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Sunday, February 17, 2019

Etiquettes of Eating of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)


Islam is not only a religion - but it is a complete way of life. It dwells on every facet of human life, from individual responsibilities to that of parents and living in a society. In fact there is not facet of life which falls beyond the purview of Islam.

The Holy Qur'an lays down the basic guidelines for Muslims as per the commandments of Allah. And living by these commandments of Allah was practically exhibited by the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) so that others could emulate his life and live a life as commanded by Allah in the Holy Qur'an. 

Etiquettes is the basics Islamic teachings. One is told how to live, eat, dress up and meet others. The etiquettes also dwell on the we carry ourselves in a society and how to respond to invitations and greetings. The way a person eats tells about one's grooming and one's thankfulness to Allah to have provided us food to eat. 
“And eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allâh) likes not Al-Musrifûn (those who waste by extravagance)” [Surah al-A‘raaf 7:31] 
Therefore, while we eat, we must respect the food and not waste it away. It is a shame that many of us throw away excess food in the dust bins rather than giving away to those who have been hungry for days. Eating together also fosters bonding between the ones present with us. Even making faces in front of a host is against the very etiquettes of eating and norms.




Whenever one is getting ready to eat, one must follow the etiquettes as exhibited and taught to us by Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The Prophet of Allah advised his companions to eat less rather than filling to their fullest:
The Son of Adam will not fill a pot worse for himself than his stomach. It is enough for the Son of Adam to eat a few bites that strengthens his spine. If he likes to have more, then let him fill a third with food, a third with drink and leave a third for his breathing.
The Prophet of Allah (ﷺ)  always washed hands before settling down to eat, so as not to be harmed by any dirt that may be on them. He always hastened to eat when food was served to him by the host, for the Prophet of Allah always advised that a guest’s honouring the host is to hasten to accept his food and eat from it. If the host sees the guest not eating, he may think badly of him. So the guest has to reassure his hosts by hastening to eat his food, because that will reassure him.

One must ensure that one is eating the food as prescribed in the Holy Qur'an as Halal. Therefore, whenever the Prophet of Allah went to someone's house, he would always ask as to what was being presented to him. Sometimes, he would desist from eating things that were not generally eaten by Arabs. It has been attributed to Khaalid ibn al-Waleed in Bukhari that once he and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)  his [Khalid’s] maternal aunt and found that she had some roasted lizard that her sister had brought from Najd. She offered the lizard to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who stretched forth his hand. At that instant one of the women who were present said, “Tell the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)  that what has been offered to him is lizard.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) withdrew his hand from the lizard, and Khalid ibn al-Waleed asked, “Is lizard haraam, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “No, but it is not found in the land of my people and I feel that I would have no liking for it. Khalid said, then I chewed it and ate it, and the Messenger of Allah was looking at me. [1]

The Prophet of Allah always mentioned the name of Allah “Bismillah (in the name of Allah)” before eating.  He always advised: “When any one of you eats, let him mention the name of Allah. If he forgets to mention the name of Allah at the beginning, then let him say ‘Bismillahi awwalahu wa aakhirahu (In the name of Allah at the beginning and at the end).’” 

Watch a demonstration of eating the way Prophet of Islam always ate and advocated others to emulate:
May Allah guide us to live our lives as commanded by Him in the Holy Qur'an and as practically demonstrated by the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). Aameen  

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
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