WASHING THE HANDS BEFORE AND AFTER THE MEAL

• “Whoever wishes goodness and richness of his home to increase should wash his hands before and after the meal.” (Ibn Majah)
• The benediction of meal is washing the hands before and after the meal. (Abu Dawud)

BASMALA IS RECITED BEFORE STARTING TO EAT

• Whoever eats something should recite Basmala (In the name of God). If he forgets reciting it at the beginning, he should say, "Bismillah at the beginning and at the end" when he remembers. (Abu Dawud)
   
• Hz Aisha (RA) narrates: “The apostle of God (PBUH) was eating with six people from his Companions. Then, a bedouin came. Without reciting Basmala, he ate all of the food in the blink of an eye. Upon this, the apostle of God said: “If this man were to recite Basmala, the food would be enough for all of us.” (Tirmidhi)
   
• If a person utters the name of GOD when entering home upon his return and eating food, Satan says to his friends: “You will have neither sleep nor supper here!” However, if the person utters the name of GOD when entering the house but does not utter before eating the supper, Satan says to his friends: “You will have supper but it is not possible for you to spend the night here. When the man does not utter the name of GOD by reciting “Bismillah!” before entering home and eating, Satan says to his friends: “You will be able to have supper and sleep here at night.” (Muslim)  
   
• Umayya Ibn Makhshiyy (RA) narrates: The apostle of God was sitting (PBUH) near a man who was eating without having recited Basmala. He had finished eating the food except one more morsel. As he was about to put it into his mouth, he said “Bismillah at the beginning and at the end”. Upon this, the apostle of God (PBUH) smiled and said: “Satan continued eating with him. When he uttered the name of GOD,  Satan vomited all of the content of his stomach.” (Abu Dawud)

ONE SHOULD WAIT FOR A WHILE IF THE FOOD IS HOT

• The apostle of God (PBUH) did not like the food to be eaten before its vapor vanished (Ramuz al-Ahadith)
• Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrates: “One day a very hot food was put in front of the apostle of God. The apostle of God (PBUH) said “Almighty God (SWT) did not order us to eat fire.” (Mawahib al-Ladunniyya)

THE FOOD IS EATEN BY SITTING

• When Anas (RA) said: “The apostle of God (PBUH) forbade drinking anything while standing, then he was asked: “What about eating?” He answered: “This is more severely forbidden.” (Muslim)

IT IS NOT PERMISSIBLE TO EAT WHILE LEANING AGAINST SOMEWHERE

• I do not eat while leaning against somewhere. (Bukhari)
• The way of sitting of the prophet while eating was as follows; he used to sit on his knees or on one knee (ready to jump to his feet) and said: “I am only a slave of God. I eat and sit just like a slave of God. (Imam Bazzar)

EATING SHOULD START WITH FRUITS LIKE MELON-WATER MELON

• It is healthy to eat fruits like melon-water melon before the meal. This cures many illnesses. (Ramuz al-Ahadith)

SHOES ARE TAKEN OFF DURING THE MEAL

• Take off your shoes during the meal because this is a nice Sunnah. (Ramuz al-Ahadith)

THE FOOD IS EATEN WITH THE RIGHT HAND

• Each one of you should eat with the right hand, drink with the right hand, take with the right hand, and give with the right hand. Satan eats and drinks with his left hand, gives with his left hand and takes with his left hand. (Ibn Majah)

EVERYONE SHOULD EAT WHAT IS IN FRONT OF HIM NOT FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE DISH

• Recite “Bismillah” and eat from the side of the plate which is closer to you, leave the middle. Abundance  stands in the middle. (Ibn Majah)
• When the table is set, everyone should eat what is front of it. Nobody should eat from his friend’s side. (Ibn Majah)
• Umar Ibn Ebi Salama (RA) narrates: “I was under the discipline of the apostle of God. (PBUH) During the meal, my hand was at any corner of the food plate. The apostle of God warned me: “O son, recite the name of God, use your right hand and eat what is in front of you!” After that, I always ate like that.” (Bukhari)
• Iqrash Ibn Dhuayb (RA) narrates: a tray that contained small pieces of casseroled meat was brought to us. We got closer in order to eat from it. I ate from every part of the tray. The Apostle of God (PBUH) ate from the part in front of him. Then he grasped my right hand with his left hand and said: O Iqrass! Eat from only one side because the food inside the tray is only one type”. Then a dish that contained fresh and dried dates was brought to us. This time I started to eat from the part in front of me. The hand of the apostle of God (PBUH) was over every side of the dish. He said to me: “O Iqrash! Eat from wherever you wish because the type of food inside the dish is not the same type. (Tirmidhi)

GRAINY FOOD IS EATEN ONE BY ONE

• Abdullah Ibn Umar (RA) narrates: “The apostle of God (PBUH) forbade eating two dates together without getting permission from his friend.” (Bukhari)

NO FOOD SHOULD BE REMAINED ON A DISH

• Satan keeps an eye on man on every occasion even while eating.
• No one should leave the dining table until he cleans his dish completely because abundance is at the end of the food. (Muslim)

LEAVING THE TABLE BEFORE EVERYONE IS FULL IS NOT PERMISSIBLE

• When the dining table is set, no one should leave it until it is removed. Even if one is full, the people who are at the dining table should continue eating before everyone stops Because when a person leaves the table, he embarrasses his friend and as a result he stops eating. In fact, he needs to eat more.

THE LEFTOVER REMAINED AMONG TEETH

• Whoever eats and takes the crumbs of food out of his mouth with something like wooden toothpick should throw it outside. Whoever takes the crumbs of food with his tongue should eat it. Whoever follows what I say is considered to have done a good deed. However,  there is no harm for whoever does not do what I said. (Abu Dawud)

DHIKR AND PRAYER AFTER MEALS

• Digest your meals by mentioning the names of ALLAH and performing prayers. Do not sleep immediately after eating; your hearts will get hardened. (Ramuz al-Ahadith)

IT IS DEFINITELY NECESSARY TO EAT DINNER

• Have dinner even if you eat a handful of dates because not having dinner (the meal in the evening) makes people older. (Bukhari)

HAVE DINNER BEFORE THE PRAYER 

• If dinner is ready at the time of evening prayer, eat dinner first. (Bukhari)

HE WAS NOT CHOOSY ABOUT FOOD

• Hz. Aisha (ra) narrates: "Hz. Prophet (pbuh) never ate until his stomach was completely full. He never said, "I want you to prepare this or that dish" to his family. We have never heard him say, "Bring me food. I feel like eating this or that." He ate whatever he was given; he would never reject the food or drink given to him." (Mawahib al- Ladunniyya)
• Abu Hurayra (ra) narrates: "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) never said anything bad about food; if he liked the food, he ate it; if he did not like it, he did not eat it but did not say anything." (Bukhari)

THE FOOD PREPARED FOR TWO PEOPLE WILL BE ENOUGH FOR THREE PEOPLE 

• It is certain that the food prepared for one person is enough for two people; the food prepared for two people is enough for three people. The food prepared for four people is enough for five or six people. (Ibn Majah)

ALLAH LIKES THE MEAL THAT IS EATEN TOGETHER BY SEVERAL PEOPLE

• The meal that ALLAH likes best is the one eaten with a lot of people. (Abu Yala)
• Shall I inform you about the worst ones among you? They are those who eat alone, beat their servants and avoid helping people.(Razin)
• Wahshi Ibn Harb (ra) narrates: "The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, 'O Messenger of Allah! We eat but we do not feel full.' Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said 'Do you eat alone?' they said, 'Yes! O Messenger of Allah!' the Messenger of Allah said, "Come together and eat together. Start eating by mentioning the name of ALLAH. If you do so, your food will be abundant for you.'" (Dawud)

IT IS EXTRAVAGANCE TO EAT WHATEVER ONE DESIRES

• It is extravagance to eat whatever one desires. (Ibn Majah)
• Eat and drink unless you commit conceit and extravagance, and help the poor. (Nasai)

DO NOT EAT AT A TABLE WHERE ALCOHOLIC DRINKS ARE PRESENT

• A person who believes in ALLAH and the Day of Judgment must not drink alcohol. A person who believes in ALLAH and the Day of Judgment must not sit at a tablewhere alcoholic drinks are present. (Tabarani)

THE WORST MEAL (FEAST) IS THE ONE TO WHICH ONLY THE RICH ARE INVITED

• The worst meal (feast) is the one to which only the rich are invited but the poor are not invited. If a person does not attend a meal that he is invited to, he is regarded to have disobeyed ALLAH and His messenger. In another narration, the following is stated: The worst meal is the one where nothing is served to those who come and those who will not come are invited. (Bukhari)

IT IS PERMISSIBLE TO MAKE WUDU AND EAT WHEN ONE IS JUNUB

• Umm Salama (ra) narrates: "When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was junub, he would not eat anything before making wudu." (Bukhari)

DO NOT SAY I AM FULL OUT OF KINDNESS WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY

• Asma Bint Yazid (ra) narrates: "The Messenger of Allah was sent some food. We were asked to eat. We said, "We have no appetite." He said, "Do not combine hunger with lying." (Ibn Majah)
• Asma Bint Yazid (ra) narrates "O Messenger of Allah! When one says I do not want it though he wants it, is it regarded as a lie?" He said, "A lie is recorded as a lie and a small lie is recorded as a small lie." (Ahmad b. Hanbal)

IT IS NECESSARY TO GIVE SOME FOOD TO THE PERSON WHO COOKS AND SERVES

• When your servant brings you some food that he/she has prepared, invite him/her to eat together. If you do not do so, give him/her a piece from the food. (Ibn Majah)

IT IS NECESSARY TO INVITE AT LEAST ONE ORPHAN TO A FEAST

• If there is no orphan present among those who are invited to a feast, Satan will approach that table, and that meal will not be blessed. (Tabarani)

IT IS NECESSARY TO EAT LITTLE 

• When a person decreases the food he eats, he will be full of light. (Ramuz al-Ahadith)
• Man cannot fill a worse container than his stomach. A few morsels are enough for man to stand on his feet. However, if he cannot control his soul and fills his stomach, he should allocate his stomach to three things: one third of it to food, one third to water and one third to breathing. (Tirmidhi)

DO NOT MAKE OTHERS EAT THE FOOD THAT YOU DO NOT LIKE

• Do not make others eat the food that you do not like. (Tabarani)

START SERVING PEOPLE FROM THE RIGHT

• The priority belongs to the person on the right. Then, it is necessary to go on with the person on his right. (Bukhari)

IMPORTANCE OF SALT

• The best thing to be eaten together with bread is salt. (Ibn Majah)

HALVA AND HONEY

• Hz. Aisha (ra) said, "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) liked halva and honey." (Tirmidhi)

OLIVE OIL

• Eat olive oil and apply it on your body. It comes from a blessed tree. (Tirmidhi)

MEAT IS THE BEST FOOD

• The best food of the people of the world and Paradise is meat. (Ibn Majah)
• Abu'd Darda (ra) narrates: "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) always attended the feasts and dinners that he was invited to. When he was given some meat as a present, he always accepted it." (Ibn Majah)
• Abu Hurayra (ra) narrates: "The Messenger of Allah was sent a piece of meat. He was given the thigh part of it. He liked thigh." (Tirmidhi)
• The best part of an animal's flesh is the sirloin. (Ibn Majah)
• When you buy meat, add a bit more water than it is necessary. When there are a lot of people, the gravy will be enough for those who cannot find meat. Gravy is one of the two kinds of meat.(Tirmidhi)

ONION AND GARLIC

• "A person who has eaten garlic or onion should keep away from us or the mosque; he should stay at home." (Bukhari)
• Sometimes, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was brought a dish containing green vegetables; when he smelt something like onion, garlic, etc, he would ask what was in it. When he was informed what vegetables it contained, he would give it to one of his Companions.  When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) saw that he hesitated to eat, he would say, "You can eat it. I do not eat it because I talk to angels." (Bukhari)

