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How sound is the popular saying attributed to some pious people, which states that drinking water in three sips, with the mention of God's name (Tasmiyah) before each sip and praise (Hamd) after it, prevents the soul from inclining towards disobedience?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is prescribed for a Muslim to drink in three sips, saying "Bismillah" (in the Name of Allah) with each sip and "Alhamdulillah" (praise be to Allah) after it. This is based on what Al-Tabarani narrated, and Al-Albani graded as good, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) "used to drink in three sips. When he brought the vessel near his mouth, he would say 'Bismillah' (in the Name of Allah), and when he moved it away, he would say 'Alhamdulillah' (praise be to Allah). He would do that three times." Al-Manawi, Al-Saffarini, Al-Ansari, and Al-Shawkani clarified how this is done: one says "Bismillah" at the beginning of drinking and "Alhamdulillah" at the end of it. If a Muslim does this, he has fulfilled the Sunnah, and the Sunnah is entirely good and blessed. It is hoped that Allah will guide him, and that his very atoms will not move towards disobedience. If they do move, he will repel them and strive against his desires. However, to claim that this is a constant for whoever does that—that he will never disobey—we fear that this would be speaking about Allah without knowledge.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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