Chapters on Drinks

The report lists three actions: covering a vessel, tying a waterskin, and turning a vessel over. It gives no further detail about the vessels or reason for inverting one.

قَالَ أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ بِتَغْطِيَةِ الإِنَاءِ وَإِيكَاءِ السِّقَاءِ وَإِكْفَاءِ الإِنَاءِ ‏"‏ ‏.

The final verb means to turn or invert the vessel, but the report does not specify whether it should be emptied or stored upside down.

What practical action is intended by turning the vessel over?

The Arabic says the vessels were covered (mukhammarah) and intended for use at night. The three purposes are listed separately.

The Arabic uses a vivid verb for the sound or act of gulping; the image of Fire entering the belly is retained directly.

أَنَّهَا أَخْبَرَتْهُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ ‏ "‏ إِنَّ الَّذِي يَشْرَبُ فِي إِنَاءِ الْفِضَّةِ إِنَّمَا يُجَرْجِرُ فِي بَطْنِهِ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ ‏"‏ ‏.

The report expresses the consequence as gulping the Fire of Hell into one’s belly; the wording gives no further explanation of this image.

Should the vivid image be rendered literally as swallowing the Fire of Hell?

The pronouns ‘they’ and ‘them’ follow the source wording; the report does not identify their referents explicitly.

قَالَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنِ الشُّرْبِ فِي آنِيَةِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ وَقَالَ ‏ "‏ هِيَ لَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَهِيَ لَكُمْ فِي الآخِرَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.

The statement ‘they are for them in this world and for you in the Hereafter’ does not explicitly identify who ‘they’ and ‘them’ refer to.

Do the pronouns refer to the gold and silver vessels and to different communities in this world and the Hereafter?

This wording uses an explicit comparison (‘as though’), unlike a nearby version that states the image directly.

عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ ‏ "‏ مَنْ شَرِبَ فِي إِنَاءِ فِضَّةٍ فَكَأَنَّمَا يُجَرْجِرُ فِي بَطْنِهِ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ ‏"‏ ‏.

This version frames the image as a comparison, saying the drinker is as though he were gulping the Fire of Hell into his belly.

Should the simile be retained explicitly as ‘as though,’ rather than stated as a direct consequence?

The Arabic literally says ‘breathe into the vessel three times.’ It does not specify here whether the vessel was moved away between breaths.

أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَتَنَفَّسُ فِي الإِنَاءِ ثَلاَثًا وَزَعَمَ أَنَسٌ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ كَانَ يَتَنَفَّسُ فِي الإِنَاءِ ثَلاَثًا ‏.

The report says that Anas and the Prophet ﷺ breathed into the vessel three times, but does not describe whether the vessel was removed from the mouth between breaths.

Does the wording describe three separate breaths while drinking, with the vessel moved away between them?

The wording counts two breaths into the vessel after drinking; it does not describe how the vessel was handled between them.

أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ شَرِبَ فَتَنَفَّسَ فِيهِ مَرَّتَيْنِ ‏.

The report says the Prophet ﷺ drank and breathed into the vessel twice but does not describe whether the vessel was moved away between breaths.

Does the wording describe two separate breaths while drinking, with the vessel moved away between them?

The Arabic names the practice of ikhthināth and explains it as drinking from the mouths or openings of waterskins.

قَالَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنِ اخْتِنَاثِ الأَسْقِيَةِ أَنْ يُشْرَبَ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهَا ‏.

Ikhthināth is a rare term, explained in the report as drinking from the mouths of waterskins; the exact manner of drinking is not further described.

Does the term refer to drinking directly from the waterskin opening without pouring it into a cup?

The report places the man’s action after the prohibition, then states that a snake came out of the waterskin toward him. It does not explicitly say that the action caused the snake to emerge.

قَالَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنِ اخْتِنَاثِ الأَسْقِيَةِ وَإِنَّ رَجُلاً بَعْدَمَا نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنْ ذَلِكَ قَامَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ إِلَى سِقَاءٍ فَاخْتَنَثَهُ فَخَرَجَتْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْهُ حَيَّةٌ ‏.

The report narrates the man’s direct drinking from the waterskin and the snake emerging from it, without explicitly stating a causal relation between them.

Is the snake’s emergence presented as a consequence of drinking directly from the waterskin, or simply as what happened next?

The wording refers specifically to drinking from the waterskin’s mouth or opening.

This wording gives the same prohibition as the preceding narration, through a different chain.

The report preserves both Ibn ʿAbbās’s statement and ʿIkrimah’s oath denying that the Prophet ﷺ did this; no explanation of their disagreement is given.

‏ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِعِكْرِمَةَ فَحَلَفَ بِاللَّهِ مَا فَعَلَ ‏.

Ibn ʿAbbās reports that the Prophet ﷺ drank Zamzam water standing, while ʿIkrimah swears that he did not; the report does not reconcile the difference.

Why does ʿIkrimah deny the act that Ibn ʿAbbās reports?

The report says she cut off the waterskin’s mouth in order to seek blessing from the place associated with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; it does not say what she later did with the piece.

لَهُ يُقَالُ لَهَا كَبْشَةُ الأَنْصَارِيَّةُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا وَعِنْدَهَا قِرْبَةٌ مُعَلَّقَةٌ فَشَرِبَ مِنْهَا وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ فَقَطَعَتْ فَمَ الْقِرْبَةِ تَبْتَغِي بَرَكَةَ مَوْضِعِ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ‏.

The phrase about seeking blessing from a place in the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is elliptical; context suggests the section of the waterskin’s mouth that touched him.

Does the sought blessing refer to the portion of the waterskin’s mouth that touched the Prophet ﷺ?

The wording states the prohibition without qualification or explanation.

The milk is described as having been mixed with water. The instruction ‘the one on the right, then the one on the right’ expresses the order in which the drink is passed along.

The word suʾr refers to what remains in a vessel after someone has drunk from it.

The report says Ibn ʿAbbās and Khālid both drank, but does not explicitly describe the passing of the vessel after Ibn ʿAbbās drank.

‏ فَأَخَذَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ فَشَرِبَ وَشَرِبَ خَالِدٌ ‏.

The report says Ibn ʿAbbās took the drink and drank, then says Khālid drank; it does not explicitly state how or when the vessel was passed to Khālid.

Did Khālid drink from what remained after Ibn ʿAbbās, as the sequence suggests?

The instruction explicitly says to move the vessel away before breathing and then resume drinking if desired.

The report gives the prohibition concisely, without further instructions about drinking.

This wording specifies blowing into the vessel, while nearby reports speak of breathing into it.

This is a report of the Prophet’s practice, phrased as a negation, rather than a direct command.