In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The reciter: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on the Dislike of Eating While Leaning Back. Abu Juhayfa, Wahb ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

I do not eat while reclining.

لا آكل متكئًا

Al-Bukhari narrated it. And Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: 'I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting in a squatting position eating dates.' Muslim narrated it."

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in *Riyad al-Salihin*, in the Book of Etiquette of Food: "Chapter on the Prohibition of Eating While Leaning Back". Eating, with regard to the manner of sitting, is divided into two categories: one that is prohibited and is not from the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), which is for a person to eat while leaning back, either on the right hand or the left hand. This is because leaning back indicates arrogance and pride, which is a psychological state. Also, when one eats while leaning back, it causes harm because the passage of food becomes tilted rather than straight, so it is not in its natural state, and perhaps harm may occur in the food passages due to this. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the hadith of Abu Juhayfa, 'Abdullah ibn Wahb ibn al-Suway' (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning that it is not from the way to eat while leaning back, for the two reasons we mentioned: a conceptual reason that resides in the soul, which is pride, and a physical reason related to the body, which is the harm resulting from eating in this manner. The author mentioned the hadith of Anas "that he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) eating dates in a squatting position". Squatting (i'qa') is to stand the feet up and sit on the heels; this is i'qa'. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ate in this manner so that he would not settle into a comfortable sitting position and eat a lot, because generally, when a person is in a squatting position, he is not at ease in his sitting, so he does not eat much. And if he is not at ease, he does not eat much; if he is at ease, he eats much. This is the general rule, though a person may eat much while not at ease, or eat little while at ease. But among the reasons for reducing food intake is that a person should not settle into his sitting position and should not be completely at ease. The conclusion is: we have two sitting positions. The first is leaning back, and it is not from the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to eat while leaning back. The rest are all permissible; all types of sitting are permissible. But the best is not to sit in the position of a person who is at ease and settled, so that this does not become a cause for eating too much. Eating too much is not desirable. It is better for a person to eat one-third for food, one-third for drink, and one-third for breath. This is the most correct regarding nourishment. If this is facilitated, then this is what is sought. There is no harm if a person becomes full sometimes. And success is from Allah.