One should not blow into food or drink, nor breathe into the vessel while drinking. If one needs to catch one’s breath, one should move the cup away from one’s mouth, breathe, and then bring it back. This is because it is reported that “the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade blowing into drinks.” The reason is the concern that some saliva might be carried by the breath, causing anyone who sees it to feel disgust. If one sees a speck in the vessel, one should pour it out rather than blow it away. A hadith has given this instruction.
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It is permissible to drink while standing, for it is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) drank while standing. It is also reported that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān, and ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib (may Allah be pleased with them) used to drink while standing. However, “it is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade drinking while standing,” in a narration from Anas ibn Mālik. In a narration from Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, “he rebuked a man whom he saw drinking while standing.”
Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī said, “Drinking while standing was only disapproved of because of the discomfort it causes in the stomach.” It is therefore possible that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade drinking while standing because he had been told that it harmed those who did so. Then, once he ascertained that it would not harm him, he drank while standing and no longer forbade it.
Indeed, he (peace and blessings be upon him) had considered prohibiting sexual intercourse with a nursing wife, but did not prohibit it after learning that the Romans and Persians practised it without any harm to their children. It is also possible that he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to drink while standing until he learned of the reason for disapproving of it, whereupon he forbade it out of compassion for his community and concern for their welfare.
Since either of the two hadiths could have abrogated the other, both must be set aside as evidence in this matter. Thus, one need not refrain from drinking while standing unless there are certain grounds for doing so. This accords with the view adopted by Mālik, who included a chapter in his Muwatta’ entitled “A Man Drinking While Standing.”