What is the ruling on leaning on the left hand, what is the prohibited posture in this regard, and does leaning on both hands carry the same ruling?
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The student : Well, my Shaykh, I remember once we prayed Maghrib with you in Jabal al-Husayn, and after the prayer I placed my hand like this, leaning on my fingers, and you rebuked me. But I saw Shaykh 'Adnan eating and placing his hand like this. I had pointed out to him what you pointed out to me, so the brothers told me that the hadith is about leaning on the palm of the hand behind the heel of the foot. Is it possible for you to clarify this matter for me?
The Shaykh : This has an answer from two aspects. First: this is during eating, and it is called leaning, and it is disliked but not forbidden. Second: it is true that the hadith is as he said, but there is a jurisprudential aspect that what approximates a thing is given its ruling. For example: if one leans on the palm of his hand, that is the text of the hadith, but if he makes a fist and does not lean on his palm, the image is the same. I mean, I want our brothers, the students of knowledge like us, not to be superficial, meaning they stop at the apparent texts and do not delve into their meanings, nor do they take the rulings of the Shari'ah by their forms without their meanings and principles. We give as an example of this the opinion of Ibn Hazm in interpreting the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade urinating in stagnant water." He said, based on the apparent text, if a man urinated in a vessel and then poured this urine from the vessel into stagnant water, it is permissible. Why? Because it is not true that he urinated in stagnant water. But whether he urinated directly in stagnant water, or urinated in a pipe and poured this urine directly into stagnant water, or urinated in an empty vessel and then poured it into stagnant water, the result is the same. So I do not see holding onto these formalities to this extent.
In any case, these are jurisprudential aspects, and some people may be excused for not paying attention to them or for not sharing their understanding of them with others. In this case, it is sufficient for them to stand with the text and not argue with the text, as the people of opinion and sectarian fanaticism do. I want you to observe this issue; there is a difference between one who contradicts the text and one who contradicts the concept of the text.
The questioner : Well, my Shaykh, is this leaning only with the left hand or with both hands?
The Shaykh : With both hands is even more so.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : This has an answer from two aspects. First: this is during eating, and it is called leaning, and it is disliked but not forbidden. Second: it is true that the hadith is as he said, but there is a jurisprudential aspect that what approximates a thing is given its ruling. For example: if one leans on the palm of his hand, that is the text of the hadith, but if he makes a fist and does not lean on his palm, the image is the same. I mean, I want our brothers, the students of knowledge like us, not to be superficial, meaning they stop at the apparent texts and do not delve into their meanings, nor do they take the rulings of the Shari'ah by their forms without their meanings and principles. We give as an example of this the opinion of Ibn Hazm in interpreting the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade urinating in stagnant water." He said, based on the apparent text, if a man urinated in a vessel and then poured this urine from the vessel into stagnant water, it is permissible. Why? Because it is not true that he urinated in stagnant water. But whether he urinated directly in stagnant water, or urinated in a pipe and poured this urine directly into stagnant water, or urinated in an empty vessel and then poured it into stagnant water, the result is the same. So I do not see holding onto these formalities to this extent.
In any case, these are jurisprudential aspects, and some people may be excused for not paying attention to them or for not sharing their understanding of them with others. In this case, it is sufficient for them to stand with the text and not argue with the text, as the people of opinion and sectarian fanaticism do. I want you to observe this issue; there is a difference between one who contradicts the text and one who contradicts the concept of the text.
The questioner : Well, my Shaykh, is this leaning only with the left hand or with both hands?
The Shaykh : With both hands is even more so.
The questioner: Yes.
Source
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