Confessions of a left handed bottle drinker
I had an experience over the summer that I was recently discussing with some women online. It all starts with a last minute stop to the supermarket on our way home one night.
I was the second person in the checkout line. The party in question was ringing out the purchase in front of me. It was almost midnight, I had had a long day, I was leaning over my cart out of exhaustion, I think I even had an extra neice with me, not just my own two kids, had my wallet or something in my right hand already, and decided to take a drink from my water bottle while I was standing there waiting. I didn't even think about what I was doing (as I said, it was late, I was tired and how do you open a bottle cap with your left hand if you are right handed anyway) and I heard some yelling but ignored it until it turned to English, then I looked, and realized that the cashier was saying "You're right, you're right". I was looking at him quizzically thinking, what could I be right about now? I wasn't even saying anything. And then he said in an irritated way, "Drink from your right" And when I comprehended that about 3 seconds later, I just stared back at him and then huffed and rolled my eyes. You know when you feel like all eyes are on you in a room. Yah, it was like that. And yes, even at midnight, Owlad Ragab was pretty crowded (that's Egypt, especially in the summer).
It was just so unexpected that I was left dumb-founded. I mean, suuuure if you want to get picky, drinking/eating from your right hand is sunnah but I think there is also a GREATER sunnah of not correcting other muslims in public, aka, trying to publicly humiliate them. My God. Didn't people ever hear the saying of our prophet, "you know a muslim by his manners"? It's not "you know a muslim by which hand he drinks with".
This is a somewhat touchy subject with me because about 7 or 8 years ago, a very popular local Muslim woman did something similar at a Ramadan dinner one night. It was one of those infamous Ramadan buffets- where all the food is out in bowls and Tupperwares and you walk along, drink in one hand, trying to balance your plate and your child's plate and somehow smacking them with globs of what you'd like to eat. There was nowhere to sit other than the floor and I got sidetracked talking to two women, plate in right hand, can of soda in the left hand. I was hungry, thirsty, it was Ramadan and I was ready to EAT, and so as I was standing there chatting for a minute, I took a swig out of my left-handed soda can. Oh lordy lordy lordy. "Sisterrrrrrrr, drink from your right hand only!!" Loud admonishment. I thought, my goodness, woman, how do you think I am supposed to do that. And does that even make sense? I am carrying my can in the left hand, my left hand germs already got on it. And then I stewed about that whole "ruling" for days and weeks and probably all these years. When people prepare food, they are preparing it with BOTH HANDS. When I make grape leaves, I rub both my hands in the filling and use both my hands to roll those suckers up. But you are telling me that eating or drinking with my hand is dirty enough to have to warn me about it loudly in front of a crowd?
I was listening on NPR yesterday to a man who had tried to live Biblically for a year. He was saying, it's basically impossible and everyone picks and chooses what it is they want to follow from the Biblical rules. (eg, do you react with an eye for an eye or do you turn the other cheek) I thought, that's really true. Even in Islam. None of us mortal weak modern humans seem to be able to follow it ALL, so people just pick and choose and then find reasons to justify their own choices. For this cashier (actually I believe he's the manager) apparently the sunnah of the importance of drinking from a bottle from your right hand outweighs the importance of not embarassing a tired customer at your business. Everyone makes choices. And everyone makes mistakes and gets their priorities temporarily confused, so I forgive the guy but -man- was it annoying at the time.
I was the second person in the checkout line. The party in question was ringing out the purchase in front of me. It was almost midnight, I had had a long day, I was leaning over my cart out of exhaustion, I think I even had an extra neice with me, not just my own two kids, had my wallet or something in my right hand already, and decided to take a drink from my water bottle while I was standing there waiting. I didn't even think about what I was doing (as I said, it was late, I was tired and how do you open a bottle cap with your left hand if you are right handed anyway) and I heard some yelling but ignored it until it turned to English, then I looked, and realized that the cashier was saying "You're right, you're right". I was looking at him quizzically thinking, what could I be right about now? I wasn't even saying anything. And then he said in an irritated way, "Drink from your right" And when I comprehended that about 3 seconds later, I just stared back at him and then huffed and rolled my eyes. You know when you feel like all eyes are on you in a room. Yah, it was like that. And yes, even at midnight, Owlad Ragab was pretty crowded (that's Egypt, especially in the summer).
It was just so unexpected that I was left dumb-founded. I mean, suuuure if you want to get picky, drinking/eating from your right hand is sunnah but I think there is also a GREATER sunnah of not correcting other muslims in public, aka, trying to publicly humiliate them. My God. Didn't people ever hear the saying of our prophet, "you know a muslim by his manners"? It's not "you know a muslim by which hand he drinks with".
This is a somewhat touchy subject with me because about 7 or 8 years ago, a very popular local Muslim woman did something similar at a Ramadan dinner one night. It was one of those infamous Ramadan buffets- where all the food is out in bowls and Tupperwares and you walk along, drink in one hand, trying to balance your plate and your child's plate and somehow smacking them with globs of what you'd like to eat. There was nowhere to sit other than the floor and I got sidetracked talking to two women, plate in right hand, can of soda in the left hand. I was hungry, thirsty, it was Ramadan and I was ready to EAT, and so as I was standing there chatting for a minute, I took a swig out of my left-handed soda can. Oh lordy lordy lordy. "Sisterrrrrrrr, drink from your right hand only!!" Loud admonishment. I thought, my goodness, woman, how do you think I am supposed to do that. And does that even make sense? I am carrying my can in the left hand, my left hand germs already got on it. And then I stewed about that whole "ruling" for days and weeks and probably all these years. When people prepare food, they are preparing it with BOTH HANDS. When I make grape leaves, I rub both my hands in the filling and use both my hands to roll those suckers up. But you are telling me that eating or drinking with my hand is dirty enough to have to warn me about it loudly in front of a crowd?
I was listening on NPR yesterday to a man who had tried to live Biblically for a year. He was saying, it's basically impossible and everyone picks and chooses what it is they want to follow from the Biblical rules. (eg, do you react with an eye for an eye or do you turn the other cheek) I thought, that's really true. Even in Islam. None of us mortal weak modern humans seem to be able to follow it ALL, so people just pick and choose and then find reasons to justify their own choices. For this cashier (actually I believe he's the manager) apparently the sunnah of the importance of drinking from a bottle from your right hand outweighs the importance of not embarassing a tired customer at your business. Everyone makes choices. And everyone makes mistakes and gets their priorities temporarily confused, so I forgive the guy but -man- was it annoying at the time.
posted by Just Ruthie at 3:25 PM
2 Comments:
Salaamu Alaykum ya Ruthie! I found your blog thru Umm Travis' blog! Girl, you're still just as colorful and comical as ever, mashaa Allaah!
Yes I know the feeling of being rudely corrected in public, it can be annoying! But I do think there's a hadeeth that says shaytan eats/drinks with you when you use your left hand. Allaahu A'lam.
I really like your blog hon!
Okay I took some time to actually look it up and found this:
Ahmad reported with a hasan isnaad from ‘Aa’ishah and attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever eats with his left hand, the Shaytaan eats with him.” (Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, commentary on hadeeth 1721).
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