RESPECT TO BREAD

• Hz. Aisha (ra) narrates: "Once the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) entered my room. He saw a piece of bread on the ground. He immediately picked it; then, he wiped it and ate it. He said to me, "O Aisha! Show respect to the respectable. If bread hates a nation and runs away from, it never returns." (Ibn Majah)

WHOLEWHEAT BREAD

• Umm Ayman (ra) narrates: "I sifted some flour and made bread for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). When he saw the bran and flour separately, he said, "Add the bran that you sifted to the flour, and knead them together. Make bread like that." (Ibn Majah)

QUINCE AND HEART

• Quince comforts the heart. (Ibn Majah)

VINEGAR EATEN TOGETHER WITH BREAD

• Jabir ibn Abdullah (ra) narrates: “the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked his family for something to eat together with bread. They said, “We have nothing but vinegar.” He told them to bring the vinegar. Then, he started to dip the bread into vinegar and eat it. While he was eating, he said, "Vinegar is such a nice thing to eat with bread. Vinegar is such a nice thing to eat with bread.” (Muslim)

DATES EATEN TOGETHER WITH BREAD

• A house in which there are no dry dates is like a house without any food. (Ibn Majah)
• Hz. Aisha (ra) narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ate melon together with fresh dates and said, "We balance the hotness of this with the coolness of that and we balance the coolness of this with the hotness of that." (Tirmidhi)
• Abdullah Ibn Jafar (ra) narrates: "I saw the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) eating cucumber with fresh dates." (Bukhari)
• Yusuf Ibn Abdullah (ra) narrates: "The Messenger of Allah picked a piece of barley bread and put a date on it. Then, he said, “Dates can be eaten together with barley bread." (Abu Dawud)
• Eat fresh dates together with dry dates. Eat old dates together with new dates. Satan gets angry when you do so. He says, "Man lived long enough to eat old dates together with new dates." (Ibn Majah)

PRAYER TO BE SAID WHILE EATING EARLY GROWN FRUITS  

• Abu Hurayra (ra) narrates: "When the Messenger of Allah was brought the first fruit of the season, he would pray as follows: "O ALLAH! Make Madinah blessed for us; make the scales with which we weigh our fruits blessed for us and increase them." After this prayer, he would give the fruit to the youngest child who was there." (Muslim)

PRAYER TO BE SAID WHILE DRINKING MILK

• When ALLAH makes you eat something, say, "O Lord! Make this food blessed for us and make us eat better food than this."When you drink milk, say, "O Lord! Make this milk blessed for us and increase it." "No food other than milk can replace both a meal and water." (Nasai)

 PRAYER TO BE SAID AFTER MEALS

• Praise be to ALLAH, who makes us eat but is not eaten. He gave us guidance out of his grace and generosity. He made us eat and drink. He made us do righteous deeds. Praise be to ALLAH, who made us eat and drink, clothed us when were naked, guided us when we were in the wrong way, made us see and made us superior to many creatures. Praise be to ALLAH, the Lord of the Realms." (Nasai)
• Praise be to ALLAH, who gave us food and drink and who made us Muslims. (Tirmidhi)

PRAYER TO BE SAID FOR THE OWNER OF THE MEAL 

• O Allah! Increase their goods. Give them abundant sustenance. Forgive them and show mercy on them. (Nasai)
• Anas Ibn Malik (ra) narrates: "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ate bread and olive oil in the house of Sa'd ibn Ubada. After eating, he prayed as follows: "May fasting people eat with you. May good people eat your food. May angels pray for you." (Abu Dawud)
• Jabir Ibn Abdullah (ra) narrates: "Abu'l Haytham (ra) prepared a meal and invited the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). After eating the meal, Hz. Prophet said, "Reward your brother" The Companions asked, "How shall we reward him?" the Prophet said, "When you enter someone's house and eat there, pray for the host. This is his reward." (Abu Dawud)

FEELING ASHAMED OF WHAT ONE GIVES TO THE GUESTS AND DESPISING WHAT THE HOST GIVES CAUSE DESTRUCTION

• When a host regards that what he serves his guests is worthless and when the guests despise what is served to them, it causes their destruction. (Ahmad b. Hanbal)
• It is enough for evil for a person to dislike what is served to him. (Imam Mundhiri)