Short answer
Sit down, say bismillah, hold the cup in your right hand, and drink in three breaths, taking the cup away from your mouth each time rather than breathing or blowing into it. Then say alhamdulillah. When serving others, start on the right and drink last yourself.
Sitting, bismillah, using the right hand, drinking in three breaths outside the cup and praising Allah afterwards are sunnah. Breathing or blowing into the cup and drinking standing without need are makruh tanzihi. Zamzam and the leftover water of wudu are drunk standing.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The four schools agree on these manners. They are small, but each one comes from the Prophet ﷺ:
- Sit down to drink where you can. Drinking standing is not haram but is less than the best (see drinking while standing).
- Say bismillah before you start.
- Use your right hand.
- Drink in three breaths. Sip, take the cup away from your mouth, breathe, and drink again. Anas reported that the Prophet ﷺ did this and said it quenches thirst better and is healthier.
- Do not breathe or blow into the cup. If a drink is too hot, wait for it to cool.
- Say alhamdulillah when you finish. Allah is pleased with the servant who praises Him for a drink.
A few more sunnahs apply when drinking with others. Pass the drink to the right, even if someone more senior sits on the left. The person serving drinks last. Do not drink straight from the mouth of a large shared container, and do not use gold or silver cups, which are forbidden for drinking.
Two drinks are an exception: the Hanafi texts recommend drinking Zamzam water and the water left over from wudu standing. For eating manners, see the sunnahs of eating and the sunnahs of daily life.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-A'raaf 7:31
۞ يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍۢ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ ﴿٣١﴾
O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.
Drinking is a blessing to be taken without excess.
Sahih Muslim 2028
Sahih... كان يتنفس في الإناء ثلاثا ...
"He used to take three breaths when drinking."
The sunnah of drinking in three breaths.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1888
Grading to be checked... نهى أن يتنفس في الإناء أو ينفخ فيه ...
"He forbade breathing into the vessel or blowing into it."
Shows that breathing and blowing into a drink are disliked.
Sahih Muslim 2734
Sahih... أن يأكل الأكلة فيحمده عليها أو يشرب الشربة فيحمده عليها ...
"Allah is pleased with a servant who eats a meal and praises Him for it, or drinks a drink and praises Him for it."
The reward for praising Allah after drinking.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on eating and drinking. The sunnahs and disliked acts of drinking.
- Sharh Sahih Muslim (Nawawi), Kitab al-Ashriba, chapter on the etiquette of food and drink. Explains the three breaths and the ban on breathing into the cup.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.