Thirteen Sunnahs of Eating
#01 Say Bismillah
#02 Eat with your right
#03 Eat that nearest to you
The above three Sunnah of eating are all taken from the Hadith of Umar Ibn Abi Salamah:
“I was a boy under the care of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and my hand used to go around the dish while I was eating. So Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said to me:
يَا غُلَامُ سَمِّ اللَّهَ، وَكُلْ بِيَمِينِكَ، وَكُلْ مِمَّا يَلِيكَ
‘Oh boy! Mention the Name of Allah and eat with your right hand, and eat of the dish what is nearer to you.” Since then I have applied those instructions when eating.”
Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim
#04 Eat on the floor
It is narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“I eat just as the slave eats, and I sit just as the slave sits”.
Abu Ya’la (Sahih)
#05 Eat with three fingers
Ka’b Ibn Malik states:
“The Prophet ﷺ used to eat with three fingers and lick his hand before he wiped it.”
Sahih Muslim
#06 Eat together
Abdullah Ibn Umar Narrated:
“I heard my father say: ‘I heard ‘Umar bin Khattab say: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Eat together and do not eat separately, for the blessing is in being together.’”
Sunan Ibn Majah (Hassan)
#07 Don’t overeat
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
‘The human does not fill any container that is worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat what will support his back. If this is not possible, then a third for food, a third for drink, and third for his breath.”
Al-Tirmidhi (Sahih)
#08 Don’t criticise food
Abu Huraira narrates that:
“The Prophet ﷺ did not criticise any food ever. If he desired the food, he would eat it and if he disliked it, he would leave it.”
Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim
#09 Compliment tasty food
Jabir reported:
The Prophet ﷺ asked for sauce and was told that there was nothing except vinegar. He asked for it and began to eat from it saying, “How excellent is vinegar when eaten as a condiment! How excellent is vinegar when eaten as a condiment!
Sahih Muslim
#10 Don’t discard any food.
From the Hadith of Jabir:
I heard Allah’s Apostle ﷺ as saying: The Satan is present with any one of you in everything he does; he is present even when he eats food; so if any one of you drops a mouthful he should remove away anything filthy on it and eat it and not leave 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.
Sahih Muslim
#11 Lick your fingers
Jabir Bin Abdullah narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“He should not wipe his hand with a tissue until he licks his fingers, for he does not know in which part of his food is the blessing”.
Sahih Muslim
#12 Wipe the dish
Anas Ibn Malik narrates:
“(The Prophet) commanded us to wipe our plates”.
Sahih Muslim
#13 Praise Allah after eating
Anas Bin Malik narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Allah is pleased with a servant if he eats his food, he praises Allah for it; or if he drinks his drink he praises Allah for it”.
Sahih Muslim
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