was a Bedouin man, while to his left sat Abu Bakr and ʿUmar. When the Prophet ﷺ had finished, he handed the vessel to the Bedouin. ʿUmar said to the man, “This is Abu Bakr,” hoping the Bedouin would honor Abu Bakr and say, “Take it, Abu Bakr,” for among the Companions Abu Bakr was renowned as the Prophet’s closest friend. Still, the Bedouin took the cup and drank. Here we observe that the Prophet ﷺ gave preference to the one of lesser rank over the one of higher rank: Abu Bakr is superior to the Bedouin, yet the Prophet favored the Bedouin because he was on his right and declared, “Those on the right, those on the right.”

A second incident: the Prophet ﷺ was offered a drink, and after he drank, a boy was on his right and the elder nobles were on his left. He said to the boy, “Do you allow me to give it to these elders?” The boy replied, “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I will not let anyone receive my share in place of me; I wish to drink what remains from you.” So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed the cup directly in his hand. This proves that when the person on the right is younger, he is still given precedence over the one on the left, even if that person is older. The first story shows that when the person on the right is of lower social standing, he likewise takes precedence over the more distinguished person on the left, in keeping with the Prophet’s words: “Those on the right, those on the right.”