Chapter on the Etiquette of Drinking, the Recommendation of Taking Three Breaths Outside the Vessel, and the Dislike of Taking a Breath Inside the Vessel

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due 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 etiquette of drinking, the recommendation of taking three breaths outside the vessel, the dislike of taking breaths inside the vessel, and the recommendation of passing the vessel to the right after the one who started, from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to take three breaths in his drink, agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Let none of you drink all at once like the camel. But drink two or three times, mentioning Allah's Name when you drink, and praising Him when you (finish).

لا تشربوا واحدا كشرب البعير، ولكن اشربوا مثنى وثلاث، وسموا إذا أنتم شربتم واحمدوا إذا أنتم رفعتم

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1885Da'if (Darussalam)

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: A good hadith, and from Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade taking breaths in the vessel, agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought milk mixed with water, and there was a Bedouin on his right and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) on his left, so he drank and then gave it to the Bedouin and said:

The right-hand one, then the right-hand one.

الأيمن فالأيمن

agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and from Sahl ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought a drink and he drank from it, and there was a boy on his right and elders on his left, so he said to the boy: Do you allow me to give this to these people? The boy said: No, by Allah, I will not prefer anyone over my share from you, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) poured it into his hand, agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
This is one of the hadiths that al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in *Riyad al-Salihin* under the etiquette of drinking. Many points regarding the etiquette of eating have already been discussed. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has countless blessings upon His servants, as Allah the Exalted said: Eating and drinking are among the blessings of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). One does not appreciate the value of this blessing unless he is deprived of it. We ask Allah not to deprive us and you of it. Whoever is deprived of it and tastes hunger and thirst knows the value of Allah’s (the Exalted) blessing of eating and drinking. This is one of the wisdoms—indeed, one of the reasons—behind fasting: that a person abstains from eating and drinking so that he may appreciate the value of Allah’s blessing upon him by making eating and drinking easy for him. There are etiquettes for drinking, among which are: 1. To mention the name of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) when drinking, by saying "Bismillah" (In the name of Allah) at the time of drinking. 2. To take three breaths while drinking, based on the statement of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to take three breaths in the vessel when drinking" . How does one take three breaths? It means he drinks, then separates the vessel from his mouth, then drinks again and separates it from his mouth, then drinks the third time without breathing into the vessel. This is based on the hadith of Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade a person from breathing into the vessel. This is because breathing into the vessel makes it distasteful for the one who drinks from it afterward. Also, diseases from the stomach, esophagus, or mouth may come out with the breath and stick to the vessel. Furthermore, one might choke if he breathes into the vessel. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade a person from breathing into the vessel. Instead, he should take three breaths, separating the vessel from his mouth with each breath. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that this is more pleasant, safer, and smoother. It is more pleasant because one drinks with moderation. It is safer, meaning safer from thirst and safer from disease. It is smoother, meaning easier for the liquid to descend into the intestines. The reason for this is that thirst is a heat in the stomach due to a lack of water or otherwise. Sometimes it is due to illness. If water reaches it all at once, it may harm it. If a person drinks it in stages, it is safer for removing thirst and for safety from disease and the effect that occurs when water reaches the stomach all at once. Therefore, it is also recommended that when one drinks, he should not gulp the water down, but rather sip it. He should not gulp it down in large gulps, but sip it so that it reaches the stomach little by little. He sips it in the first breath, then releases the vessel, then sips it in the second breath and releases the vessel, then in the third breath. This is the Sunnah. As for who to give the drink to first—meaning, if a person wants to give a drink to someone, such as a man who entered with him, or if there is tea or coffee with him—who does he start with? We say: If one of the people has requested the drink, for example, saying "Give me water," then he starts with that person first. If no one has requested it, he starts with the eldest. Then the eldest gives it to the person on his right. If the vessel is specific to each person, such as cups, he starts with the eldest, then gives it to the person on his left. This is because the person on his left is the person on the right of the server. The server is the one who will be passing it around, so he starts with the person on his right. The person on the right of the server is the person on the left of the drinker, because the server is facing the drinker. So the person on the drinker's left is the person on the server's right. For example: A person requested water, and water was brought to him. He drank from it and wanted to pass it to someone. If the person who brought the drink is standing in front of him, meaning he says "Give me the vessel when you are finished," he gives it to him. If not, when the drinker is finished, he gives it to the person on his right, whether that person is young or old, noble or lowly. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought a drink, and he drank from it. There was a man from the Bedouins on his right and Abu Bakr and 'Umar on his left. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) finished, he passed it to the Bedouin. 'Umar said to the Bedouin, "This is Abu Bakr," meaning he wanted the Bedouin to honor Abu Bakr and said, "Take it, O Abu Bakr." This is because Abu Bakr is well-known and famous among the Companions as being the closest of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) companions to him. But the Bedouin took the vessel and drank from it. Here we see that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) preferred the one of lesser status over the one of greater status, because Abu Bakr is better than the Bedouin. But he preferred him over him because he was on his right. He said: The second story is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought a drink of milk mixed with water, meaning mixed with water, and he drank from it. There was a young boy on his right and the elders on his left. When he finished drinking, he said to the one on his right, who was the boy: Meaning, should he give it to the elders? The boy said: "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I am not one who would prefer my share over you to anyone" Meaning, I would not prefer them over you. I am the one who loves to drink your leftover. He held his hand, meaning he grasped his hand, and said this in admiration of what he said. So he gave it to him. This is evidence that if the person on the right is younger in age, he is preferred over the person on the left, even if the person on the left is older in age. And the first story indicates that if the person on the right is of lesser status, he is given preference over the one of greater status if he is on the left. This is based on the statement of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): This is how the hadith came. But this applies to a person who, when he drinks, wants to pass it to the person on his right or on his left. As for the practice of people today, where a man brings a pitcher or a coffee pot and enters the gathering, here he starts with the eldest. This is because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to start with them and give to them. And because when he (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to pass the miswak to one of the two men who were standing, he was told: There are also hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on this matter that if you enter a gathering, you start with the eldest, not with the person on the right. And success is from Allah.