The Sunnah way of eating food

10/06/2009| IslamWeb

Question:

assalam wa alykum what is the sunnah way of eating food? how should it be eaten, whether it should be eaten by all the five fingers or 3 fingers (thumb,index finger and middle finger) because some people say that sunnah way of eating is with 3fingers only(mentioned above)?

 

Fatwa:

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

 

It is good to mention some etiquette that one should observe when eating, among which are the following:

1-    Washing the hands before and after eating.

2-    Supplicating Allah to bless the food.

3-    Saying Bismillaah (in the Name of Allah) before eating.

4-    Eating with the right hand.

5-    Eating from what is nearest to the person.

6-    Not criticizing the food; if one likes it, he should eat from it, otherwise he should leave it.

7-    Eating with three fingers.

8-    Not eating while leaning on something.

9-    Saying ‘Al-Hamdulillaah’ after finishing eating.

 

Therefore, eating with three fingers is among the etiquette of eating.

Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah , may Allah be pleased with him, identified these three fingers as he said: “The thumb, the index finger and the middle finger.” Eating with these three fingers is desirable but it is permissible to eat with more than three fingers, and one may need that when the food is not consistent.

 

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by:The Fatwa Center at Islamweb