Manners of Eating

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The food we eat is of the most manifest blessings to us for which gratitude is incumbent on us. This is shown by venerating the food before us, sitting before it as slaves sitting before a treasure, not letting any of it go to waste, expressing heartfelt gratitude after eating, and utilizing its energy in pleasing the One who provided it to us.

A Muslim eats to live; not vice versa. Heedlessly indulging in blessings, in complete oblivion to the purpose of one’s life and the wisdom in being given these blessings, turns blessings into a curse, and a door to Allah Mighty and Majestic into a barrier from Him. Moderation is essential.

Eating and drinking is obligatory in the amount needed to ward off death and to enable one to offer the prayers standing [and fulfill one’s other obligations]. It is forbidden to eat above one’s fill unless it is for the intention of strengthening oneself for a fast or so that one’s guest is not ashamed to eat or the like.

It is recommended to observe the following manners of eating:

(1) To intend to strengthen oneself for worship, and not to merely savor the flavor and satisfy desire. The sign of this is that one does not reach out for food except when hungry and raises the hand before satiety. Whoever does this has no need for a doctor.

(2) To eat on a cloth spread out on the ground, as this is closer to humility, and not on a
table.

Anas, Allah be pleased with him, related,

[The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace] never ate on a table…they would eat on mats on the floor (sufar).

To eat on the floor is nearer to what the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do. However, there is no problem to eat at a table.

Do not start eating ahead of the elders or the nobles. If you are the elder, do not commence eating before everyone is at the table.

It is preferred that eating should not be conducted in silence. It is good manners to talk during meals. Topics should be nice stories suitable for eating. At the end of the meal, if hands are to be washed, the elder or the noble should be asked to proceed first.

(3) To draw near to the food and not to demand that it be brought closer to one as that entails pride and belittling the blessing.

(4) To sit in a humble posture; not reclining, lying or resting on something. The sunnah is to sit, leaning towards the food, on one’s left leg with the right leg raised before one.

It is reported that the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

I eat as a slave eats. I sit as a slave sits. I am but a slave.

(5) To increase the number of hands at the meal, even if with children and family members, for the best food is that at which the hands are many.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,

Verily the most beloved food to Allah is that has many hands over it.

The companions said to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace,

"O Messenger of Allah; we eat and we are never satisfied.” He replied, “Perhaps you eat separately?” to which they replied, “Yes.” He said, “Gather together over your food and mention the name of Allah, you will be blessed in it.”

(6) Eating in a large plate shared by people is more beloved to Allah and more effective in bringing hearts together than eating in small individual plates.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, had a large plate called algharra that would be carried by four people.

(7) To not stand from the food except after satisfying one’s need.

(8) To not find fault in what is presented of food and drink; rather, if one likes it one eats
it and if not, one leaves it.

Abu Hurayra reported that

'the Prophet never expressed his dislike of a food. If he liked it he will eat it. If he disliked it, he will set aside.'

(9) To wash the hands before and after eating, and to not dry the hands before eating, to retain the traces of washing and to dry them after eating to remove traces of eating.

(10) To say before eating, “O Allah, bless us in it and feed us better than it.”

(11) To begin eating with, “With the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,” (Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim). If one forgets then one should say, when one remembers, “With the name of Allah, in its beginning and its end,” (Bismillah awwalahu wa aakhirahu).

(12) To say, “All praise is for Allah,” (Alhamdulillah) at the end. To recite a special du'a after having iftar (breaking fast) or after having eaten at another person's house.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,

“Whoever eats food and says, “All praise is for Allah who fed me this and provided it to me without any ability of mine or power,” his previous sins are forgiven.”

(13) To truly feel that one is eating of Allah’s blessings, with His permission and for His sake, lest the meal be the means to a dreadful questioning on Judgment Day.

It is reported that the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, after being given meat, dates and water, “By the One in whose hands is my soul, this is the blessing that you will be asked about,” and he recited the verse “You will be asked on that day about blessings.” (Qur’an, 102:8) He then said, “When you come across the likes of this and you outstretch
your hands, say, “In the name of Allah,” and when you are satiated, say, “All praise is for Allah Who filled us, blessed us and gave of His bounty.” This will suffice for that.”

(14) To eat from the edges of the plate and not its center.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,

Blessing is in the center of the plate, so eat from its sides and don’t eat from its head.

(15) To eat with the right hand; although there is no harm in using the left hand in breaking up the food.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,

When one of you eats, let him eat with his right hand, and when he drinks, let him drink with his right hand, for the Devil eats with his left and drinks with his left.

A hypocrite was eating with his left hand when the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw him and advised him to eat with his right. The man falsely said 'But I cannot' The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said 'May it be so' and the hypocrite was not able to lift his right hand again.

(16) To eat with three fingers; the thumb, forefinger and middle finger. It is best to eat
with the fingers and not a spoon to observe the sunnah. Eat small bites lifting it gently with ease to your mouth. Close your mouth while eating to avoid unnecessary noises.

It has been mentioned in the interpretation of “We have surely honored the children of Adam,” (17:70) that it means, “We gave them fingers to eat with.”

(17) Bread should be shown as much respect as a person can show.

It is reported that the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,

Honor bread, for verily Allah has honored it; whoever honors bread, Allah honors him.

Honoring bread includes:

a. Not waiting for sauce to eat with the bread.
b. Not to serve more bread than needed.
c. To pick up bread pieces that fall, no matter how small, and eat them out of venerating the blessing of Allah.
d. To not place bread pieces on a road unless it is to feed ants [or other creatures].
e. To remove it from a disrespectful place [for example under peoples feet] and place it in a respectful place.
f. To not place the salt shaker and plate on the bread
g. To not wipe the hand and knife with bread, unless one subsequently eats that bread, and some say even then it is disliked.
h. To not eat the center of the bread and leave the edges, or to just eat what rose of the bread, unless others will eat the rest; or unless one’s teeth cannot handle some parts of the bread.
i. To not choose some pieces of bread over others.
j. To not throw bread on the earth.
k. To not eat new bread pieces if a broken piece remains.

