Some of Islamic guidelines on foods and drinks
❶A Muslim should ensure that his food is lawful.
God says ﴾O messengers, eat from the good foods and work
righteousness. Indeed, I, of what you do, am Knowing﴿
Chapter of the Believers. Verse NO 51
﴾O you who have believed, eat from the good things which We
have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is [indeed] Him that you worship﴿
Chapter of the Heifer.
Verse NO 172
◊Consequences will be serious if he
eats unlawful food. He will be one of the people of Hell-Fire.
His invocation
is not answered, and his deeds are not accepted.
●Abu Hurairah reported:
The Prophet ﷺ made a mention of the person who travels
for a long period of time, his hair disheveled and covered with dust.
He lifts
his hand towards the sky and says, “O Lord! O Lord!” Yet his food is from the
unlawful, his drink is from the unlawful, his clothing is from the unlawful,
and he has been nourished by the unlawful.
So how can then this supplication be
accepted?
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 12,
Hadith 83
̶̶❷He should start eating and drinking with mentioning the name of Allah
If he forgets to do so, he can mention
the name of Allah during his eating.
●It was narrated from 'A'ishah (May
Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“When one of you wants
to eat, he should mention Allah’s Name in the beginning (i.e., say: “Bismillah”).
If he forgets to do it in the beginning, he should say: ‘In the
name of Allah at the beginning and at the end of it (Bismillah awwalahu wa aakhirahu).’”
Reference: Sunan Abi-Daoud. Book
28, Hadith 32
●Umaiyyah ibn Makhshi reported:
The
Messenger of Allah was sitting while a man was eating food.
The man did not
mention the name of Allah till only a morsel of food was left.
When he raised
it to his mouth, he said, “In the name of Allah, at the beginning and at the
end (Bismillah awwalahu wa aakhirahu).”
The Messenger of Allah smiled at this
and said, “The Devil kept eating along
with him, but when he mentioned Allah’s Name, the Devil vomited what was in his
belly.”
Reference: Riyad As-Saaliheen.
Book 3, Hadith 732
●It was narrated from Jabir ibn 'Abd
Allah that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “When a person enters his house and mentions Allah’s Name at the
time of entering it and at eating food, the Devil says (addressing himself):
‘You have no place to spend the night and no dinner.’
But when
he enters without mentioning the name of Allah, the Devil says, ‘You have found
a place to spend the night.’
And when he does not mention Allah’s Name while
eating food, the Devil says, ‘You have found a place to spend the night and
dinner.’”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 36,
Hadith 136
❸He should eat and drink using his right hand
●It was narrated from Ibn 'Umar that
Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said,
“When one of you eats he should eat with his right hand, and
when he drinks he should drink with his right hand, for the Devil eats and
drinks with his left hand.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 36,
Hadith 139
●Salamah ibn AL-Akwa' reported on the
authority of his father that a person ate with his left hand in the presence of
Allah’s Messengerﷺ, whereupon he said, “Eat with your right hand.”
The man
said, “I cannot do that.”
The Prophet said, “May
you not be able to do that.”
It was vanity that
prevented him from doing it and he could not raise it (his right hand) up to
his mouth afterwards.
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 36,
Hadith 142
●'Umar ibn Abi Salamah reported: I was
under the care of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ
and as my hand used to roam about in the dish, he said to me:
“Boy, mention Allah’s Name, eat with your right hand, and eat
from what is near to you.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 36,
Hadith 143
●Anas ibn Malik reported that there
was brought to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ a cup of milk mixed with water, while there was on his
right a desert Arab and on his left Abu-Bakr.
He (the Holy Prophet) drank, then
he gave it to the desert Arab and said: “(Give to one) who is on the right, then again who is on the right.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 36,
Hadith 163
❹He should benefit from food and do not waste it.
●Jabir reported: I heard Allah’s
Apostle ﷺ saying,
“The Devil is present with anyone of you in everything he does.
He is present even when he eats food, so if anyone of you drops a mouthful, he
should remove away anything filthy on it and eat it and not leave it for the
Devil.
And when he finishes (food) he should lick his fingers, for he does not know in what portion
of his food the blessing lies.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 36,
Hadith 177
❺A Muslim should eat from the sides of the vessel of food and not from its middle.
