In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
With pens of longing,
And the ink of love,
We record lines more precious than gold,
In describing the Master of all creation,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Prophetic characteristics (Shama'il).
Chapter: What has been narrated regarding the manner in which the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, drank.
On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
I served the Prophet, peace be upon him, water from Zamzam,
And he drank while standing.
In this hadith,
It is mentioned that the Prophet, peace be upon him, drank from Zamzam while standing,
Which is contrary to his usual practice.
This was a situation that necessitated drinking while standing.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
It was the guidance of the Prophet, peace be upon him, to drink while sitting.
This was his habitual practice.
It is authentically reported that he forbade drinking while standing.
It is also authentically reported that he ordered someone who drank while standing to vomit.
And it is authentically reported that he himself drank while standing.
One group said:
This [latter action] abrogates the prohibition.
Another group said:
Rather, it clarifies that the prohibition is not for prohibition (tahrim),
But for guidance and the abandonment of what is better (tark al-awla).
A third group said:
There is no contradiction between them at all,
For he only drank while standing due to necessity.
He came to Zamzam while they were drawing water from it,
So he asked for water,
They handed him the bucket,
And he drank while standing.
This was a situation of necessity.
On the authority of 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb,
From his father, from his grandfather, who said:
I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Drinking while standing and while sitting.
In this hadith,
The noble Companion,
'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with them both, informs us
That he saw the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Drinking while standing,
And that was on some occasions,
And he saw him drinking while sitting,
Which was the case in most situations,
And this is the guidance of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Regarding drinking.
On the authority of al-Nazzal ibn Sabra, who said:
'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was brought a cup of water,
While he was in the courtyard (rahba),
He took a handful from it,
Washed his hands,
Rinsed his mouth and sniffed water into his nose,
And wiped his face, forearms, and head,
Then he drank from it while standing.
Then he said:
This is the ablution of one who has not broken it,
This is how I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, do.
In this hadith,
It is mentioned that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him,
Was brought a cup of water while he was in the courtyard.
The courtyard is the wide space in the mosque or similar places.
He washed his hands, rinsed his mouth, and sniffed water into his nose,
And wiped his face, forearms, and head,
And in one narration, there is an addition: "and his feet."
Then he drank while standing.
This is the point of evidence in the hadith.
In another narration, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him,
Came to the gate of the courtyard,
And drank while standing,
Then he said:
Some people dislike drinking while standing,
But I saw the Prophet, peace be upon him, do
Just as you have seen me do.
This indicates that drinking while standing is permissible,
And that the prohibition regarding it is interpreted as a dislike of impropriety (karahat tanzih).
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him,
That the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Used to breathe three times into the vessel when he drank,
And he would say: "It is more thirst-quenching and satisfying."
In this hadith,
It is mentioned that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Had the habit of not drinking all at once,
But rather he would drink in three draughts.
He would drink, then remove the vessel from his mouth to breathe,
Then return to drink,
Then remove the vessel from his mouth to breathe,
Then return to drink the third time.
He explained this by saying:
"It is more thirst-quenching,"
Meaning more palatable, easier to swallow, and easier to digest,
"And satisfying," meaning more hydrating and better at quenching thirst.
In one narration, there is an addition: "and more healing,"
Meaning more restorative and healthy,
And safer from the harm that occurs
Due to drinking all at once.
Among those harms
Is the fear of choking,
Where the throat becomes blocked due to the large amount of liquid entering it,
Causing one to choke.
It has been reported in some hadiths
That breathing into the vessel is forbidden.
For the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"When one of you drinks,
Do not breathe into the vessel."
On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
That the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Forbade breathing into the vessel,
Or blowing into it.
There is no contradiction in this,
Because the hadiths refer to two different situations.
The first:
Breathing inside the vessel,
And this is what is forbidden.
The second:
Breathing outside the vessel,
And this is what the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to do.
On the authority of Kabsha, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, entered upon me,
And drank from the mouth of a hanging water skin while standing.
So I stood up to its mouth and cut it off.
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him,
That the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Entered upon Umm Sulaym,
And there was a hanging water skin,
So he drank from the mouth of the water skin while standing.
Umm Sulaym stood up to the top of the water skin,
And cut it off.
In the first hadith,
It is mentioned that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Entered upon Kabsha bint Thabit al-Ansariyya,
Who was the sister of Hassan ibn Thabit,
May Allah be pleased with them both,
And he drank from the mouth of a hanging water skin.
The water skin is a container for storing water,
Made from tanned leather.
And her saying "while standing"
Means that he, peace be upon him,
Drank while standing.
It is clear that he did this out of necessity,
Because he drank from the mouth of a hanging water skin.
And her saying "I stood up to its mouth and cut it off,"
Means she went to the mouth of the water skin
From which the Prophet, peace be upon him, had drunk,
And which his mouth had touched,
And she cut it off to keep it.
They used to seek blessings from his saliva, peace be upon him,
And from his traces.
The second hadith is similar to this,
Except that he, peace be upon him,
Did that at the home of Umm Sulaym, may Allah be pleased with her.
It is understood from these two hadiths
That it is permissible to drink from the mouth of a water skin,
Although there are hadiths that forbid
Drinking from the mouth of a water skin.
Among them is the hadith of Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, forbade
Drinking from the mouth of a water skin or a container.
And the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, forbade
The "ikhtinath" of water skins,
Which means drinking from their mouths.
As for the reason for the prohibition,
Al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The reason is that one cannot be sure that there is nothing in the water skin that might harm him,
So it might enter his body without him knowing.
It is also said that it is because it might be unhygienic for others,
Or that it might cause it to smell,
Or because it is considered repulsive.
Therefore, the default rule regarding drinking from the mouth of a water skin is prohibition,
A prohibition of dislike (tanzih), not of prohibition (tahrim).
However, if there is an excuse,
Such as the water skin being hung up,
And the person needing to drink cannot find a cup available,
And is unable to reach it with his hand,
Then there is no dislike in that case.
The aforementioned hadiths are interpreted in this light.
This is supported by the fact that all the hadiths permitting it
Mention that the water skin was hanging.
This ruling does not apply to drinking from metal cans
Or small glass bottles,
In which juices and various drinks are sold,
Because the reason for the prohibition is absent in them.
Chapter: What has been narrated regarding the use of perfume by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Meaning, an explanation of the hadiths narrated regarding the use of perfume by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
"Ta'attur" is the use of perfume,
Which is fragrance.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, used to love perfume,
Despite the natural fragrance of his own body, peace be upon him,
Even if he did not apply any perfume.
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had a container (sukka) from which he would perfume himself.
In this hadith,
It is mentioned that the Prophet, peace be upon him, had a container from which he would perfume himself.
The "sukka" is a container in which perfume is kept.
On the authority of Thumama ibn 'Abdullah, who said:
Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, would never refuse perfume.
Anas said:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, would never refuse perfume.
In this hadith,
it is noted that Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, would not refuse perfume.
He would do this in emulation of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
as he would not refuse perfume
because it is light to carry and pleasant in scent.
Such a thing should not be refused.
On the authority of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Three things should not be refused:
pillows, perfume, and milk."
In this hadith,
the Prophet, peace be upon him, indicated three things that should not be refused,
meaning that if they are offered to a person, he should not decline them.
These are pillows;
"pillows" (wasa'id) is the plural of "pillow" (wisada), which is a cushion.
If one is offered so that he may lean upon it, he should not refuse it.
"Perfume" (al-duhn), which refers to fragrance.
And milk.
The excellence of milk over other foods has already been discussed.
The specification of these three as things not to be refused
is due to their lightness and lack of burden,
and the minimal sense of obligation they entail.
Furthermore, these items
are often offered to a guest,
so he should not refuse them.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"The perfume for men
is that which has a visible scent but a hidden color,
and the perfume for women
is that which has a visible color but a hidden scent."
In this hadith,
there is guidance that perfume is recommended for men
just as it is recommended for women.
However, what is recommended for men in terms of perfume
is that which has a visible scent and a hidden color.
As for the woman,
if she intends to go out to the mosque or elsewhere,
any perfume with a noticeable scent is disliked for her.
His saying "the perfume for men"
means that which is appropriate for them,
suitable for their dignity,
and permitted for them,
is that which has a visible scent and a hidden color.
That is, it has a clear fragrance
and no color,
such as musk, ambergris, and oud.
His saying "and the perfume for women"
means that which is appropriate for them,
is that which has a visible color and a hidden scent,
such as cosmetic powders.
The intent here
is when she intends to leave her house.
As for when she is with her husband,
she may perfume herself however she wishes.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, was strict
regarding the perfume of women
when they leave their homes,
for he said:
"Any woman who applies perfume
and passes by a group of people so that they may smell her scent,
she is a fornicatress."
On the authority of Abu Uthman al-Nahdi, he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"If one of you is given basil (rayhan),
he should not refuse it,
for it came from Paradise."
This hadith is weak,
but it is supported by what is narrated in Sahih Muslim
from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"Whoever is offered basil,
let him not refuse it,
for it is light to carry and pleasant in scent."
Meaning, carrying it does not burden a person nor cause him difficulty.
And at the same time,
it has a pleasant, fragrant scent.
"Basil" (rayhan)
is any fragrant plant that is smelled.
As for his saying,
"for it came from Paradise,"
the meaning is that its origin came from Paradise.
Al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said
regarding this hadith:
It indicates the dislike of refusing basil when it is offered to someone,
unless there is an excuse.
Meaning, if a person has an excuse,
such as an illness that makes him unable to tolerate the scent of perfume,
or if the perfume has a strong scent that a person cannot bear,
then he may excuse himself with kind words,
and he is not obligated to accept it.
It is narrated in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad
from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"There have been made beloved to me from your world:
women and perfume,
and the coolness of my eyes has been placed in prayer."
It is also established from him, peace be upon him,
that he preferred musk.
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"The best of perfumes is musk."
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to love perfume
and it was always with him.
His own scent was among the most pleasant of scents,
and his sweat was among the best of perfumes.
He also said:
"Perfume has the property
that the angels love it,
while the devils flee from it.
The most beloved thing to the devils
is a foul, repulsive odor.
Thus, pure souls love
pure scents,
and wicked souls love
wicked scents,
and every soul inclines toward what is suitable for it."
The scholars have said:
It is recommended for the Muslim to always
have a pleasant scent,
and to be diligent in removing whatever might
cling to his body of foul odor,
or from his mouth of the smell of smoke,
and other such things.
Perfume is especially emphasized for men
on occasions like Friday,
the two Eids, when entering the state of Ihram,
attending gatherings,
reciting the Qur'an,
attending circles of knowledge,
and gatherings of dhikr.
More to follow, if Allah wills.
And Allah knows best.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon all his family and companions.