Benefits of the Hadith: (I do not eat while leaning)
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The Shaykh : The following is derived from this hadith:
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked eating while leaning, based on his statement:.
But does this mean it is prohibited, such that we say: leaning while eating is prohibited, either as a prohibition of disapproval or a prohibition of forbiddance?
What appears to me is that it does not imply prohibition, but rather that it is among the etiquettes that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) avoided. He avoided eating while leaning, because if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had intended to prohibit it, he would have stated it explicitly, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:67].
So if he did not state it explicitly, and did not say: "Do not eat while leaning," it is known that this is from the category of recommended etiquettes, and it does not imply disapproval.
As for the wisdom behind this, the scholars said:
That the one leaning on one of his hands does not find it easy for the food to descend in this state with the esophagus, the esophagus which is the passage for food, because the body is tilted to one side.
And does this include drinking?
We say: As for according to the principles of the Ahl al-Zahir, drinking is not included. Why?
Because the hadith specified it with eating, and eating is not drinking, so it implies that drinking while leaning is not something the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked.
It is also possible to say: that drinking is like eating because the cause is one, especially if we attribute the leaning on one of the hands, for the drinker, if he is leaning on one of his hands with a great lean, might choke, and be harmed by that. But the precaution is to take the apparent meaning here and say: eating while leaning is disliked by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), unlike drinking. And it may be said that the difference is from two aspects:
The first aspect: that the one eating while leaning will eat a lot.
Second: that the descent of food with the esophagus is more difficult than the descent of water, because water is lighter and easier, and this is a meaning that implies that the analogy is not valid.
We remain with the third form of leaning, which is: sitting cross-legged (turuq):
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) considers it to be from leaning, and the jurists do not consider it to be from leaning. They say: the one sitting cross-legged has not bent, but his body is upright, meaning that his body is straight, so he has not leaned, and it does not fall under the hadith. And if this, which I mean sitting cross-legged, is not implied by the wording, neither linguistically nor religiously, the precaution is not to include it. Why?
Because the original ruling for things other than acts of worship is permissibility and lawfulness, until evidence arises to the contrary.
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked eating while leaning, based on his statement:
I do not eat
لا آكلBut does this mean it is prohibited, such that we say: leaning while eating is prohibited, either as a prohibition of disapproval or a prohibition of forbiddance?
What appears to me is that it does not imply prohibition, but rather that it is among the etiquettes that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) avoided. He avoided eating while leaning, because if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had intended to prohibit it, he would have stated it explicitly, as Allah the Exalted said:
O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you
يا أيها الرسول بلغ ما أنزل إليكSo if he did not state it explicitly, and did not say: "Do not eat while leaning," it is known that this is from the category of recommended etiquettes, and it does not imply disapproval.
As for the wisdom behind this, the scholars said:
That the one leaning on one of his hands does not find it easy for the food to descend in this state with the esophagus, the esophagus which is the passage for food, because the body is tilted to one side.
And does this include drinking?
We say: As for according to the principles of the Ahl al-Zahir, drinking is not included. Why?
Because the hadith specified it with eating, and eating is not drinking, so it implies that drinking while leaning is not something the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked.
It is also possible to say: that drinking is like eating because the cause is one, especially if we attribute the leaning on one of the hands, for the drinker, if he is leaning on one of his hands with a great lean, might choke, and be harmed by that. But the precaution is to take the apparent meaning here and say: eating while leaning is disliked by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), unlike drinking. And it may be said that the difference is from two aspects:
The first aspect: that the one eating while leaning will eat a lot.
Second: that the descent of food with the esophagus is more difficult than the descent of water, because water is lighter and easier, and this is a meaning that implies that the analogy is not valid.
We remain with the third form of leaning, which is: sitting cross-legged (turuq):
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) considers it to be from leaning, and the jurists do not consider it to be from leaning. They say: the one sitting cross-legged has not bent, but his body is upright, meaning that his body is straight, so he has not leaned, and it does not fall under the hadith. And if this, which I mean sitting cross-legged, is not implied by the wording, neither linguistically nor religiously, the precaution is not to include it. Why?
Because the original ruling for things other than acts of worship is permissibility and lawfulness, until evidence arises to the contrary.