Question # 142: Assalamalaekum; I would like you to help all of us by educating us about the sunnah regarding drinking water (also zam zam water). While having meals, when is it best to drink water (before or during the meal) And it is correct to drink water first thing in morning on empty stomach? This is one of the sunnah we all should know n follow but we often ignore it.

bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,

Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

Dear questioner,

First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

Shorter Answer: The following are the etiquettes of drinking in accordance with the Sunnah: 

  • It is forbidden to eat or drink from any kind of dish or utensil made from gold or silver;
  • One should say “Bismillah (in the name of Allah)” before eating or drinking and praise Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) afterwards [refer detailed answer for the du’aas];
  • One should not eat or drink with his/her left hand;
  • It is forbidden to drink while standing up unless there is a valid excuse, for example, in the case of drinking Zamzam, as one might not find place to sit around the Ka’bah while people are making Tawaf;
  • It is disliked to breath or blow into a drinking container; and
  • When drinking, one should pause three times in order to breathe; nonetheless, it is still permissible to drink in one go without pausing to breathe.

There is no hadith to the best of my knowledge which prescribes the best time to drink water (before or during the meal) or first thing in morning on empty stomach. 

Long Answer: The following etiquettes of drinking in accordance with the Sunnah are taken from ‘The Book of Manners’ by Fu’ad Ibn ‘Abdul-‘Azeez Ash-Shulhoob: 

It is forbidden to eat or drink from any kind of dish or utensil made from gold or silver

Hudhaifah (رضي الله عنه) reported that he heard the Prophet~ say, “Do not wear silk or Ad-Deebaaj (a kind of silk); do not drink from containers of gold and silver, and do not eat from bowls that are made from them, for they (i.e., containers and bowls made of gold and silver) are for them in this world, and for us in the Hereafter.” (Related by Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, Abu Dawud, Ibn Maajah and Ad-Daarimi)

The following hadith contains an even severer warning: Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها) – wife of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) – reported that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, “The only thing that flows[1] into the stomach of one who drinks from a container of silver is the fire of Hell.” (Related by Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Ibn Maajah, Maalik and Ad-Daarimi)

On the grounds of these narrations, scholars agree that it is forbidden to drink from the aforementioned kinds of dishes and containers. There is no mention of the reason behind the prohibition; nonetheless, when a Muslim learns of an authentic proof, he must follow it to the letter, and he must not embark on a desperate search for an interpretation that justifies a forbidden deed.

Mentioning Allah (سبحانه و تعالى)’s name before eating or drinking and praising Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) afterwards

It is Sunnah for one to say “Bismillah (in the name of Allah)” before eating or drinking and to praise Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) afterwards. Ibn Al-Qayyim pointed out that applying this Sunnah benefits both the body and soul.

As for praising Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) after eating or drinking, it is a Sunnah practice of great merit, one that Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) blessed His slaves with. Anas Ibn Maalik (رضي الله عنه) related that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “Allah is indeed pleased with His slave when he eats a meal and then praises Him for it, or drinks a drink and then praises Him for it.” (Related by Muslim, Ahmad, and At-Tirmidhi)

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) used various phrases on different occasions to praise Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) after he ate or drank; here are some of those phrases:

Abu Umaamah (رضي الله عنه) said, “When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) would finish a meal (elsewhere he said, “When he would lift up his table”), he (صلى الله عليه و سلم) would say,

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي كَفَانَا وَ أَرْوَانَا غَيْرَ مَكْفِيّ وَ لاَ مَكْفُورٍ

‘All praise is to Allah, Who has sufficed us and quenched us, with a never-ending praise, and [we do not] deny His favors.’

And once he (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said,

الْحَمْـدُ للهِ كَثـيراً طَيِّـباً مُبـارَكاً فيه، غَيْرَ مَكْفِيٍّ وَلا مُوَدَّعٍ وَلا مُسْتَغْـنىً عَنْـهُ رَبُّـنا

‘Allah be praised with an abundant beautiful praise, a never-ending praise, a praise which we will never bid farewell to and an indispensable praise, He is our Lord.’” (Related by Bukhari, and the wording mentioned here is from his narration of the hadith, Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Maajah, Ad-Daarimi, and AlBaghawi, in Sharhus-Sunnah)

Mu’ adh Ibn Anas related from his father (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said,

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَنِي هَذَا الطَّعَامَ وَرَزَقَنِيهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلَا قُوَّةٍ

“Whoever eats food and then says, ‘All praise is to Allah Who fed me this and provided it for me with neither might nor power from myself,’ then his previous sins are forgiven for him.” (At-Tirmidhi related it and said, “This Hadith is Hasan Gharib.” Ibn Maajah related it too, and he gave it a ‘Hasan‘ grade; AI-Albani also gave it a ‘Hasan‘ grade)

Prohibition on eating and drinking with the left hand

‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, “When one of you eats, then let him eat with his right [hand], and if he drinks, then let him drink with his right [hand], for verily, Shaitaan eats with his left [hand] and drinks with his left [hand].” (Related by Muslim, Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Maalik and Ad-Daarimi)