Nahlawi comments, This matter has been tested: whoever venerates Allah by venerating His blessings, Allah is kind to him and honors him, and if an affliction befalls people, He makes for him a relief and a way out.”

(18) It is permissible to eat more than one kind of food at a single meal, and as for what has been transmitted from the early community regarding the dislike of this, it is to be understood as meaning being accustomed to luxuries without any religious benefit being intended; for indeed the limbs all speak, willingly, with gratitude when eating what they find delicious of lawful foods.

(19) The hungrier one is, the more manners one should show when eating: one should be slow and dignified, not avid and rushed.

(20) To prefer others in one’s food. This is by leaving some of one’s food to give in charity to orphans, the poor and the like.

(21) To eat before praying if the food is present and one has a desire for it.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace), said,

If dinner is placed and the prayer commences then start with dinner.

(22) To eat moderately.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,

There is no container that the son of Adam fills worse than the stomach. Morsels that keep his back upright are sufficient for the son of Adam. If he must do more, then a third for his food, a third for his drink and a third for his breath.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, was once informed of a man who would eat a lot when he was a non Muslim and ate only a little after he converted, and he said,

The believer eats from one intestine and the disbeliever eats from seven intestines.

Do not put in your plate more than can eat. Put smaller portions twice rather than one large portion that you will not eat. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not approve of leaving any food in a plate since as he said 'You don't know which portion is blessed'. Food is a blessing of Allah, to misuse it is contrary to Islam. Do not forget the poor and the needy who do not have the portion you are throwing away

(23) To lick one’s fingers before wiping with a cloth.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,

When one of you eats, let him not wipe his hand until he licks it.

In another hadith,

When one of you eats, let him lick his fingers for he does not know in which of his food is the blessing.

(24) To completely finish all food in one’s plate. In a hadith,

Whoever eats in a plate and then licks it clean, the plate seeks forgiveness for him.

Some explain this as meaning whoever eats in a plate then licks it clean out of humility and lowliness, and venerating the blessing of Allah in his provision, and protecting it from wastage, he is forgiven, and since this forgiveness is by virtue of the plate it is as if it
prays for his forgiveness. Others maintain that it literally prays for forgiveness.

(25) To wash the hands after eating and gargle the mouth.

The following measures should be avoided while eating.

(1) To eat reclining.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

I do not eat reclining.

The angel Jibril (upon whom be peace) once came to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, with another angel who said, "Allah gives you a choice between being a slave prophet or being a king.” The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, turned to Jibril (upon whom be
peace) as if to seek his counsel, and he gestured that he should be humble, so he said, “Rather I will be a slave prophet.” He never ate food reclining after that.

(2) To eat food that is overly hot.

(3) To be extravagant. If someone eats a variety of foods at a single meal it should be with
the intention to strengthen himself for the worship of Allah: if he gets bored with one flavor he eats another until he completes what he needs for strength, or intends inviting guests group after group.

(4) To not waste a morsel that falls to the ground.

(5) To eat in the marketplace in front of people, as opposed to eating from behind a barrier
where others cannot see.

(6) To eat in the street if one is someone of social significance whose honor is detracted by
that.

(7) To eat in a graveyard. This shows disrespect to the graves of the believers, and vitiates
the lesson for which graves are visited.

(8) To eat everything he desires. That is wastefulness.

(9) To eat purely to satisfy his lust: this will lead to being denied wisdom.

(10) To eat in a state of major ritual impurity before washing one’s mouth.

(11) Eating to one’s fill.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,

Those who have the longest hunger on Judgment Day, are those who were the most satiated in this world.

Abu Hurayra, Allah be pleased with him, once walked by people eating a roast sheep and refused to eat with them when they invited him, saying,

The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, left this world and never ate his fill of barley bread.

Aisha, Allah be pleased with her, said,

The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, never ate to his fill twice in a single day until he left this world.

Moderate eating enables one to remember the plight of the needy.

(12) To overeat. Overeating leads to forgetfulness, laziness, foul-naturedness, hard-heartedness, and increased need for food and drink.

It is narrated that Jundub ibn Samura, Allah be pleased with him, said to his son when he had overeaten until he vomited,

Had you died I wouldn’t have prayed over you.

(13) Blowing on the food.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, forbade blowing on food and drink.

This has been explained by some scholars as being a practice that can put others off of
the food or affect the flavor of the food.

(14) To find food disgusting; except that which is harmful, for example if burnt or gone rancid.

(15) Throwing food away. This is unlawful wastefulness.

(16) To use the energy of the food in disobeying Allah.

(17) To eat from the center of the plate.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,

Blessings descend on the center of the food, so eat from the edges.

(18) To stand from the food before satisfying one’s need. It is from venerating food and
observing proper manners with it that one not break up the eating.

Modesty is the crown of the common people. Keep this crown on your head if invited to a feast or if you are presented with food or drink. Do not be gluttonous devouring food as if you have not eaten for a long time, or as if you have not seen such excellent food before. Do not sample every dish on the table. People, even generous hosts disapprove of greedy eaters. Be reasonable and moderate in enjoying the generosity of your hosts.

Do not eat using golden or silver plates or cutlery. This goes against the spirit of Islamic modesty. Bukhari narrated that Hudhaifa said the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said 'Do not drink in golden or silver cups nor eat in such plates.' If you were a guest, simply ask your host to replace it with another one.

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May Allah give us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam.