Why drinking standing is considered bad and eating not?

Question

It is considered bad to drink while standing up but I was reading somewhere that eating while standing isn't considered bad. Is that true? Is there a hadith or source behind it?

The reason I want to find is that I run 2 families and some of the people eat standing up which leaves a bad impression on young mind and they follow and I want to set a good example with a reference that is valid.

Answer 1

The ruling on drinking while standing is based on a number of hadiths wherein the prophet is said to have prohibited the action, but these prohibitions explicitly mention drinking and are silent on the topic of eating. Given that eating (while standing or not) is not considered an act of worship, the general principle in Islamic jurisprudence is that it is considered permissible until proven otherwise.

Anas, one of the companions, was of the opinion that eating while standing is worse than drinking, and some scholars consider eating while standing disliked due to that, but it must be stressed that this is not based on the words or actions of the prophet himself.

Answer 2

To supplement goldPseudo's answer: Both eating and drinking while standing has generally been considered permissible, although makruh tanzihi or khilaf al-awla by some. That is because while some reports are against it however a group of the Sahaba have narrated its legality, for example:

عن ابن عمر قال: كنا على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نأكل ونحن نمشي ونشرب ونحن قيام

Ibn Umar said: At the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) we used to eat while walking, and drink while standing up.

^{— Sunan Ibn Majah , Sahih Ibn Hibban, Jami at-Tirmidhi}

أتى علي رضي الله عنه على باب الرحبة فشرب قائما فقال: إن ناسا يكره أحدهم أن يشرب وهو قائم، وإني رأيت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فعل كما رأيتموني فعلت

Ali came to the gate of the courtyard (of the Mosque) and drank (water) while he was standing and said, "Some people dislike to drink while standing, but I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) doing (drinking water) as you have seen me doing now."

^{— Sahih Bukhari}

عن ابن عباس قال: شرب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قائما من زمزم

Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet (ﷺ) drank Zamzam while standing.

^{— Sahih Bukhari}

عن عائشة قالت: رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يشرب قائما وقاعدا

Aishah said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) drink standing and sitting...

^{— Sunan an-Nasai}

Similar athar have been reported about Umar, Uthman, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Abdullah ibn Zubair etc. (see Muwatta Malik).