Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 3431
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُصَفَّى الْحِمْصِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا بَقِيَّةُ، عَنْ مُسْلِمِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ زِيَادِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، قَالَ نَهَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ أَنْ نَشْرَبَ عَلَى بُطُونِنَا وَهُوَ الْكَرْعُ وَنَهَانَا أَنْ نَغْتَرِفَ بِالْيَدِ الْوَاحِدَةِ وَقَالَ " لاَ يَلَغْ أَحَدُكُمْ كَمَا يَلَغُ الْكَلْبُ وَلاَ يَشْرَبْ بِالْيَدِ الْوَاحِدَةِ كَمَا يَشْرَبُ الْقَوْمُ الَّذِينَ سَخِطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ يَشْرَبْ بِاللَّيْلِ مِنْ إِنَاءٍ حَتَّى يُحَرِّكَهُ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ إِنَاءً مُخَمَّرًا وَمَنْ شَرِبَ بِيَدِهِ وَهُوَ يَقْدِرُ عَلَى إِنَاءٍ يُرِيدُ التَّوَاضُعَ كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِعَدَدِ أَصَابِعِهِ حَسَنَاتٍ وَهُوَ إِنَاءُ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلاَمُ إِذْ طَرَحَ الْقَدَحَ فَقَالَ أُفٍّ هَذَا مَعَ الدُّنْيَا " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn ʿUmar reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us to drink on our bellies—this is al-karʿ—and forbade us to scoop water with one hand. He said, ‘None of you should lap as a dog laps, or drink with one hand as do people with whom Allah is displeased. At night, none of you should drink from a vessel before stirring it, unless it is a covered vessel. Whoever drinks with his hand, despite being able to use a vessel, seeking humility, Allah will record for him good deeds equal to the number of his fingers. This is the vessel of Jesus son of Mary, peace be upon them both: he set the cup aside and said, “Uff! This belongs with the world.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Al-karʿ is left in transliteration because the report’s gloss (‘drinking on our bellies’) is unusual and its precise physical action is unclear.
The report juxtaposes a prohibition on drinking with one hand and praise for drinking by hand when done out of humility; both statements are retained as given.
The final identification of the hand as the vessel of Jesus son of Mary and the words ‘This belongs with the world’ are translated literally; their connection to the preceding statement is not explained.
عَنْ زِيَادِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ،
The rare term al-karʿ is glossed as drinking ‘on our bellies,’ but the precise posture or method is not clear from this wording.
What specific way of drinking is meant by al-karʿ here?
قَالَ نَهَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ أَنْ نَشْرَبَ عَلَى بُطُونِنَا وَهُوَ الْكَرْعُ وَنَهَانَا أَنْ نَغْتَرِفَ بِالْيَدِ الْوَاحِدَةِ وَقَالَ " لاَ يَلَغْ أَحَدُكُمْ كَمَا يَلَغُ الْكَلْبُ وَلاَ يَشْرَبْ بِالْيَدِ الْوَاحِدَةِ كَمَا يَشْرَبُ الْقَوْمُ الَّذِينَ سَخِطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ يَشْرَبْ بِاللَّيْلِ مِنْ إِنَاءٍ حَتَّى يُحَرِّكَهُ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ إِنَاءً مُخَمَّرًا وَمَنْ شَرِبَ بِيَدِهِ وَهُوَ يَقْدِرُ عَلَى إِنَاءٍ يُرِيدُ التَّوَاضُعَ كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِعَدَدِ أَصَابِعِهِ حَسَنَاتٍ وَهُوَ إِنَاءُ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلاَمُ إِذْ طَرَحَ الْقَدَحَ فَقَالَ أُفٍّ هَذَا مَعَ الدُّنْيَا " .
The long passage first forbids drinking with one hand but then praises doing so in humility, and ends with an unclear reference to Jesus’s vessel and the worldly life.
How are the prohibition of one-handed drinking and the later praise of humble hand-drinking meant to relate, and what does the closing reference to Jesus’s cup mean?