The Book About the Etiquette of Eating

I saw Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) eating some dates while sitting on his buttocks, with his legs raised.[Muslim].

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

I saw Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) eating with three fingers (i.e., the thumb, the index finger and the middle finger) and licking them after having finished the food.[Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded the licking of fingers and the gleaning of the dish, saying, "You do not know in which portion the blessing lies."[Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When a morsel of any of you falls, he should pick it up and remove any of the dirt on it and then eat it, and should not leave it for Satan nor should wipe his hand with towel until he has licked his fingers, for he does not know in what portion of the food the blessing lies."[Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Satan appears at every thing done by you; he appears even at one's dinner. When a morsel of any of you falls, he should pick it up and remove any dirt on it, and then eat it. He should not leave it for Satan, nor should he wipe his hand with the towel until he has licked his fingers, for he does not know in what portion of the food the blessing lies."[Muslim].

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ate food, he would lick his three fingers and say, "If anyone of you drops a morsel of food, he should remove any dirt that may have stuck on it and then eat it, and should not leave it for Satan." He (ﷺ) also commanded us that we should glean the pot, saying, "You do not know in which part of your food the blessings lies."[Muslim].

I asked Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) whether it was obligatory to make Wudu' for Salat (prayer) after eating cooked food. He said: "No, because in the lifetime of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), such food was rarely available. We had no handkerchiefs, so when we ate such food we would wipe our fingers against our palms, forearms or (the sole of our) feet, and would offer Salat without fresh Wudu' (for prayer)."[Al- Bukhari].

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The food of one person suffices for two, the food of two persons suffices for four persons, and the food of four persons suffices for eight persons."[Muslim].

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Do not drink in one gulp like a camel, but in two or three (gulps). Mention the Name of Allah (i.e., say Bismillah) when you start drinking and praise Him (i.e., say Al-hamdu lillah) after you have finished (drinking)."[At- Tirmidhi].

The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade breathing into the vessel while drinking.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Milk mixed with water was brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). On his right side was sitting a bedouin and on his left was sitting Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him). He (ﷺ) drank from it and handed the rest to the bedouin saying, "One who is on the right has preference, then again the one who is on the right."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

A drink was brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he drank (some) from it. On his right was a boy and on his left were some elderly people. He (ﷺ) said to the boy, "Would you permit me to give rest of this drink to these on my left?" The boy said: "O Messenger of Allah, I would certainly not give preference to anyone in anything that might come to me from you." So he (ﷺ) handed over the rest of the drink to him.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited drinking directly out of the mouth of a water- skin.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

An-Nawawi said that the reason why she did this was to preserve the part of the water-skin which the lips of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) touched, gain blessings from it, and preserve it from dishonor. This narration is understood to show permissibility whereas the previous two narrations are to show what is better and closer to perfection. Allah knows best.

[At-Tirmidhi].

The Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited us from breathing into the drinking vessel or blowing in it.[At-Tirmidhi].