The 365 · Sunnah · Day 65 · Food
Drinking Water in Three Sips, Not One Continuous Gulp
The hadith
كَانَ يَتَنَفَّسُ فِي الشَّرَابِ ثَلَاثًا
Anas ibn Mālik ra. said: 'The Prophet ﷺ used to take three breaths while drinking, and he said: It is healthier and more pleasant.' (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5631, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2028.) Cross-ref: 'Do not drink in one gulp like a camel; rather, drink in two or three sips. Mention the name of Allah when you start drinking, and praise Him when you finish.' (Tirmidhī 1885, classed ḥasan.)
Svenska: Anas ibn Malik ra. sade: 'Profeten ﷺ brukade ta tre andetag medan han drack, och han sade: Det är hälsosammare och mer behagligt.'
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5456, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2031-2033 (Ibn ʿAbbās; Jābir; Anas)
The story
The Prophet's ﷺ drinking practice was observed and preserved by multiple Companions. The three-sip practice is named with bismillah at the start of each sip and al-ḥamdulillāh at the end. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib described the Prophet's ﷺ method: 'He would drink in three sips. He would name Allah at the start of each, and he would praise Allah at the end.' (Ṭabarānī.)
Why it's here
The Prophet ﷺ established a specific drinking-pattern: three sips, not one continuous gulp. The named benefits: aṭyab (more pleasant) and amraʾ (healthier). The classical scholars added: it allows the body to register the water and respond, prevents shock to the stomach, and structurally installs gratitude through the three-fold pause-and-bismillah cycle. The sunnah is among the easiest to install and one of the most overlooked.
Try it today
1. Drink water in three sips, not one continuous gulp. 2. Say bismillah at the start of each sip; al-ḥamdulillāh at the end of each. 3. Apply to all drinks: water, tea, coffee, juice. 4. Sit when drinking when possible (the Prophet ﷺ generally drank seated, though he occasionally drank standing; the classical scholars consider seated preferable). 5. Do not breathe into the cup (Bukhārī 5630): exhale to the side.
In your day
Modern drinking habits often involve gulping during exercise, rushing through coffee, sipping casually all day. The sunnah: structured, named, three-sip. Build the habit. The structural pause introduces dhikr into a transaction that would otherwise be unconscious.
A reflection to carry
Three breaths when drinking. The Prophet ﷺ: 'Do not drink in one gulp like a camel; rather, drink twice or thrice.' (Tirmidhī 1885.) The Prophet's ﷺ pattern: pause, breathe, sip; pause, breathe, sip; pause, breathe, sip.
Read the longer reflection
The Prophet ﷺ would breathe outside the cup, not into it (Bukhārī 5630), removing the cup between sips. Modern science suggests this aids hydration uptake and reduces digestive stress. The classical scholars: this is a structural eating-discipline that distinguishes the believer's drinking-pattern from the animalistic gulp. Cure: build the three-sips habit; pause between sips; breathe outside the cup; pair with sitting (Day 21). Modern grab-and-gulp drinking is structurally counter-Sunnah; the discipline is the slow, breath-paced sips.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Tirmidhi. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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