Food, Meals

Muhammad ibn Kathir narrated to us: Sufyan informed us, from Mansur, from Abu Waʾil, from Abu Musa al-Ashʿari, may God be pleased with him, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: “Feed the hungry, visit the sick, and free the captive.” Sufyan said, “Al-ʿani means the captive.”

Yusuf ibn ʿIsa narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us, from his father, from Abu Hazim, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: “The family of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, never ate their fill of food for three days in succession until he passed away.”

From Abu Hazim, from Abu Hurayrah: I was struck by severe hardship, and I met ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab. I asked him to recite a verse from the Book of God. He went into his house and opened the door for me. I had gone only a short distance when I fell face-first from hardship and hunger. Then the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, was standing at my head and said, “Abu Hurayrah!” I said, “At your service, Messenger of God; I am ready to obey.” He took my hand and helped me stand. He recognized my condition and took me to his lodging. He ordered a large bowl of milk for me, and I drank from it. Then he said, “Drink again, Abu Hirr.” I drank again. Then he said, “Drink.” I drank again until my stomach was full and rounded like a cup. He said: I met ʿUmar and told him what had happened to me. I said, “God entrusted this matter to someone more entitled to it than you, ʿUmar. By God, I asked you to recite the verse, even though I know it better than you.” ʿUmar said, “By God, it would have been dearer to me to have brought you in than to possess red camels.”

ʿAli ibn ʿAbdullah informed us: Sufyan informed us: al-Walid ibn Kathir told me that he heard Wahb ibn Kaysan, who heard ʿUmar ibn Abi Salamah say: “When I was a boy under the care of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, my hand used to move around the serving dish. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me, ‘Boy, mention the name of God, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is nearest to you.’ That has remained my way of eating ever since.”

ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn ʿAbdullah narrated to me: Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to me, from Muhammad ibn ʿAmr ibn Halhalah al-Dayli, from Wahb ibn Kaysan Abu Nuʿaym, from ʿUmar ibn Abi Salamah—who was the son of Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him—who said: “One day I ate a meal with the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, and began eating from around the sides of the serving dish. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, told me to eat from what was nearest to me.”

ʿAbdullah ibn Yusuf informed us: Malik informed us, from Wahb ibn Kaysan Abu Nuʿaym, who said: Food was brought to the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, while his stepson ʿUmar ibn Abi Salamah was with him. He said, “Mention the name of God, and eat from what is nearest to you.”

Qutaybah narrated to us, from Malik, from Ishaq ibn Abi Talhah, who heard Anas ibn Malik say: A tailor invited the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, to a meal he had prepared. Anas said: I went with the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, and saw him selecting pieces of gourd from around the serving bowl. Anas said: From that day onward, I have continued to love gourd.

ʿAbdan narrated to us: ʿAbdullah informed us: Shuʿbah informed us, from Ashʿath, from his father, from Masruq, from ʿAʾishah, may God be pleased with her, who said: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, liked to begin with the right side whenever possible in his purification, putting on his sandals, and combing his hair.” Before this, at Wasit, he had said that this applied to all his affairs.

Ismaʿil narrated to us: He said: Malik narrated to me, from Ishaq ibn ʿAbdullah ibn Abi Talhah, who heard Anas ibn Malik say: Abu Talhah said to Umm Sulaym, “I have heard the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, speaking faintly; I recognize hunger in his voice. Do you have anything?” She brought out some barley rolls. Then she took one of her head coverings, wrapped part of it around the bread, tucked it beneath my garment, and tied the rest around me. Then she sent me to the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him. Anas said: I went with it and found the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, in the mosque with people around him. I stood before them, and the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me, “Did Abu Talhah send you?” I said, “Yes.” He asked, “With food?” I said, “Yes.” The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said to those with him, “Get up.” He set out, and I went ahead of them until I reached Abu Talhah. Abu Talhah said, “Umm Sulaym, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, has come with people, and we do not have enough food to feed them.” She said, “God and His Messenger know best.” Abu Talhah went out until he met the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him. Abu Talhah and the Messenger of God returned and entered. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Bring what you have, Umm Sulaym.” She brought that bread. He ordered that it be crumbled, and Umm Sulaym squeezed out some contents from a small skin container she had to make it a relish. Then the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said over it whatever God willed him to say. Then he said, “Let ten people in.” They were admitted and ate until they were full, then left. He then said, “Let ten people in.” They were admitted and ate until they were full, then left. He said again, “Let ten people in.” They were admitted and ate until they were full, then left. Then he admitted another ten. All the people ate and were full. There were eighty men.

