BEVERAGES SECTION · 13 – DRINKING STANDING WATER
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) related:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) forbade standing to drink water.
Nezzāl bin Sabūr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
Ali (may Allah bless his face) requested water and drank it while standing, then said: “There are some people who consider it disliked for one of them to do this, but I have seen the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) doing exactly what you see me doing.” [395]
EXPLANATION
There appears a contradiction between the preceding hadith and this one, as the first hadith prohibits drinking water while standing, whereas this hadith narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) drank water while standing.
1 – Drinking water while standing is prohibited because it is harmful to health.
2 – The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) drinking water while standing is due to necessity or to indicate that there is no religious prohibition in it, but rather a health-related reason. Necessities include the following:
1 – The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) drank Zamzam water while standing because his companions were crowded around him, and sitting down would inconvenience others. Therefore, he drank while standing.
2 – The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) arrived at the home of Hazrat Kabsha and drank water while standing from the mouth of a suspended animal skin container (qirba). Hazrat Kabsha also kept the part of the container’s mouth cut off as a blessing. Here too, he drank while standing due to necessity because the container was hanging. It would have been difficult to bring it down at that moment. Outside of necessities, water should be drunk while sitting. But because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) drank Zamzam water while standing, we also drink Zamzam water while standing.