Three Easy Sunnah of Eating
Once while eating our beloved Nabi ﷺ advised Sayyiduna Umar ibn Abi Salamah رضي الله عنه to follow three very simple Sunnah.
He says:
“I was a boy under the care of Rasoolullah ﷺ and my hand used to go around the plate while I was eating. So Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said to me, ‘O young boy!
1) Mention the Name of Allah and
2) Eat with your right hand,
3) Eat of the dish what is nearer to you.’
(Ibn Abee Salamah رضي الله عنه goes on to say), since then I have applied those instructions when eating.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)
How to practice these three Sunnahs:
1) Before beginning to eat read ‘Bismillah‘.
2) If we read the following Du’a we will gain even more reward:
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ وَ بَرَكَةِ اللّٰهِ
3) If we forget to read the Du’a and start eating then when we remember read:
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ أَوَّلَهُ وَآخِرَهُ
4) Eat from the side of the plate in front of you if there is one type of dish.
5) If there are two or more varieties of dishes in the plate there is no harm in eating and picking from the varieties.
6) Eat with the right hand.
7) It is Sunnah to eat directly with the hands without the need of a spoon, fork and knife etc.
By following this Sunnah of our beloved Nabi ﷺ we will Insha’allah:
1) Get the blessings and rewards of following a Sunnah.
2) Allah Ta’ala will be happy with us
3) We will attain more blessings in our food.
4) We will be remembering Allah Ta’ala
5) If we are sharing a plate (which is also a Sunnah), eating from our side will save others from inconvenience.
