Riyad as-Salihin: The Book About the Etiquette of Eating

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), said to me, "Mention Allah's Name (i.e., say Bismillah before starting eating), eat with your right hand, and eat from what is near you."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When any of you wants to eat, he should mention the Name of Allah in the begining, (i.e., say Bismillah). If he forgets to do it in the beginning, he should say Bismillah awwalahu wa akhirahu (I begin with the Name of Allah at the beginning and at the end)."

[At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud] .

I heard Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "If a person mentions the Name of Allah upon entering his house or eating, Satan says, addressing his followers: 'You will find no where to spend the night and no dinner.' But if he enters without mentioning the Name of Allah, Satan says (to his followers); 'You have found (a place) to spend the night in, and if he does not mention the Name of Allah at the time of eating, Satan says: 'You have found (a place) to spend the night in as well as food."'

[Muslim] .

When we attended a meal with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), we would not stretch forth our hands towards the food until he (ﷺ) would start eating first. Once, we were with him when a little girl rushed in as if someone was impelling her. She was about to lay her hand on the food when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) caught her hand. Then a bedouin came in rushing as if someone were pushing him. He (ﷺ) caught his hand also and said, "Satan considers that food lawful for himself on which the Name of Allah is not mentioned. He (Satan) brought this girl to make the food lawful through her but I caught her hand. Then he brought the bedouin to make it lawful through him but I caught his hand too. By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, now Satan's hand is in my grasp along with their hands." Then he mentioned the Name of Allah and began to eat.

[Muslim] .

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was sitting while a man was eating food. That man did not mention the Name of Allah (before commencing to eat) till only a morsel of food was left. When he raised it to his mouth, he said: "Bismillah awwalahu wa akhirahu (With the Name of Allah, in the beginning and in the end)." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) smiled at this and said, "Satan had been eating with him but when he mentioned the Name of Allah, Satan vomited all that was in his stomach."

[Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was eating with his six Companions when a desert Arab came and ate up the food in two mouthfuls. Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Had he mentioned the Name of Allah, it would have sufficed for all of you."

[At-Tirmidhi] .

Whenever the Prophet (ﷺ) finished a meal, he would say: "Al-hamdu lillahi hamdan kathiran taiyyiban mubarakan fihi, ghaira makfiyyin wa la muwadda`in, wa la mustaghnan `anhu, Rabbuna. (All praise is due to Allah, praise which is abundant, pure, and full of blessings, which is indispensable and to which one cannot be indifferent).''

[Al-Bukhari] .

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who has taken food and says at the end: 'Al- hamdu lillahi-lladhi at'amani hadha, wa razaqanihi min ghairi haulin minni wa la quwwatin (All praise is due to Allah Who has given me food to eat and provided it without any endeavour on my part or any power),' all his past sins will be forgiven."

[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi] .

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) never found fault with food. If he had inclination to eating it, he would eat; and if he disliked it, he would leave it.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

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 sauce! How excellent is vinegar when eaten as Udm!"

[Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When any of you is invited to a meal, he should accept the invitation. If he is observing Saum (fasting), he should supplicate for the betterment of the host and if he is not fasting, he should eat."

[Muslim] .

A man prepared some food especially for the Prophet (ﷺ) and invited him along with four others. But a man accompanied him. Having arrived at the door, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to the host, "This person has followed us. You may allow him, if you like, and if you like he will return." He said: "O Messenger of Allah, I allow him, too."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

I was a boy under the care of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and as my hand used to wander around in the dish, he (ﷺ) said to me once, "Mention Allah's Name (i.e., say Bismillah), eat with your right hand, and eat from what is in front of you."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

A man ate with his left hand in the presence of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), whereupon he said, "Eat with your right hand." The man said: "I cannot do that." Thereupon he (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said, "May you not be able to do that." It was vanity that prevented him from doing it and he could not raise it (the right hand) up to his mouth afterwards.

[Muslim] .

We were with 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair (May Allah be pleased with them) in a time of famine, then we were provided with dates. (Once) when we were eating, 'Abdullah bin 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) passed by us and said: "Do not eat two dates together, for Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited it, unless one seeks permission from his brother (partner)."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

Some of the Companions of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "We eat but are not satisfied." He (ﷺ) said, "Perhaps you eat separately." The Companions replied in affirmative. He then said: "Eat together and mention the Name of Allah over your food. It will be blessed for you."

[Abu Dawud] .

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."

[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi] .

The Prophet (ﷺ) had a large bowl called Al-Gharra', which would be carried by four men. One day, when the Companions finished their Duha (forenoon optional) prayer, Al-Gharra' was brought full of sopped bread, meat and broth, and they sat down around it. When their number increased, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) 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 (ﷺ) said, "Verily, Allah has made me a courteous slave 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."

[Abu Dawud] .

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I do not eat reclining (against a pillow)."

[Al-Bukhari] .

I saw Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) eating some dates while sitting on his buttocks, with his legs raised.

[Muslim] .

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When one of you finishes eating, he should not wipe his fingers until he has licked them himself or has given them to someone else to lick for him."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

I saw Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) eating with three fingers (i.e., the thumb, the index finger and the middle finger) and licking them after having finished the food.

[Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded the licking of fingers and the gleaning of the dish, saying, "You do not know in which portion the blessing lies."

[Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When a morsel of any of you falls, he should pick it up and remove any of the dirt on it and then eat it, and should not leave it for Satan nor should wipe his hand with towel until he has licked his fingers, for he does not know in what portion of the food the blessing lies."

[Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Satan appears at every thing done by you; he appears even at one's dinner. When a morsel of any of you falls, he should pick it up and remove any dirt on it, and then eat it. He should not leave it for Satan, nor should he wipe his hand with the towel until he has licked his fingers, for he does not know in what portion of the food the blessing lies."

[Muslim] .

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ate food, he would lick his three fingers and say, "If anyone of you drops a morsel of food, he should remove any dirt that may have stuck on it and then eat it, and should not leave it for Satan." He (ﷺ) also commanded us that we should glean the pot, saying, "You do not know in which part of your food the blessings lies."

[Muslim] .

I asked Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) whether it was obligatory to make Wudu' for Salat (prayer) after eating cooked food. He said: "No, because in the lifetime of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), such food was rarely available. We had no handkerchiefs, so when we ate such food we would wipe our fingers against our palms, forearms or (the sole of our) feet, and would offer Salat without fresh Wudu' (for prayer)."

[Al- Bukhari] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The food of two persons suffices for three persons, and the food of three persons suffices for four persons."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The food of one person suffices for two, the food of two persons suffices for four persons, and the food of four persons suffices for eight persons."

[Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to breathe three times in the course of a drink (he used to drink in three gulps).

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Do not drink in one gulp like a camel, but in two or three (gulps). Mention the Name of Allah (i.e., say Bismillah) when you start drinking and praise Him (i.e., say Al-hamdu lillah) after you have finished (drinking)."

[At- Tirmidhi] .

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade breathing into the vessel while drinking.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

Milk mixed with water was brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). On his right side was sitting a bedouin and on his left was sitting Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him). He (ﷺ) drank from it and handed the rest to the bedouin saying, "One who is on the right has preference, then again the one who is on the right."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

A drink was brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he drank (some) from it. On his right was a boy and on his left were some elderly people. He (ﷺ) said to the boy, "Would you permit me to give rest of this drink to these on my left?" The boy said: "O Messenger of Allah, I would certainly not give preference to anyone in anything that might come to me from you." So he (ﷺ) handed over the rest of the drink to him.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade turning the water-skin upside down and drinking directly from its mouth.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited drinking directly out of the mouth of a water- skin.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) visited me and drank some water from a hanging water-skin while he was in a standing posture. So, I stood up and cut off the mouth (of that water-skin).

[At- Tirmidhi] .

An-Nawawi said that the reason why she did this was to preserve the part of the water-skin which the lips of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) touched, gain blessings from it, and preserve it from dishonor. This narration is understood to show permissibility whereas the previous two narrations are to show what is better and closer to perfection. Allah knows best.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited us blowing in the drinking water. A man said: "O Messenger of Allah! Sometimes I see some litter floating about on the surface. What should I do then?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Pour them out." Then the man said: "My thirst is not quenched with one draught." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Then put away the cup from your mouth (in between three gulps), and take breath."

[At-Tirmidhi] .

The Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited us from breathing into the drinking vessel or blowing in it.

[At-Tirmidhi] .

I served the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) Zamzam water to drink and he drank it while he was standing.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

'Ali bin Abu Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) arrived at Bab Ar-Rahbah (in Kufah) and drank water in a standing posture. Then he said: "I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) doing what you have seen me doing."

[Al-Bukhari] .

During the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) we would eat while walking and would drink while standing.

[At- Tirmidhi] .

I saw Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) drink standing, or sitting.

[At-Tirmidhi] .

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade us from drinking while standing. Qatadah reported: "We asked him: 'What about eating?"' He said: "That is even worse, (or may be he said) more detestable."

Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reprimanded [us] for drinking while standing.

[Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "None of you should drink standing; and if any one forgets, he must vomit."

[Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who serves others with drinking water should be the last to drink himself."

[At-Tirmidhi] .

Once the time for As-Salat (the prayer) approached. Those whose houses were near, went to their houses (to perform Wudu') while some of the people remained with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). A stone (containing some water) bowl was brought for him. It was too small for him to spread his hand over it. He performed his Wudu' and it (the water) sufficed for all the others also. Anas was asked: "How many of you were present there?" He said: "Eighty or more."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. This is Al-Bukhari's version.

In Muslim's version "'that Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) called for a container of water so he was given a vessel that had some water.' Anas said 'Then I started looking at the water spouting from his fingers. Then I estimated (the persons) and they were between seventy and eighty.'"

The Prophet (ﷺ) visited us and we brought water for him in a brass vessel for his ablution and he performed ablution.

[Al- Bukhari] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) visited the house of a man of the Ansar with one of his Companions and said to him, "If you have some water in the water-skin left over from last night, give it to us for drinking; otherwise, we shall drink from some stream directly."

[Al- Bukhari] .

The Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited us from wearing brocade or silk and drinking out of gold or silver vessels and said, "These are meant for them (disbelievers) in this world and for you in the Hereafter."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who drinks from the vessel of silver kindles the Fire (of Hell) in his belly."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim] .

A narration in Muslim is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Surely, he who eats or drinks in gold and silver vessels fills his belly with Hell-fire."