Eating
The Sunnah Way
WRITTEN by. KERINA MOHAMMED
Islam as a complete way of life
teaches us the etiquette’s of eating
and drinking. The Prophet (SAS)
in his perfect example made a
point of developing remarkably
clean and healthy eating
habits,even among his followers.
He asked the companions to
wash their hands before and
after meals, to start and end their
meals with the praise of Allah, to
eat using the right hand, not to eat
until they really felt hungry and
not to eat and drink excessively.
Eating, like any other act of a
Muslim, is a matter of worship
when performed according to
Islamic guidelines.
The following are SOME of the
many habits regarding eating,
which had been practiced and
performed by the Prophet
Muhammad (SAS):
Do not criticize
Criticizing a meal, whether a
person dislikes the food or the
taste, is against the teachings
of the Prophet (SAS). Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) never
criticized any food that was
offered to him.
“The Prophet (SAS) never criticized
any food (he was invited to) but he
used to eat it if he liked the food,
and leave it if he disliked it.”– Sahih
Bukhari
Praying before each meal
Eating, like any other act of a
Muslim, is a matter of worship
and begins with the name of
Allah.
Muslims start their eating
by making the following
supplication:
“O Allah! Bless the food You have
bestowed upon us and protect us
from the torment of hell. In the
name of Allah we start.” (OR AT
LEAST SAY...Bismillah)– An-Nasa’i
Praying after each meal
Begin in the name of Allah and
praise and thank Allah for the
blessing that He bestowed upon
them upon finishing a meal, this
is the practice of our beloved
Prophet (SAS).
“Praise be to Allah the One Who gave
us the food and the drinks. Praise be
to Him Who made us Muslims.”(OR
AT LEAST SAY...Alhamdulillah)–
Tirmidhi & Abu Dawud
Eating less or just enough
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
emphasized the habit of eating
less as a method of preventing
sickness and disease. Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) said:
“Nothing is worse than a person
who fills his stomach. It should be
enough for the son of Adam to have
a few bites to satisfy his hunger. If
he wishes more, it should be: Onethird for his food, one-third for his
liquids, and one-third for his breath.”–
Tirmidhi & Ibn Majah
Eating slowly
Eating slowly is recommended
for health. Slow eating reduces
the consumption of food, as it
postpones much of the meal
to a time when the absorption
of nutrients begin to produce
physiological signals of satiety.
Slow eating helps in chewing
the food well. This results in the
exercise of the jaws and mixing
of the saliva with food. Hence,
efficient digestion takes place
because the food particles are cut
into smaller pieces, not requiring
as much churning in the stomach
or