because I do not know, and although the first meaning is what was mentioned in the book of strange words, such as the book of Ibn al-Athir known as *Al-Nihayah fi Gharib al-Hadith wa al-athar*, where they mentioned what I told you just now, that his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) , the intended meaning is *al-tarwib*, but wherever I have come across this word, *al-iktia'* (leaning), I do not find it to mean anything other than sitting slanted and leaning on one of one's sides. So interpreting the first hadith as *al-tarwib* seems to be an anomaly and a substitute for the leaning known in the other hadiths, such as the hadith . This is one thing. The second thing is that the one sitting in *al-tarwib* is sitting, so how can it be said that he is leaning? And the hadith of the major sins is narrated by Abu Bakrah al-Thaqafi in the two Sahihs, where it says . So leaning contradicts sitting and contradicts being settled. The one sitting in *al-tarwib* is sitting and is settled in his sitting. So it does not appear to me, and Allah knows best, I say this because, as I always tell you to clarify the truth, I do not forget my beginning and end: I am a non-Arab, and the Arabs and those who know the language know it better than the foreigners or those who have become Arabized, at least. But what I find scattered in the hadiths is that leaning, as it came in the hadith of Abu Bakrah al-Thaqafi , whereas the one in *al-tarwib* is sitting. This is part of the understanding of this hadith. And secondly, which is very important, some people take from this hadith something like a prohibition against eating while leaning. So if they interpret leaning as *al-tarwib* and interpret "I do not eat while leaning" as a prohibition, they arrive at a result that legislates a ruling that is heavy and severe on people, meaning it is not permissible for them to eat while leaning, i.e., in *al-tarwib*. This is also, in my opinion, an error, because his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) does not mean that it is not permissible, but rather it means that I do not eat while leaning out of nobility, i.e., it is not befitting for me to eat while leaning, because leaning is, as we said, a need for rest. So when the time of fatigue comes, he keeps eating while leaning. This is a characteristic of the arrogant. So his saying is an encouragement for the Muslim to be noble and not eat in this manner. This is what I have, and Allah knows best.