●Ibn 'Abbas reported: The Prophet ﷺ said,
“Blessing
descends upon food in its middle, so eat from the sides of the vessel and do
not eat from its middle.”
Reference: Riyad As-Saaliheen.
Book 3, Hadith 744 [At-Tirmidhi and
Abu-Daoud]
●'Abdullah ibn Busr
reported: The Prophet ﷺ had a large bowl
called “AL-Gharra'”, which would be carried by four men.
One day, when the Companions finished their forenoon optional prayer (Duha),
AL-Gharra' was brought full of sopped bread, meat, and broth, and
they sat down around it.
When their number increased, Messenger of Allah sat
down on his knees and rested on the soles of his feet.
A Bedouin said to him:
“What sort of sitting is that?”
Thereupon Messenger of Allah said, “Verily, Allah has made me a courteous servant not a fierce
tyrant.” Then he said, “Eat from the sides of
the bowl and leave the central part of it so that your food will be blessed.”
Reference: Riyad As-Saaliheen.
Book 3, Hadith 745 [Abu-Daoud]
❻He should praise Allah after he finishes
eating
●It was narrated from Mu'adh ibn Anas
that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “Whoever eats food and says, ‘Praise is to Allah Who has fed me
this and provided it for me without any effort from me nor power’, his past
sins will be forgiven.”
Reference: Jami' At-Tirmidhi.
Book 48, Hadith 89
●It was narrated from Anas that the
Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“Allah will be pleased with His servant who praises Him when he
eats and praises Him when he drinks.”
Reference: Riyad As-Saaliheen.
Book 1, Hadith 140 [Muslim]
●Ibn 'Abbas reported:
I entered with
the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Khalid ibn
AL-Waleed the house of Maymunah, so she brought us a vessel of milk.
The
Messenger of Allah drank from it. I was upon his right and Khalid was upon his
left, so he said to me, “The (turn to) drink is for you, so if you wish, you could choose to grant it
to Khalid.”
So, I said, “I would not prefer anyone
(above myself) for your leftovers.”
Then the Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever Allah feeds some food, then let him say, ‘O Allah bless
it for us, and feed us better than it.’ And whomever Allah gives milk to drink,
then let him say, ‘O Allah bless it for us, and grant us increase in it.’”
Reference: Jami' At-Tirmidhi.
Book 48, Hadith 86
❼The best food is that you eat
together.
●Wahshi ibn Harb reported:
Some of the
Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
said, “We eat but are not satisfied.”
He ﷺ
said, “Perhaps you eat separately.”
They replied, “Yes.”
He said, “Eat
together and mention Allah’s name over your food. It will be blessed for you.”
Reference: Sunan Abi-Daoud. Book
28, Hadith 29
●Jabir ibn Abd-Allah reported: The
Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“The food of one person suffices for two persons, the food of
two persons suffices for four persons, and the food of four persons suffices
for eight persons.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 36,
Hadith 242
●It was narrated from Abi-Musa that
Allah’s Apostle ﷺ said,
“When the people of Ash'ari tribe ran short of food during the
holy battles, or the food of their families in AL- Madinah ran short, they
collected all their remaining food in one garment and then divided it among
themselves equally from one vessel. They are from me and I am from them.”
Reference: Sahih AL-Bukhari. Book
47, Hadith 4
❽The stomach is the house of diseases, and diet is the basis of treatment (the best medicine).
The more a person accustoms his
stomach to small amounts of food, the more his stomach is relieved.
He should
not sit to eat and then forgets himself so that he cannot stand up, and as a
result, he opens the door widely to get various gastro-intestinal diseases.
●Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarb (May Allah be
pleased with him) reported:
I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
“No man fills a
container worse than his stomach. A few morsels that keep his back upright are
sufficient for him.
If he has to, then he should keep one-third for food,
one-third for drink and one-third for his breathing.”
Reference: Riyad As-Saaliheen.
Book 1, Hadith 516 [At-Tirmidhi]
●It was narrated from Ibn 'Umar that
Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said,
“A believer eats in one intestine (is satisfied with a
little food), and a disbeliever eats in seven intestines (eats much food).”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 36,
Hadith 246
◊Allah has summarized medicine in half
a verse: ﴾And eat and
drink, but be not excessive﴿ Chapter of the Heights.
