Is eating from tables sitting on chairs permissible?

Answer

It is Waajib to sit and eat on the floor. We have written a detailed article on this topic.

Eating from tables whilst sitting on chairs is not permissible. It is the way of the kuffaar and mutakabbireen. Eating on small tables (called khuwaan) whilst sitting on the ground, is also not permissible. It is Tashabbuh bil kuffaar.

In the Azaadville fatwa the statement, "it will be fundamentally permissible" is a gross error. Mulla Ali Qaari (Rahmatullah alayh) clearly states that:

1. Eating from a small table

(i.e. whilst seated on the

ground), is bid'ah 2. That it is the symbol of the

proud people 3. That Nabi (Sallallahu alayhi

wasallam) never ate from

such a table 4. That Nabi (Sallallahu alayhi

wasallam) always ate on the

floor.

The statement that it is 'permissible' despite being bid'ah and the way of the proud and the kuffaar, is incongruent and erroneous. It is not permissible for a Mufti to cling to the errors of Ulama and utilize the error or the obscure view to justify a kaafir practice or to compromise the Haqq.