Part of Al-Shama'il Al-Muhammadiyah (the series is completed)
· Lesson 14 of 40
Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiya | Episode (14) | Chapter on what was mentioned regarding the description of the Messenger of God’s food, peace and blessings of God be upon him, and the recipe for his bread
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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With pens of longing,
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And the ink of love,
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We record lines more precious than gold,
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Describing the master of all creation,
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Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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The Prophetic characteristics (Shama'il).
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Chapter: On the manner of the Messenger of Allah’s (peace be upon him) eating.
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On the authority of Ka'b Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him),
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That the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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Used to lick his three fingers.
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On the authority of Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Prophet (peace be upon him),
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When he ate food,
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Would lick his three fingers.
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On the authority of Ka'b Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to eat with his three fingers and then lick them.
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The first hadith states that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to lick his three fingers.
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This narration is considered anomalous (shadh), which is why al-Tirmidhi commented on it, saying:
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"Other than Muhammad Ibn Bashar, they narrated this hadith as 'he would lick his three fingers.'"
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This is the preserved and established narration, which is supported by the second and third hadiths in this chapter.
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These hadiths contain some of the etiquette of eating, including eating with three fingers.
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These three fingers are not explicitly named, but they are understood to be the thumb, the index finger, and the middle finger.
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This is among the recommended etiquettes of eating, and eating with three fingers is appropriate for solid food
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That the eater can grasp with three fingers.
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However, if the food is scattered, such as rice, for example,
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There is no harm in eating it with four or five fingers if the need arises.
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Another etiquette of eating is to lick the fingers only after completely finishing the meal, not during it,
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Because it might cause discomfort to those eating with him.
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The wisdom behind this is to seek the blessing (barakah) of the food.
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For the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
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"If a morsel of food falls from one of you, let him pick it up,
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Remove any harm from it, and eat it,
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And not leave it for the devil."
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And he should not wipe his hand with a napkin until he has licked his fingers,
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For he does not know in which part of his food the blessing lies.
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The Prophet (peace be upon him) also commanded us to wipe the bowl clean,
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Meaning we should eat what remains in it, seeking the blessing.
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Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"Its meaning, and Allah knows best, is that the food a person is provided with contains blessing,
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And he does not know if that blessing is in what he has already eaten,
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Or in what remains on his fingers,
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Or in what remains at the bottom of the bowl,
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Or in the morsel that fell."
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Therefore, one should preserve all of this to attain the blessing.
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The essence of blessing (barakah)
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Is increase, the persistence of goodness, and the ability to benefit from it.
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What is intended here, and Allah knows best, is what results in nourishment,
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Ensuring the outcome is free from harm,
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And providing strength for the obedience of Allah the Almighty, and so on.
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The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
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"When one of you eats food,
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Let him not wipe his hand until he has licked it or had it licked."
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Agreed upon.
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Its meaning, and Allah knows best, is:
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Do not wipe your hand until you have licked it.
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If he does not do so himself,
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Let it be licked by someone who would not be repulsed by it,
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Such as a wife, a servant, or a child,
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Who love him and would not be repulsed by it.
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The hadith indicates the permissibility of wiping the hand with a napkin,
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But the Sunnah is for this to be done after licking it.
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On the authority of Mus'ab Ibn Sulaym, who said:
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I heard Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) say:
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Dates were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
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And I saw him eating while sitting on his haunches (iq'a') due to hunger.
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This hadith is recorded by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad with the wording:
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"Dates were gifted to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
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And he began distributing them from a single basket,
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And I was his messenger for it."
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He said: "He began to eat while sitting on his haunches, eating ravenously,
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And I recognized the hunger in his eating."
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The Prophet (peace be upon him) was suffering from severe hunger,
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Yet when dates were gifted to him,
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He did not begin with himself,
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Rather, he began to distribute them.