֍Imam Ali said, “The
relief of the body is that you sit before food when you desire it, and you
leave it while you still desire it.”
◊An aphorism states,
“Overeating eliminates intelligence.”
֎'Umar ibn AL-Khattab
said:
“Beware of overeating. It causes laziness about prayer, ruins the body,
and leads to diseases. You should economize in your food; it makes you away
from extravagance, makes the body healthier, and gives more strength for
worship.
❾It is a Sunnah to cover the food, and
to drink in three gulps.
●Jabir ibn Abd-Allah reported Allah’s
Messenger ﷺ as saying:
“Cover the vessels and tie the water skin, for there is a night
in a year when pestilence descends, and it does not pass an uncovered vessel or
an untied water skin but some of that pestilence descending into it.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 36,
Hadith 129
●Ibn 'Abbas reported: The Messenger of
Allah ﷺ prohibited breathing in the vessel, or
blowing into it.
Reference: Jami' At-Tirmidhi.
Book 26, Hadith 29
●Anas reported: The Messenger of Allah
ﷺ used to breathe three times in the course
of a drink (he used to drink in three gulps).
Reference: Riyad As-Saaliheen.
Book 3, Hadith 757 [AL-Bukhari and
Muslim]
●Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri reported:
The
Prophet ﷺ prohibited blowing into the drink.
A man
said to him, “I cannot drink in one breath.”
He ﷺ
said, “Remove the cup away from your
mouth and then breathe.” He said, “Sometimes I
see something floating in it.”
He ﷺ
said, “Then pour it out (removing that).”
Reference: Muwatta Malik. Book
49, Hadith 1685
❿A believer’s pleasure occurs when he makes the others happy and does not forget the poor.
God says ﴾So eat of them and feed the miserable and poor﴿
Chapter of Pilgrimage. Verse No 28
﴾And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the
orphan, and the captive﴿ Chapter of the Man. Verse NO 8
●It was narrated from Abi-Dharr that
the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Let one of you not consider any good to be insignificant.
If he has nothing,
then let him meet his brother with a smiling face.
If you buy some meat or cook
something in a pot, then increase its broth, and give some of it to your
neighbor.”
Reference: Jami' At-Tirmidhi.
Book 25, Hadith 49
●'A'ishah reported: We the family of
Muhammad ﷺ used to spend (the whole) month in which
we did not light the fire (as we had nothing to cook). We had only dates and
water.
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 55,
Hadith 33
●'A'ishah reported:
The Messenger of
Allah ﷺ slaughtered a sheep and distributed major
portions of its meat.
Then he asked, “Is
there anything left?”
I replied, “Nothing,
except the shoulder.”
Thereupon he said, “All
of it is left except its shoulder.”
Reference: Riyad As-Saaliheen.
Book 1, Hadith 558 [At-Tirmidhi]
Note:
The Prophet meant when he said: “All of it is left except its shoulder” that the reward of the
sheep would remain, except the shoulder that was not distributed.
●Ibn 'Abbas reported: The Messenger of
Allah ﷺ went to bed hungry for several successive
nights, and his family did not have a thing for supper. Their bread was mostly
of barley.
Reference: Riyad As-Saaliheen.
Book 1, Hadith 514 [At-Tirmidhi].
God says ﴾And when it is said to them, “Spend from that which Allah
has provided for you”, those who disbelieve say to those who believe, “Should
we feed one whom, if Allah had willed, He would have fed? You are not but in
clear error.” (47)
And they say, “When is this promise,
if you should be truthful?” (48)
They do not
await except one blast which will seize them while they are disputing﴿(49) Chapter of Yaseen.
⓫It is prohibited to eat or drink using utensils of silver or gold.
●Hudhaifah reported:
The Prophet ﷺ prohibited us from eating or drinking in
gold or silver utensils, and from wearing silk and brocade or sitting on
(anything made from) them.
Reference: Sahih AL-Bukhari. Book
4, Hadith 809
●It was narrated from Um Salamah that
Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said,
“He who drinks in gold or silver utensils is only filling his
abdomen with Hell-Fire.”