Salamah Ibn Al-Akwa’ (رضي الله عنه) reported that, in the company of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم), “A man was eating with his left hand, and so the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, ‘Eat with your right [hand].’ He said, ‘I am not able to.’ The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) answered, “May you not be able to.’ Nothing prevented him other than pride, and so he [never later] lifted it to his mouth (i.e., the man’s right hand became paralyzed).” (Related by Muslim and Ahmad)

The ruling for drinking and eating while standing up

Scholars disagree about the ruling for drinking while standing up. Their disagreement has its source in various authentic ahadith whose meanings are apparently in conflict with one another: some ahadith forbid the practice of drinking while standing up, while other ahadith convey an opposite ruling… Ibn Taymiyyah said: “To combine the meanings of the different ahadith, we can assume that permissibility in this issue is limited to when there is an excuse.” He then cited some of the narrations mentioned above, relating Anas’ s narration in its entirety: Qataadah related that Anas (رضي الله عنه) said, “The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) reproached [people] for drinking while standing up.” [(With different wordings, the following compilers related this Hadith: Muslim, Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Maajah, and Ad-Daarimi)] Qataadah related that he and others then asked Anas (رضي الله عنه) “And what about eating?” Anas (رضي الله عنه) said, “That is worse and more wicked.” After relating the ahadith, Ibn Taymiyyah went on the say,” As for the hadith of ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) one of its narrations indicates that he was drinking Zamzam. Ibn ‘Abbas’ s Hadith is also about Zamzam [water]. [Ibn ‘Abbas (رضي الله عنه) said, “I gave the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) some Zamzam [water] to drink, and he (sws) drank [it] while he was standing up.” (Related by Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, and Ibn Maajah)] The incident he related occurred during Hajj, when people make circuits around the Ka’bah and drink Zamzam. They would ask him for Zamzam to drink, but they wouldn’t have a place to sit…So this and other examples (in all of them, the person who drinks while standing up has an excuse) are exceptions from the prohibition. This is common in the Shari’ah: a forbidden deed becomes permissible when there is necessity…”

It is disliked to breath or blow into a drinking container

One of the etiquettes of drinking is to neither breathe nor blow into a drinking container. Abu Qutaadah (رضي الله عنه) related that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, “When one of you drinks, then let him not breathe into the container …” (Related by Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, and Abu Dawud)

And Ibn’ Abbas (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) ‘prohibited the act of breathing or blowing into a [drinking] container.’ (At-Tirmidhi related it and said, “This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.” Abu Dawud related it too, and Al-Albani gave his narration a ‘Sahih‘ grade. And Ibn Maajah also related it, but without the mention of breathing) When one breathes into a drinking container, it is feared that the drink inside will become contaminated or, among other possibilities, that something from his nose or mouth will fall into it. And when one [continually] blows into a drinking container, the drink slowly takes on a repulsive smell as it is mixed with the breath of the person who blows into it, especially if he has bad breath. 

When drinking, you should pause three times in order to breathe; nonetheless, it is still permissible to drink in one go without pausing to breathe

Anas Ibn Maalik (رضي الله عنه) said, “The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) would [pause to] breathe three times when he would drink. And he (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, ‘Doing so is more quenching, more soothing for the pain of thirst, and more beneficial and pleasant.”‘ Anas (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, “And so I breathe three times when I drink.” (Related by Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah, and Ad-Daarimi. The above mentioned wording is from Muslim’s narration of the Hadith) What does it mean to breathe three times? It means that, when you are drinking, distance your cup or glass from your mouth three times at intervals, and breathe; it does not mean to breathe into the cup or glass or bottle, for doing so is forbidden.

You may consume your drink at one go, without pausing to breathe, and doing so is not Makrooh (disliked). When Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri (رضي الله عنه) entered upon Mirwaan Ibn Al-Hakam, the latter asked, “Did you hear that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) prohibited blowing into a drink?” Abu Sa’eed (رضي الله عنه) said, “Yes, and a man said to him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, my thirst is not quenched from one swallow (i.e., from drinking continuously without breathing; hence I am forced to breathe into my drink).’ The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said to him, ‘So distance the cup from your mouth, and then breathe.’ He said, ‘I then indeed see filth inside of it.’ The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, “Then pour it out. “‘ (Related by At-Tirmidhi, who said, “This Hadith is Hasan Sahih“; Ahmad; Maalik, and the above-mentioned wording is from his narration of the Hadith; and Ad-Daarimi)

Commenting on this Hadith, Imam Maalik said, “It is as though I see license being given for one to drink with only one breath if he wants… And so I see nothing wrong in drinking with one breath…” Also commenting on the Hadith, Shaikh Al-Islam said, “The Hadith proves that if a person quenches his thirst with one swallow, without the need to breathe in between swallows, then that is permissible. And I know of no one from the Imams who ruled that it is obligatory to breathe [and pause in between swallows] and that it is forbidden to drink with one breath (i.e., at one go).”

Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.

Wassalaam

[1] The word for flow in the narration is Jarjara, which means the sound that water makes when it falls inside [of something]