Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “When any of you eats he should eat with his right hand, and when he drinks he should drink with his right hand.” Muslim transmitted it.

Jabir said the Prophet ordered people to lick their fingers and the dish, saying, “You do not know in what portion blessing lies.” Muslim transmitted it.

Jabir told of hearing God's messenger say, “One person’s food is enough for two, two persons’ food is enough for four, and four persons' food is enough for eight.” Muslim transmitted it.

Anas told that he saw the Prophet squatting and eating dates. A version says he was eating some quickly. Muslim transmitted it.

‘A’isha reported God’s messenger as saying, "The 'ajwa dates of al-‘Aliya* contain healing, and they are an antidote first thing in the morning." *A name applied to some villages a few miles east of Medina.Muslim transmitted it.

She said that sometimes a month would come in which they did not kindle a fire, [For cooking] having only dates and water, unless a little meat was brought. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Ayyub said that when food was brought to the Prophet he ate some of it and sent him what was left over. One day when he sent him a dish from which he had eaten nothing because it contained garlic, he asked him whether it was unlawful and he replied, “No; but I dislike it because of its odour;” so he said, “I dislike what you dislike." Muslim transmitted it.

Jabir reported the Prophet as saying, “He who eats garlic or onions must keep away from us.” Or he said, “must keep away from our mosque,” or, “must sit in his house.” A pot containing green vegetables was brought to the Prophet, but on noticing that it had an odour he told them to give it to one of his Companions, to whom he said, "Eat, for I hold intimate converse with one with whom you do not."**The reference is here said to be to angels, or particularly to Gabriel. Cf. Mirqat, iv, 373(Bukhari and Muslim.)

Umayya b. Makhshi told that a man who was eating and had not mentioned God’s name said when he raised the last morsel to his mouth, “In the name of God at the beginning and at the end of it.” The Prophet laughed and said, “The devil kept eating along with him, but when he mentioned God’s name he vomited what was in his belly.”Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Salman said he read in the Torah that the blessing of food consists in ablution after it, and when he mentioned that to the Prophet he said, “The blessing of food consists in ablution before it and ablution after it.” Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbas told that the Prophet was brought a dish containing tharid* and said, “Eat from its sides and not from the middle, for the blessing descends in the middle of it.” *Bread crumbled and mixed with soup which may have pieces of meat in it.Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a hasan sahih tradition. In Abu Dawud’s version he said, “When one of you eats he must not eat from the top of the dish, but from the bottom, for the blessing descends from the top of it.”

“Abdallah b. 'Amr said God’s messenger was never seen reclining while eating, nor walking with two men at his heels. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abu Huraira told that God’s messenger was brought some meat, and when the foreleg, which was a part he liked, was offered to him he took a bite of it. Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Anas said God’s messenger liked what was at the bottom of the pot.* *Mirqat, iv, 381 has quite a long discussion of the meaning of thufl. It means 'dregs', or 'what sinks to the bottom'. The preference for the meaning in the translation above is said to "be either because what is in the bottom of the pot is cooked longer and so is better than the rest, or because the Prophet liked others to be served first. It is also suggested that here thufl means tharid.Tirmidhi and Baihaqi, in Shu'ab al-iman, transmitted it.

Yusuf b. ‘Abdallah b. Salam said he saw the Prophet take a piece of barley bread and put a date on it. Saying, “This is the condiment of this,” he ate it. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

‘A’isha said the Prophet used to eat melon with fresh dates.Tirmidhi transmitted it. Abu Dawud added that he used to say, “The heat of the one is broken by the coolness of the other, and the coolness of the one by the heat of the other.” Tirmidhi said this is a hasan gharib tradition.

Anas told that when the Prophet was brought some old dates he began to examine them and remove the worms from them. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

‘A'isha told that God’s messenger wanted to buy a young slave, so he threw some dates in front of him, but when the youth ate greedily he said, “Voracious eating is ominous,” and ordered him to be sent back.Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu‘ab al-iman.

Abu Huraira told that when God’s messenger went out one day, or night, he met Abu Bakr and 'Umar and asked them what had brought them out of their houses at that hour. When they replied that it was hunger he said, "It is the same with me. By Him in whose hand my soul is, what has brought you out has brought me out. Get up." They got up and went with him to a man of the Ansar, but he was not at home. When his wife saw him she gave a hearty welcome and God’s messenger asked her where so and so had gone, to which she replied that he had gone to get them some fresh water. At that moment the Ansari appeared, and seeing God’s messenger and his two companions he said, "Praise be to God! No one has more honourable guests to-day than I." He then went and brought them a bunch containing ripening dates, dried dates and fresh dates, and telling them to eat some of that he took his knife. God’s messenger having warned him not to kill an animal which was giving milk, he killed a sheep for them; and after they had eaten of it and of the bunch and drunk to their satisfaction God’s messenger said to Abu Bakr and 'Umar, "By Him in whose hand my soul is, you 1 will be questioned about this bounty on the day of resurrection. Hunger brought you out of your houses, then you did not return till this bounty came to you." 1. It it noteworthy that the second person pronouns in this and the following sentence are plural although two people are addressed.Muslim transmitted it. Abu Mas'ud’s tradition, "One of the Ansar..." has been mentioned in the chapter on the wedding-feast. 22. See p. 684.

Al-Miqdam b. Ma'dikarib heard the Prophet say, "If any Muslim is a guest of people and is given nothing, it is the duty of every Muslim to help him to the extent of taking for him from their property and crops the amount of entertainment he should have received."Darimi and Abu Dawud transmitted it. A version by the latter has, "If anyone is a guest of people who provide no hospitality for him, he is entitled to take from them the equivalent of the hospitality due him."