he must not breathe into the vessel.” This prohibits breathing into the vessel.

Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī reported:

“The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—forbade breathing into one’s drink. A man asked, ‘What about a speck I see in the vessel?’ He replied, ‘Pour it out.’ The man said, ‘I cannot quench my thirst in a single breath.’ He replied, ‘Move the cup away from your mouth.’”

Al-Tirmidhī narrated this and graded it authentic. Thus, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—did not prohibit drinking in a single breath. Rather, when the man said, “I cannot quench my thirst in a single breath,” he told him:

“Move the cup away from your mouth.”

That is, if you need to breathe, do so away from the vessel. This indicates that if someone quenches his thirst in a single breath without needing to pause for breath, that is permissible. I know of no imam who made pausing for breath obligatory and drinking in a single breath forbidden. His practice—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—indicates that this is recommended, just as:

“He liked to begin with the right when putting on his shoes, combing his hair, purifying himself, and in all his affairs.”

If someone began with his left side before his right when purifying himself, he would have forgone the preferable practice, but his ablution would be valid, without any disagreement among the imams that I know of.

As for drinking while standing, there are authentic hadiths prohibiting it and authentic hadiths permitting it. The scholars have therefore differed over it, and two positions on it have been reported from Ahmad. However, these hadiths are reconciled by understanding the permission as applying when there is an excuse. Among the hadiths prohibiting it is the report in the Sahīh collection:

“The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—forbade drinking while standing.”

It also reports: