Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This chapter is dedicated to describing that which the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to drink and the following chapter will describe the manner in which he used to drink.
204. Aisha narrated: “The drink most liked by the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) was that which was sweet and cold.” [235]
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
The drink being referred to in this hadīth is water as he (peace be upon him) liked to drink water cold and sweetened. It was referred to as “sweet” because he (peace be upon him) used to like having honey, dates or raisins mixed with the cold water.
Al-Bajūrī said,
Liking the drink to be sweet and cold does not contradict asceticism as it is intended to witness and observe more of the graces of Allāh and accordingly to show sincere gratitude.
Ibn Battal said,
Drinking sweetened water does not contravene asceticism and it is not included in the admonished types of luxury, contrary to scenting the water, not to mention that there is no benefit or virtue in salty water. Allāh made a likeness of the disbeliever with salty water and of the believer with sweet water: {And not alike are the two bodies of water. One is fresh and sweet, palatable for drinking, and one is salty and bitter.}[236]
Alī al-Qārī said,
It was said that the sweet water mentioned in this hadīth refers to the water mixed with honey because the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not use sugar at all, not to mention that honey is a cure in itself.
205. ‘Abdullāh ibn Abbās narrated: “Khālid ibn al-Walīd and I both accompanied the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) to the house of Maymūnah . There, she presented us with milk in a vessel and the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) drank from it. I was upon his right and Khālid to his left. The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) said to me, ‘You possess the right of drinking but if you wish you could give your right to Khālid.’ I replied that I would not give up his leftovers to anyone else. After that the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) said, ‘Whenever Allāh feeds someone anything, the following supplication should be recited, ‘O Allāh grant us blessings in it, and feed us something better than it,’ and whenever Allāh gives someone milk to drink one should read, ‘O Allāh grant us blessing in it and increase it for us.’ Then, the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) added, ‘There is nothing that serves the place of both food and drink except for milk.’”
Al-Tirmidhī said: “Maymūnah bint al-Hārith is the wife of the Messenger of Allāh and the maternal aunt of Ibn Abbās and Khālid ibn al-Walīd.” [237]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This hadīth shows that the one to the right of the person has more right to be served first than the one on the left. It also shows that it is permissible for the one on the right to give his right to the person on the left.
Al-Bajūrī said,
The Sunnah of giving preference to the one on the right applies to food, drink, clothing etc. The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained that Ibn Abbās had the right to drink first because he was on the right side but as Khālid was older than Ibn Abbās and a leader in his tribe as well as being a new Muslim at that time, he informed Ibn Abbās that he could give Khālid this right to show Khālid that he was not being disrespected or overlooked.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
The response of Ibn Abbās began with the excuse of not wanting to give that right to anyone so that it would not give the impression that he was refusing to comply.