—whether resting on the right hand or on the left. Reclining while eating bespeaks haughtiness and pride—an inner, moral flaw. In addition, eating in this posture harms the body, for the food canal tilts rather than remaining upright, so the process is no longer natural and injury may result. Hence the Prophet ﷺ said, in the report of Abū Juḥayfah ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb al-Suwayrī (may Allah be pleased with him), “I do not eat while reclining,” meaning: it is not part of my Sunnah to eat in that manner. The prohibition therefore rests on two grounds: a moral reason connected to the soul—arrogance—​and a physical reason connected to the body—the harm caused by eating in this way.

The author also quoted the hadith of Anas that he saw the Prophet ﷺ eating dates while squatting. Iqʿāʾ (squatting) is to set one’s feet upright and sit upon one’s heels; that is the definition of iqʿāʾ. The Prophet ﷺ adopted this posture so that he would not settle comfortably and end up eating a large amount, for, generally speaking, a person who is squatting is not fully at ease and therefore does not eat much. When one is not at ease, one tends to eat little, whereas when one is completely relaxed one tends to eat a lot—that is the usual pattern. It can happen, of course, that someone overeats even when ill at ease, or eats sparingly while relaxed, but among the factors that curb one’s intake is to avoid settling firmly into one’s seat and feeling entirely at ease.