Musa narrated to us: Muʿtamir narrated to us, from his father, who said: Abu ʿUthman also related from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, may God be pleased with them both, who said: We were with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and numbered one hundred and thirty. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked, “Does anyone among you have food?” A man had a saʿ of food or something like it, and it was kneaded. Then a tall, shaggy-haired polytheist came driving sheep. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked, “Are you selling them, or giving them as a gift?”—or he said, “as a donation.” The man said, “No, I am selling them.” So the Prophet bought a sheep from him, and it was prepared. The Prophet of God, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered that its liver be grilled. By God, there was not one of the one hundred and thirty to whom he did not cut off a portion of its liver. If a person was present, he gave it to him; if absent, he kept it for him. Then he placed the food in two large bowls. We all ate and were satisfied, and food remained in the two bowls. I carried it on the camel—or something to that effect.

Muslim narrated to us: Wuhaib narrated to us: Mansur narrated to us, from his mother, from ʿAʾishah, may God be pleased with her, who said: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, passed away when we had eaten our fill of the two dark foods: dates and water.”

ʿAli ibn ʿAbdullah narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us. Yahya ibn Saʿid said: I heard Bushayr ibn Yasar say: Suwayd ibn al-Nuʿman narrated to us: We went with the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, to Khaybar. When we reached al-Sahbaʾ—Yahya said, “It is about an afternoon’s journey from Khaybar”—the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, asked for food, but only sawiq was brought. We chewed it and ate some. Then he asked for water and rinsed his mouth, and we rinsed our mouths. He led us in the Maghrib prayer without performing ablution. Sufyan said: I heard him relate it repeatedly, from beginning to end.

Muhammad ibn Sinan narrated to us: Hammam narrated to us, from Qatadah, who said: We were with Anas, and he had his baker with him. He said, “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, never ate fine, thin bread or a whole scalded and roasted sheep until he passed away.”

ʿAli ibn ʿAbdullah narrated to us: Muʿadh ibn Hisham narrated to us. He said: My father narrated to me, from Yunus—ʿAli said, “He was the shoemaker”—from Qatadah, from Anas, may God be pleased with him, who said: “I do not know that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ever ate from a small dish, or that fine bread was ever baked for him, or that he ever ate at a table.” Qatadah was asked, “What did they eat from?” He said, “From leather dining spreads.”

Ibn Abi Maryam narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar informed us: Humayd told me that he heard Anas say: “When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, consummated his marriage with Safiyyah, I invited the Muslims to his wedding feast. He ordered leather mats to be spread, then dates, dried cheese, and clarified butter were placed on them.” ʿAmr related from Anas: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, consummated his marriage with her, then prepared hais on a leather mat.”

Muhammad narrated to us: Abu Muʿawiyah informed us: Hisham narrated to us, from his father and from Wahb ibn Kaysan, who said: The people of Syria used to taunt Ibn al-Zubayr, saying, “O son of the woman with the two waistbands!” Asmaʾ said to him, “My son, they taunt you about the two waistbands. Do you know what they were? It was just my waistband, which I tore into two pieces. With one piece I tied the mouth of the Messenger of God’s waterskin, peace and blessings be upon him, and with the other I made his provision bag.” He said: Whenever the people of Syria taunted him about the two waistbands, he would reply, “Indeed—by God! That is a reproach whose disgrace is far removed from you.”

Abu al-Nuʿman narrated to us: Abu ʿAwanah narrated to us, from Abu Bishr, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas, that Umm Hufayd bint al-Harith ibn Hazn—maternal aunt of Ibn ʿAbbas—gave the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, clarified butter, dried cheese, and desert lizards. He called for them, and they were eaten at his table. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, left them uneaten, as though he found them distasteful. Had they been forbidden, they would not have been eaten at the Prophet table, nor would he have ordered that they be eaten.

Sulayman ibn Harb narrated to us: Hammad narrated to us, from Yahya, from Bushayr ibn Yasar, from Suwayd ibn al-Nuʿman, who informed him that they were with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, at al-Sahbaʾ—about an afternoon journey from Khaybar—when the time for prayer came. He asked for food, but only sawiq was available. He chewed some, and we chewed some with him. Then he asked for water and rinsed his mouth. He prayed, and we prayed with him, without him performing ablution.

Muhammad ibn Muqatil Abu al-Hasan narrated to us: ʿAbdullah informed us: Yunus informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Abu Umamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf al-Ansari told me that Ibn ʿAbbas informed him that Khalid ibn al-Walid, who was called the Sword of God, told him: I entered with the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, upon Maymunah—she was his maternal aunt and the maternal aunt of Ibn ʿAbbas—and found a roasted desert lizard with her. Her sister, Hufaydah bint al-Harith, had brought it from Najd. She offered the lizard to the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him. He rarely reached for food until he had been told what it was and it had been named for him. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, reached his hand toward the lizard. One of the women present said, “Tell the Messenger of God what you have served him. It is a desert lizard, Messenger of God.” The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, withdrew his hand from the lizard. Khalid ibn al-Walid asked, “Is the desert lizard forbidden, Messenger of God?” He said, “No, but it is not found in the land of my people, so I find myself averse to it.” Khalid said: I drew it toward myself and ate it while the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, watched me.