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He would send Anas, his servant, with the dates,
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And he would go to a needy person and give them to him,
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Then return, and he would go with a similar amount to another,
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And he repeated this until the Prophet (peace be upon him) had finished distributing the dates to the needy.
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Then, the Prophet (peace be upon him) ate.
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His saying, "while sitting on his haunches due to hunger,"
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Iq'a' is sitting on the buttocks without being firmly settled.
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It is mentioned in some narrations:
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"While alert (mutahaffiz)" instead of "while sitting on his haunches."
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The "mutahaffiz" is one who sits as if ready to stand up.
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Chapter: On the description of the bread of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
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On the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
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The family of Muhammad (peace be upon him) never ate their fill of barley bread for two consecutive days
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Until the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away.
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In this hadith, the Mother of the Believers, 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), informs us—
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She who lived her life in the house of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
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And is among those most knowledgeable about his food—
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That barley bread, which satiates a person,
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Was not found in the house of the Prophet (peace be upon him) for two consecutive days
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Until he departed from this world.
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On the authority of Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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There was never any barley bread left over from the household of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
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On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would spend consecutive nights
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Hungry, he and his family, finding no dinner.
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And their most common bread was barley bread.
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These two hadiths clarify the scarcity of food in the household of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
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As there was never anything left over from it;
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Rather, it was not even enough to satisfy them, let alone have anything left over.
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The meaning of "yafdul" is to have a surplus.
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would spend consecutive nights hungry,
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Meaning empty-stomached, he and his family, finding no dinner.
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On the authority of Sahl Ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him), it was said to him:
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"Did the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) eat fine flour (naqi)?"—meaning white flour (hawari).
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Sahl replied:
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"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) never saw fine flour until he met Allah the Almighty."
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It was said to him: "Did you have sieves during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?"
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He said: "We had no sieves."
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It was said: "How did you prepare the barley?"
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He said: "We would blow on it, and whatever flew away would fly away, then we would knead it."
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In this hadith, Sahl Ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked
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Whether the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ate fine flour,
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Meaning bread made of clean, white flour.
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"Hawari" is that which is sifted again and again until it becomes clean, pure white.
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He (may Allah be pleased with him) answered with a response that contained hyperbole,
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Saying that he never even saw fine flour, let alone eat it.
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This was throughout his life (peace be upon him) until he met Allah the Almighty.
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It was said to him: "Did you have sieves?"
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It is mentioned in a narration of al-Bukhari:
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"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) never saw a sieve
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From the time Allah sent him until he passed away."
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It was said to him: "How did you prepare the barley?"
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Meaning, how did you eat barley that was not sifted?
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Barley was specified in the question because it contains parts
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That, when baked, are difficult to chew,
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Unlike when it is sifted, as it becomes lighter and easier.
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He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We would blow on it,"
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Meaning we would blow away the chaff after grinding it, with our hands or our mouths,
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And whatever flew away would fly away, then we would knead it.
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It is mentioned in a narration: "Then we would moisten it (nathrihi),"
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Meaning we would pour water on it until it became moist and soft,
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Then we would knead it and eat it.
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From Yunus, from Qatadah,
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From Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) never ate on a table (khwan),
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Nor from a small dish (sukrujah),
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Nor was thin bread made for him.
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He said: "So I said to Qatadah,
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'On what did they eat?'"
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He said: "On these leather mats (sufar)."
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In this hadith,
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Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) informs us
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That the Prophet (peace be upon him),
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Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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Never ate on a table.
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The "khwan" is like a small table raised off the ground,
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Upon which food is placed,
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Which might be made of wood or similar material.
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His saying: "Nor from a small dish,"
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The "sukrujah"
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Is a small vessel in which a bit of condiment or similar items are placed,
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Or pickles,
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Placed on the dining mats around the food
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To stimulate the appetite and aid digestion.
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And his saying: "Nor was thin bread made for him,"
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Meaning softened, refined, smooth bread,
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Like the bread of fine flour and the like,
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Meaning a wide, thin loaf.
