Ruling on Blowing into Vessels and Drinking Directly from a Waterskin
Author: Imran Ayyub Lahori
Breathing into a vessel, blowing into it, and drinking directly from a waterskin’s mouth are considered makrūh (disliked) in Islamic etiquette.
Evidence from Hadith
① Ibn ʿAbbās (RA) narrates:
“نهي أن يتنفس فى الإناء أو ينفخ فيه“
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade breathing into a vessel or blowing into it.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1977, Abū Dāwūd 3728, Ibn Mājah 3429, Tirmidhī 1888, Aḥmad 1/220)
② Abū Qatādah (RA) narrates:
“إذا شرب أحدكم فلا يتنفس فى الإناء“
“When one of you drinks, he should not breathe into the vessel.”
(Bukhārī 5630, Muslim 267, Tirmidhī 1889, Nasāʾī 1/43)
③ Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (RA) narrates:
“نهي عن اختناث الأسقية أن يشرب من أفواهها“
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade twisting the mouth of waterskins to drink from them.”
(Bukhārī 5625, Muslim 2023, Abū Dāwūd 3720, Tirmidhī 1890, Ibn Mājah 3418)
④ Ibn ʿAbbās (RA) narrates:
“نهى النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم عن الشرب من فى السقاء“
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade drinking from the mouth of a waterskin.”
(Bukhārī 5629)
⑤ An incident:
A man drank directly from a waterskin and a snake came out of it. (Aḥmad 2/230, 2/487)
Hadith Allowing It in a Specific Case
Kabshah (RA) narrates:
“The Prophet ﷺ came to me and drank standing from the mouth of a hanging waterskin. I then cut off that part to keep it.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah 2763, Tirmidhī 1892, Aḥmad 6/434, Musnad Ḥumaydī 354)
Reconciling the Apparently Contradictory Ahadith
- Ibn Ḥazm: Drinking directly from a waterskin is ḥarām. (Nayl al-Awṭār 5/281)
- Ibn Ḥajar: The permissive narration refers to a hanging waterskin, indicating it was in a situation of need; otherwise, the general discouragement applies. (Fatḥ al-Bārī 10/92)
- Preferred view: The prohibition is not absolute ḥarām but rather makrūh (disliked), except in necessity. (Sharḥ Muslim 7/213, Nayl al-Awṭār 5/281)
Summary of the Ruling
- Blowing into a vessel: Makrūh and against Islamic etiquette.
- Breathing into a vessel while drinking: Makrūh.
- Drinking directly from a waterskin: Makrūh in normal circumstances; permissible in necessity.
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
