32 Sunnahs And Manners Of Eating

1.      Food should not be consumed solely for its taste. One should intend, "I am eating this to gain strength to worship Allah."

2.      Eat less than one's hunger. If one were to eat to a full stomach, it is neither virtuous nor sinful, as there may be a goal behind doing so, such as gaining bodily strength.

Eating excessively (more than one's appetite) is haram. This is to consume food to the extent one strongly believes they shall fall ill.¹

The same applies to a healthy person eating food he believes shall most certainly make him ill, and an unwell person eating anything which bears high risk of worsening his illness; these are both haram actions.

3.      Eating less than one's appetite is an action full of benefit, as around 80% of illnesses come from eating to a packed full stomach. One should stop eating whilst still feeling slight hunger.

4.      Words are sometimes written on dining mats (for example, poetry or the name of any company etc.). Such dining mats should not be used, nor should meals be served on them.²

5.      Washing the hands up to the wrists before and after eating is sunnah.³

6.      The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Making wuḍū (washing both hands up to the wrists) before and after eating increases sustenance and drives Satan away."⁴

Reference:

1 Durr Mukhtār, vol. 9, p. 569
2 Bahār-e-Sharīʿat, vol. 3, p. 420
3 Fatāwā Hindiyyah, vol. 5, p. 337
4 Musnad al-Firdaws, vol. 2, p. 333, Hadith: 3501

7.      When eating, one should take off their shoes. The final Prophet ﷺ explained, "Remove your shoes when you begin eating, as this is a way of resting your feet."¹

8.      When eating, fold the left leg under your body and keep the right knee raised. One may also sit on their backside with both knees raised or sit on their shins.²

9.      Whether it be an Islamic brother or sister, one must use an additional shawl or their clothing to veil themselves (in particular, their body from the waist down).

10.  Do not place bowls of food upon bread.³

11.  Eating with an uncovered head is against good etiquette and causes one's sustenance to be constricted.

12.  It is disliked (makrūh) to eat whilst placing one's left hand on the floor and leaning upon it.⁴

13.  It is better to eat from earthen/clay bowls. The home in which earthen/clay bowls are made is visited by angels.⁵

14.  Angels descend if vegetables are present on the dining mat.⁶

Reference:

¹ Muʿjam Awsaṭ, vol. 2, p. 256, Hadith: 3202
² Iḥyā al-ʿUlūm, vol. 2, p. 5
³ Radd al-Muḥtār, vol. 9, p. 562
⁴ Bahār-e-Sharīʿat, vol. 3, p. 377
⁵ Radd al-Muḥtār, vol. 9, p. 566
⁶ Iḥyā al-ʿUlūm, vol. 2, p. 22

15.  Recite the following before eating. Even if the food or drink contains poison, it will not harm you إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه.

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الَّذِيْ لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِى الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِى السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْعَلِيْمُ¹

"Allah's name to commence with, by virtue of Whose name's blessing nothing from the earth or the skies can cause harm. O the One Who is alive on His own accord and is the preserver of (all) others."²

16.  If one forgets to recite بِسْمِ اللّٰه when beginning to eat, recite بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ أَوَّلَهُ وَآخِرَهُ during the meal. This means, "Allah's name I commence with and end with."

17.  Consume salt before and after eating, as this is sunnah and cures 70 diseases.³ Imam Aḥmad Razā Khān رحمة الله عليه explained that salty food can also be utilised for this end.⁴

18.  One should eat with their right hand. Eating, drinking, taking, and giving with the left hand is what Satan does. Many Islamic brothers eat with their right hand, but when they keep their left hand below their mouth, some crumbs fall onto it. They then use their left hand to put said crumbs into their mouth.

Reference:

¹ Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī: 3399 - 3829
² Musnad al-Firdaws, vol. 1, p. 282, Hadith: 1106
³ Radd al-Muḥtār, vol. 9, p. 562
⁴ Hayat-e-Ālā Hazrat, vol. 1, p. 107

Similarly, they use their left hand for picking and eating crumbs and food that have fallen onto the dining mat. They should move this from their left hand to their right before eating.

19.  Taking bread or flatbread/roti in one's left hand and breaking morsels from it with one's right, is an action which diminishes arrogance in an individual.¹ When you eat alone, get into the habit of breaking roti or bread etc. over the middle of the plate or container of food. In this way, crumbs or sesame seeds from the bread will fall into the plate. Otherwise, they may fall on the dining mat and go to waste.

20.  Eat with the thumb, index finger, and middle finger. This is the sunnah of the prophets. If grains of rice are separate and it is not possible to make a morsel with three fingers, you can eat with four or five fingers.

21.  Take small morsels and do not produce an audible chewing sound. Chew enough for the food to be broken apart properly. In this way, digestive saliva will also be mixed with it. If one swallows food without chewing enough, the stomach will have problems in digestion. This can lead to many diseases. The work of the teeth should not be done by one's intestines.

Reference:

¹ Fatāwā Razawiyyah, vol. 21, p. 669

22.  Recite يَاوَاحِدُ after every bite or two. This brings light into the stomach and removes diseases.

23.  After eating, first lick the middle finger clean, then the index finger, and then the thumb three times each. The final Prophet ﷺ would lick his blessed fingers three times after eating.¹

If the effect of food remains upon the fingers after licking them three times, one can do this more to remove said effect.

24.  Lick the vessel (bowl, plate, etc.) clean as well. A hadith mentions, "For the person who licks the bowl clean after eating, the bowl prays and says, 'May Allah free you from Hellfire, as you have freed me from Satan.'"²

According to another narration, the vessel prays for the person's forgiveness.³

Reference:

¹ Al-Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah, p. 96, Hadith: 133
² Jamʿ al-Jawāmiʿ, vol. 1, p. 347, Hadith: 2558
³ Sunan Ibn Mājah: 3271

25.  Imam Ghazālī رحمة الله عليه adds:

Whoever licks their bowl (or plate) clean (after eating) and drinks the water used to rinse it, earns the reward of freeing a slave. Eating crumbs and bits of food that have fallen serves as dowry for the Ḥūr of Paradise.¹

26.  The final Prophet ﷺ said, "He who takes fallen pieces of food and eats them lives a prosperous life. Well-being remains with his children."²

27.  After eating, one should pick and clean their teeth.

28.  Recite the following at the end of one's meal with ṣalāt upon the Prophet once before and after:

اَلْحَمْدُلِلّٰهِ الَّذِيْ أَطْعَمَنَا وَسَقَانَا وَجَعَلَنَا مُسْلِمِيْنَ

"All praise is for Allah, He Who fed us and gave us drink, and He Who made us Muslims."

29.  If someone feeds us, recite:

 اَللّٰهُمَّ أَطْعِمْ مَنْ أَطْعَمَنِيْ، وَاسْقِ مَنْ سَقَانِيْ

"O Allah! Feed whoever fed me and give drink to whoever gave drink to me."³

30.  Recite Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ and Sūrah Quraysh after eating.⁴

31.  Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and wipe them dry after eating.

Reference:

¹ Iḥyā al-ʿUlūm, vol. 2, p. 8
² Iḥyā al-ʿUlūm, vol. 2, p. 8
³ Al-Ḥaṣn al-Ḥaṣīn, p. 71
⁴ Iḥyā al-ʿUlūm, vol. 2, pp. 4-8

32.  Imam Ghazālī رحمة الله عليه writes, "Wuḍū (washing both hands up to the wrists) after eating keeps mental health conditions away."¹

صَلُّوا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Reference:

¹ Iḥyā al-ʿUlūm, vol. 2, pp. 4-8