How did the Prophet drink?

Drinking is a human need that must be fulfilled every day. However, have we ever thought about how the Prophet drank? As Muslims, of course we need to know the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam closer and imitate him who is a role model for Muslims. In this article, we will discuss how the Prophet drank.

Did the Prophet drink while sitting or standing?

Rasulullah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam drink while sitting. This is as stated in many hadiths which state that he forbade drinking while standing. One of these hadiths is,

He forbade men from drinking while standing. Qatada said, then we said, “Then eat.” He said, “That is worse or more abominable.”

“Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam prohibit someone from drinking while standing. Qatadah said, ‘So we asked, what about eating?’ Anas answered, ‘Especially eating, that is worse, or worse.’” (HR. Muslim)

From this we can conclude that the Prophet drank while sitting, not standing. This is of course because he cannot possibly forbid what he does himself because he is the best example. When he forbids something, of course he is at the forefront of staying away from it.

However, apart from the prohibition on drinking while sitting, it turns out there are also hadiths that show the Prophet drinking while standing. One of them is a hadith from Abdullah bin Abbas which states that the Messenger of Allah drank Zam-Zam water while standing,

I gave the Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, a little Zamzam to drink and he drank while standing.

“I gave it to the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam drink Zamzam water, then drink it while standing.” (HR. Muslim)

Apart from that, there are also other hadiths that mention the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam drink from a qirbah (water bag) while standing as in the hadith narrated by Khabsyah Al-Anshariyyah,

Rasulullah SAW entered it and he hung a bag of water and he drank it while standing.

“Messenger of Allah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam went in to meet him, and at his side there qirbah hanging (water bag), Then he drank it while standing.” (HR. Tirmidhi)

So which is correct, the Prophet drank while sitting or drank while standing? Why did the Prophet forbid his companions from drinking while standing, even though he himself also drank while standing? Ibnul Qayyim God bless in the book Zadul Maad say,

One of his instructions to Allah is to drink while sitting. This is his usual guidance. It was confirmed from him that he forbade drinking while standing. It is confirmed from him that he ordered people who drank while standing to vomit. It was confirmed from him that he drank while standing. There are groups who say: This overturns the ban. There are some who say: But it shows that the prohibition is not to forbid, but to give guidance and abandon the former. A group of people said: There is no conflict between them at all. He only drank standing up out of necessity, because he came to Zamzam and they took water from him, so he drew water and they gave him a bucket, so he drank standing up, and this was a situation of need.

“Habits of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was drinking while sitting and that was what he usually did. The hadith that prohibits drinking while sitting is valid, the hadith that orders people who drink while standing to vomit is also valid, and the hadith that says he should drink while standing is also valid.

Some scholars stated this hadith naasikh For prohibitions, some scholars state that this hadith is mubayyin. This hadith shows that the prohibition is not intended to forbid, but as a direction and also shows which is more important.

There are also those who argue that these hadiths do not actually contradict each other. This is because of him sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam drink while standing because there is a need. At that time he came to Zamzam and people took water from there, then they gave him buckets of water, and he sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam drink while standing. This condition is because he needs to stand up.”

From this explanation we can conclude that the most important thing is that we drink while sitting. However, when sitting is difficult and we need to drink while standing, we drink while standing, imitating the actions of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.

Don’t take a sip

The Prophet’s habit of drinking it was not to drink the water in the container and to finish it in one gulp. Usually he breathes three times when drinking as in a hadith,

Rasulullah SAW, he used to sip the drink three times and said: This is more delicious, more healing and better.

“When the Messenger of Allah drank from the vessel, (he did not finish it all in one breath), but breathed three times until he finished drinking.”

Why is that? He explained that it is (أَرْوَى), which means it is easier to swallow when drinking and (أَمْرَأُ), which means it better quenches the thirst of people who are very thirsty.

Also read: How did Rasulullah sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam sleep?

The Prophet’s favorite drink

Like other humans, the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam also has a favorite drink. What drink did the Prophet like? From Aisha Radiyallahu ‘anha he says,

The drink that the Messenger of Allah liked most, may God bless him and grant him peace, was sweet and cold.

“The Prophet’s favorite drink sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam sweet and cold.” (HR. Tirmidhi)

The Prophet liked drinks that had two qualities: sweet and cold. The Prophet liked sweet drinks such as water mixed with honey. He is also used to making nabidz, namely raisin or date juice which he usually throws away if it is more than 3 days old because it can become an intoxicating drink. This is as in a hadith from Ibn Abbas May god bless you,

Rasulullah SAW used to pour raisins into a water bag for him, and he drank it every day, the next day, and the day after, so when it was three in the afternoon he drank it and gave him a drink, and if there was anything left, he poured it out.

“The Messenger of Allah sHallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam The usual thing to do is make raisins in a container filled with drinking water, then drink it that same day, the next day, and the day after. On the afternoon of the third day, he was still pouring and drinking it; but if there is any left, he spills it.” (HR Muslim)

The Prophet also liked cold water, which of course in the past there were no refrigerators. So how does he get cold water? Usually Arabs used to cool water by letting it sit at night as in a hadith, he asked for water to be left in a container,

If you have water, stay at Shannah’s tonight.

“Do you have water that has been stored in a leather vessel?”

From the hadiths above, we can conclude that the drink that the Prophet liked was sweet and cold. Of course, drinks with properties like this, especially those produced from natural ingredients, have benefits for the body and further quench thirst and restore energy.

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That is a brief discussion about how the Prophet drank. We hope that getting to know the Prophet’s daily habits can make us even more enthusiastic about emulating him, who is the best role model. After knowing his drinking habits, we can plan our drinking habits and the drinks we like by imitating him sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.

Also read: Equipment for the Jihad of Rasulullah Shallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam

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Writer: Ferdian Ikhwanysah

Article Muslim.or.id

Reference:

Syarah Shamail Nabi, may God bless him and grant him peace, by Sheikh Abdurrazzaq bin Abdul Muhsin Al-Badr.