A word on who the one serving the people should start with.

The Shaykh : The common view is that the server starts with the eldest of the group, but the research has a continuation, and there is other evidence in the hadiths confirming that the Sunnah is to start with the person on the server's right. We said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) drank milk mixed with water from the cup, and a remainder was left in the cup, which was the large cup. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas was on his right (peace and blessings be upon him), and Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and the elders of Quraysh were on his left. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Ibn 'Abbas: "Do you permit me to give Abu Bakr a drink?" He said: "No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I would not prefer anyone to the leftover of your drink." In some narrations, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab was watching, concerned about what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would do, so he offered the remainder to Ibn 'Abbas and was reassured by what he said afterwards, as were Ibn 'Umar and others who assumed he would start with Abu Bakr because he was the most virtuous among them after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He gave it to Ibn 'Abbas... the right one, then the right one. In a narration: So here is another proof that the server starts with the person on his right, without looking at age, knowledge, or virtue? Because all these qualities were present in Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, not in Ibn 'Abbas. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not look at all these qualities, but preferred the right one, then the right one. So the first server started with the Messenger of Allah because he requested the drink; he did not start with him because he was the eldest and greatest of the group, though he was. This is the first point.
Second, when the Messenger became the server, with the cup in his hand (peace and blessings be upon him), he was the one who wanted to serve either the person on his right or the person on his left. So he served the person on his right and explained this with a legal reason by saying: This concludes the explanation that this hadith, which is narrated in the two Sahihs in both the abbreviated and complete versions from two noble Companions, one being Anas ibn Malik and the other Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi, both of whom narrated this hadith with the additional wording as well, to the end of the hadith.
Let us now look at the issue from a theoretical and practical perspective. Is it possible, and does it make sense in the view of the Shari'ah's leniency and ease, to burden the server of a large, very large gathering with knowing who is their eldest, who is the second, and so on? This, in my opinion and critique, falls under the category of burdening people with what they cannot bear, and this is what the people of the Sunnah agreed upon, as the Blessed and Exalted is He said: I believe that burdening any server, who is usually a stranger to the people, their status, their ranks, their ages, and the extent of their knowledge, by telling him to start with the eldest of the group in terms of knowledge, righteousness, and perhaps age, I say that even if this server were Ibn Khaldun in his time, with his knowledge of the history of men and their ages, he would not be able to know in every gathering where that server is tested to serve. He would not be able to know this quality that some people think deserves to be started with its owner. This is a burden of what cannot be borne. But starting with the right one: here is a small boy, if he enters from the door, start with the right one, he starts with this boy standing now. This is Islam, and this is the ease of Islam. So I hope you understand this issue, not becauseThe Shaykh : Al-Albani says this, but because you first knew the narration that completes the first narration: "The Messenger of Allah asked for a drink," so the argument that the start was because he was the eldest of the group is invalid. And peace be upon you.
Second, the Prophetic hadith is a general rule that should be applied. Third and finally, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) implemented this general rule himself when he started with the boy, Ibn 'Abbas, and preferred him over the elder of Quraysh, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. So I hope you grasp this, and I say finally, let the witness convey to the absent one. Please.

The questioner : Shaykh, there is an exception, which can be said to be in this hadith itself, which is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked the boy for permission. The Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) asking the boy for permission is also an indication that there is no harm in the Shari'ah considering it. Otherwise, if this principle were consistent in all cases, he would not have asked for permission, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have needed to ask this boy for permission. He only started with the boy without mentioning Abu Bakr or, I mean, considering him. He only started, and in the narration, Abu Bakr did not ask for any of this honor. I mean, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was the one who started. The other issue is...

The Shaykh : One, one, one.

The questioner : Is it okay?

The Shaykh : Stick with the first one.

The questioner : May Allah bless you. Yes.

The Shaykh : And what is the result of what you said regarding consideration? What is the result? Does he start with the eldest of the group or with the person on his right?

The questioner : No, I only say that there is a difference.

The Shaykh : I hope, I hope you answer briefly.

The questioner : Okay, our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : What is the result of the observation you made, which is an observation of value? But does its implication mean that the server starts with the eldest of the group or with the person on his right? I hope you say one of the two?

The questioner : Without a doubt, the right one. Without a doubt, the right one.

The Shaykh : So this is the research, and what I mentioned earlier does not refute the research. All that is the case is that, by Allah, this is a boy and this is an old man. Do you permit? There is no harm, but I have to start with whom? With the person on my right. So this does not negate that. I mean, if a person prefers his Muslim brother with something, that is another matter, and this should be noted. And I say here, on this occasion, preference is undoubtedly a known Shari'ah, but it is not absolute. This is an interjected sentence. You noticed exactly that we say this preference that you rambled about, but I feared that you would understand from preference the negation of the rule of the right one, then the right one. And if the matter is not so, then "when the drum matches the rhythm, it embraced it." But allow me to draw your attention to the fact that preference is not absolute. Preference is in material matters, not in acts of worship. We observe in many mosques, for example, I attend and stand in the second row, and there is a young man in front of me who delays from the first row and offers me his place. This is not from the prescribed preference, unless he is behind the imam. Unless he is behind the imam, in which case, by his delay and offering his place to another whom he thinks has knowledge, jurisprudence, and recitation, and the like, he has applied his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): But if, for example, I am at the end of the row and he is at the end of the first row, and he offers me the first row, this is not from the prescribed preference. This is what I wanted to point out. So, praise be to Allah, there is no contradiction between the Messenger offering Ibn 'Abbas to prefer Abu Bakr and the rule that we drew attention to, which is in its generality and comprehensiveness. But it is also necessary to add another point. This one preferred this one, so does the server start with this one or that one? It is necessary that the order proceeds, the right one, then the right one. It proceeds. May Allah reward you with good.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

Another questioner : If he had asked our permission and started with you, that would also have applied the Sunnah. This is also an observation!

The Shaykh : This is called, in the language of the country, a double. This will invalidate the Sunnah. This is first. We want to revive the Sunnah. Do you think, may Allah bless you, that we revive the Sunnah with this suggestion, or do we leave it as it is dead? It is necessary to revive the Sunnah and make people respond to it and tolerate these customs and traditions that have dominated them. This is from one side. From another side, you may preferThe Shaykh : the one you were afflicted with leading the gathering, this one and Zayd and Bakr and 'Amr, but you do not break people's hearts. There may be, as they say, "secrets in the corners." Saying what is this preference, for example, why? So he is not pleased to preferThe Shaykh : So you do what is in your heart and do not make it a general rule that you impose on all the attendees. Good.