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And his saying: "On what did they eat?"
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He said: "On these leather mats."
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The "sufrah" might be a piece of leather that is spread out,
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Then the vessel of food is placed upon it.
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The guidance of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in this matter
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Was a middle path between eating directly on the ground
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And eating on a table.
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For eating directly on the ground,
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If food falls, it becomes soiled.
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And eating on a table involves a degree of luxury.
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While eating on a leather mat is a humble way of sitting,
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And it protects the food from being soiled if it falls.
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Eating on a table is permissible and not forbidden,
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But the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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Was humble in his food,
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And in all his affairs.
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His leaving off eating from a small dish
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Was either because they were not manufactured among them at that time,
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Or because he considered them insignificant,
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Because their custom was to gather for meals,
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Or because they were prepared
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To hold things that aid digestion,
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And they were usually not eating their fill,
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So they had no need for digestive aids.
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On the authority of Masruq, who said:
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I entered upon 'A'ishah,
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And she called for food for me,
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And said: "I never eat my fill of food
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But that I wish to weep, and then I weep."
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He said: "I asked, 'Why?'"
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"Because of the state in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) departed this world;
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By Allah, he never ate his fill of bread and meat
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Twice in one day."
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Masruq (may Allah have mercy on him)
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He was an Imam among the senior Tabi'un.
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He was born during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
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However, he was in Kufa.
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Thus, he did not see him.
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He was named Masruq.
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Because he was kidnapped as a young child.
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Then his family found him.
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As for the statement of 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her:
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"I never ate my fill of food,"
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"but that I wished to weep, and so I wept."
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Meaning, whenever I ate food,
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after the passing of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and felt full,
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I would remember the life I lived with him, peace be upon him,
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characterized by a scarcity of food,
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and that he departed this world,
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never having eaten his fill of bread and meat twice in one day.
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A benefit:
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We derive from this chapter
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the Prophet's, peace be upon him, moderation in food,
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and his patience in that regard.
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It also contains evidence of the insignificance of this world to Allah, the Majestic and Exalted,
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because the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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who is the best of Allah's servants,
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would spend the night hungry, having nothing to eat,
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which indicates the insignificance of this world to Allah.
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For if it were of great value,
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He would have granted its most beautiful delights,
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and its finest food, drink, and clothing to His best servant.
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Al-Tabari said:
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Some people found it difficult to reconcile the fact that the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Companions
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would go days without food,
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while it is established that he would set aside a year's provision for his family,
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and that he distributed a thousand camels from the spoils Allah granted him among four people,
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and that he brought one hundred camels for sacrifice during his 'Umrah,
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which he slaughtered and fed to the poor,
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and that he gifted a Bedouin an entire herd of sheep,
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and other such instances.
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This is in addition to the wealthy Companions who were with him,
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such as Abu Bakr and 'Umar,
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and 'Uthman, Talhah, and others,
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who sacrificed their own selves and wealth for his sake.
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He commanded charity,
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so Abu Bakr brought all of his wealth,
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and 'Umar brought half of his.
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He urged the equipping of the Army of Hardship,
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and 'Uthman equipped them with a thousand camels,
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among other examples.
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The answer is:
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that this occurred at different times and in different circumstances,
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not due to poverty or hardship,
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but sometimes out of altruism,
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and other times out of a dislike for being full and overeating.
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The truth is that many of them
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were in a state of hardship before the Hijrah,
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while they were in Makkah.
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Then, when they migrated to Medina,
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most of them were in a similar state.
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So the Ansar supported them with homes and gifts of livestock.
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Then, when the lands of Banu Nadir and others were conquered for them,
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they returned those gifts to them.
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As for the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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he would sometimes choose hardship and hunger,
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despite the possibility of obtaining comfort and abundance in this world.
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And Allah knows best.
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The hadith has more to follow, if Allah wills.
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And Allah knows best.
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May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
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and upon all his family and companions.