Etiquette & Manners: Eating 

 

 

 

 

 

A Simple Guide 

For Instructing  

Little Muslims  

According to the  

Quraan & Sunnah 

(Insha Allah) 

 

 

 

 

 2006 Talibiddeen Jr. Press 

 

 

  

 

Introduction 

The most effective time to address eating etiquette is probably during eating.   However, it is good to review the etiquettes of eating on a regular basis at other times.  This “guide” is a resource, biithnillah that can be used to teach children the proper etiquette of eating, according to the Sunnah and Quran. It contains ahadith and ayaat to support the material presented, insha Allah.  In addition, some manners listed are not necessarily from the Quraan and Sunnah, but constitute “good manners” in many cultures, so I have included them as well. These manners are identifiable as they have no proof to accompany them.   Finally, I added in little bits and facts and simple activities to make this guide a little more engaging, insha Allah. 

 2006 Talibiddeen Jr. Press 

 

TableofContents 

  

    

 

a.
Saying Bismillah BeforeEating 
b.
What happens when you forgetto say Bismillah before eating 
c.
Whatto say when you forgetto say Bismillah before eating 
d.
Whatto say when drinking milk 

e. Whatto say afteryou eat 

 

  

    

 

a.
Eating from what is closestto you 
b.
Eating with your right hand 
c.
Eating with your fingers 
d.
Circulating water or milk in an assembly 
e.
Chewing with your mouth closed 
f.
Do nottalk and eat 
g.
Burping orsneezing while atthe eating area 
h.
Chewing your food well 
i.
Don’t stuff your mouth 
j.
Don’t slurp beverages or soup 
k.
Rinse your mouth after drinking milk 
l.
Do not overeat 
m.
Do not criticize your food 

n. Ifthe iqamah is called and your food is served   

 2006TalibiddeenJr.Press 

 

      

 

What do you saybeforeyou eat? 

 

 

 

 

 

 You say Bismillah. 

 

 NarratedBy'UmarbinAbiSalama IwasaboyunderthecareofAllah'sApostleandmyhandusedtogoaroundthedish whileIwaseating.SoAllah'sApostlesaidtome,'Oboy!MentiontheNameofAllahand eatwithyourrighthand,andeatofthedishwhatisnearertoyou."SincethenIhave appliedthoseinstructionswheneating.(Bukhari)

 

What happens if you don’t say Bismillah beforeyou eat?  The Shaytan eats with you. 

NarratedByUmayyahIbnMakhshi: Umayyahwassittingandamanwaseating.HedidnotmentionAllah'snameuntilthere remainedthelastmorsel.Whenheraisedittohismouth,hesaid:InthenameofAllahat thebeginningandattheendofit.TheProphet(sallaAllahualayhiwasallam)laughedand said:“Thedevilkepteatingalongwithhim,butwhenhementionedAllah'sname,he vomitedwhatwasinhisbelly.”(AbuDawud)

 

Jabirb.'AbdullahreportedAllah'sMessenger(maypeacebeuponhim)assaying:Whena personentershishouseandmentionsthenameofAllahatthetimeofenteringitandwhile eatingthefood,Satansays(addressinghimself:Youhavenoplacetospendthenightand noeveningmeal;butwhenheenterswithoutmentioningthenameofAllah,theSatan says:Youhavefoundaplacetospendthenight,andwhenhedoesnotmentionthename ofAllahwhileeatingfood,he(theSatan)says:Youhavefoundaplacetospendthenight andeveningmeal.(Muslim5006)

 
 

 2006TalibiddeenJr.Press 

 

What do you say when you forget to say Bismillah before you eat?  






Bismillahi Fee awwalihi wa akhrihi In the Name of Allah in its beginning and end.  (Abu Dawud)  

Narrated By Umayyah Ibn Makhshi: Umayyah was sitting and a man was eating. He did not mention Allah's name until there remained the last morsel. When he raised it to his mouth, he said: In the name of Allah at the beginning and at the end of it. The Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) kept eating along with him, but when he mentioned Allah's name, he vomited what was in his belly. (Abu Dawud)

 
 

What do you say before drinking milk? 
 
 
 
 

Allahumma barik lanaa feehee wa zidnaa minhu Oh Allah bless this for us and give us more of it. AtTirmidhi, Chapter 30, Hadith 2  

Ibn Abbas radiAllahu anhu says that after having something, Rasoolullah sal-Allâhu alayhi Wa sallam made duaa for something better than it. And after drinking milk he taught to make duaa for the increase of it, because Rasoolullah sal-Allâhu alayhi wa sallam said, there is nothing that serves Both as food and water excepting milk.

At-Tirmidhi, Chapter 30, Hadith 2 Extracted from “The Hadith Software”

What do you say after you eat?   

Narrated By Abu Umamah Whenever the dining sheet of the Prophet was taken away (i.e., whenever he finished his meal), he used to say: "Al-Hamdu lillah kathiran taiyiban mubarakan fihi ghaira makfiy wala muwada' wala mustaghna'anhu Rabbuna."(Bukhari)

 

Narrated By Abu Umamah Whenever the Prophet finished his meals (or when his dining sheet was taken away), he used to say. "Praise be to Allah Who has satisfied our needs and quenched our thirst. Your favor cannot by compensated or denied." Once he said, upraise be to You, O our Lord! Your favor cannot be compensated, nor can be left, nor can be dispensed with, O our Lord!"

Extra: What should we do with our dishes after eating? 

 2006 Talibiddeen Jr. Press 

 

   

   

 Some manners listed are not necessarily from the Sunnah, but are in accordance with not displeasing your eatingcompanions and also constitute “good manners” in many cultures. Manners which are known (to me)to be fromthe Sunnah and Quraan are followed by proof.  

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NarratedBy'UmarbinAlSalama WhowasthesonofUmSalama,thewifeoftheProphet: OnceIateamealwithAllah'sApostleandIwaseatingfromallsidesofthedish.SoAllah's Apostlesaidtome,"Eatofthedishwhatisnearertoyou."(Bukhari)

  

     

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NarratedBy'UmarbinAbiSalama

IwasaboyunderthecareofAllah'sApostleandmyhandusedtogoaroundthedish whileIwaseating.SoAllah'sApostlesaidtome,'Oboy!MentiontheNameofAllahand eatwithyourrighthand,andeatofthedishwhatisnearertoyou."SincethenIhave appliedthoseinstructionswheneating.(Bukhari)

   

 

Salim,ontheauthorityofhisfather,reportedAllah’sMessenger(sallaAllahualayhiwa sallam)assaying:“Noneofyoushouldeatwithhislefthandanddrinkwiththat(lefthand) fortheSataneatswithhislefthandanddrinkswiththathand.” (Muslim,5010)

 

 
  

        

     

                

        

                

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 2006TalibiddeenJr.Press 

I makeistinjaIeat

with my left hand with my right hand 

2006TalibiddeenJr.

 

Which Hand Do I Eat With? 

 2006 Talibiddeen Jr. Press 

 

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  AnasRadiAllahu'Anhusays:"RasulullahSallallahu'AlayhiWasallamusedtolickhis

  threefingersafterhavingeaten".

 

 

Commentary.

 

 ItwasthenoblehabitofRasulullahSallallahu'AlayhiWasallamtoeatwiththreefingers

  only.Althoughwefindinafewnarrationsthatheusedfivefingersalso.Inmostnarrations

 

thethreefingers;thumb,andmiddlefingersarementioned.Thebenefitofeatingwith

 

threefingersisthattheamounttaken(morsel)willbeless,andonewillnoteatmore.

 

ImamNawawisays:'Wegatherfromtheseahadiththatitismustahabtoeatwiththree  fingers'.Forthisreasonthefourthandfifthfingersshouldnotbeusedunnecessarily.Butif

  suchfoodiseaten,whereitisdifficulttouseonlythethreefingers,thenthereisnoharm

 

inusingmore.

 

 

At-Tirmidhi,Chapter23,DescriptionoftheEating,Hadith2

 Extractedfrom“TheHadithSoftware”

 

 


Eating with fingers vs. using utensils:

Knivesinprehistorictimeswereprimitivebladesofbronze,laterofiron.Earlyspoonsweresimpleshallowscoopsfashioned fromgourds,shells,orbolesofwood.Bothimplementswereusedsolelyasutensils;allfoodwaseatenwiththefingers. Microsoft® Encarta® 2006.

Cutlery 

UsingcutleryforeatingisaWesterncustom, whereaschopsticksarecommonlyusedinEasterncountries. 

Corbis/PeterHarholdt 

Microsoft®Encarta®2006. 

 2006TalibiddeenJr.Press 

 

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Anasb.MalikreportedthattherewasbroughttoAllah'sMessenger(maypeacebeupon him)acupofMILKmixedwithwater,whiletherewasonhisrightadesertArabandonhis leftAbuBakr.He(theHolyProphet)drank;hethengaveittothedesertArabandsaid: (Givetoone)whoisontheright,thenagainwhoisontheright.(Muslim5032)

 
 

 

 

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Talk aboutit:

 

 

Whyshouldwechewwithourmouth

  closed? 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 2006TalibiddeenJr.Press 

   

 

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Talk aboutit:

 

Whyisitagoodideanottotalk andeat atthesametime? 

  

  

 

 

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  to make a loud sucking sound while drinking or eating something. 

 

 

 

 

 

 
2006TalibiddeenJr.Press 


  

  

 

 

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NarratedByIbn'Abbas Allah'sApostledrankmilkandthenrinsedhismouthandsaid,"Itcontainsfat. (Bukhari)

 

Milk: opaque whitish or yellowish liquid secreted by the mammaryglandsof female mammals for their nourishment of theyoung.

Microsoft®Encarta®2006. How many animals can you name thatgive milk that humans drink? Haveyou ever drank milk from other animals besides a cow? What types of foods(products) can we makefrom milk?

Which ones areyourfavorites

 

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NarratedByIbn'Umar Allah'sApostlesaid,"Abelievereatsinoneintestine(issatisfiedwithalittlefood),anda kafir(unbeliever)orahypocriteeatsinsevenintestines(eatstoomuch)." (Bukhari)

 

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NarratedByAbuHuraira TheProphetnevercriticizedanyfood(hewasinvitedto)butheusedtoeatifhelikedthe food,andleaveitifhedislikedit.(Bukhari)

   

 

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NarratedbyAnasbinMalik TheProphetsaid,IfsupperisservedandtheIqamafor(Isha)prayerisproclaimed,start withyousupperfirst."(Bukhari)

 2006TalibiddeenJr.Press 

   What other manners or customs do you have in your household? Use the space below to record them so that you can review them regularly, insha Allah. 

 

 

 

Tips: 

Whenever you see your child not practicing acceptable eating manners, try to remind him or her gently by:  Asking a question (e.g. What hand do we eat with?) 

 Quoting a hadith or ayaat 

THE END 

 

 

‘How perfect You are O Allah, and I praise You. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.’

 2006 Talibiddeen Jr. Press