How Islam Wants You To Have a Meal?

A tradition where a man comes to the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, "sa'la rajulun Rasul Allah, fa qala: Ya Rasul Allah, inna n'akul wa la nashba'a". Ya Rasul Allah, we eat, but and we are never satiated. Have you seen some people? They are always hungry. Subhana Allah. They are always hungry. And this is assuming there is no medical issue. We eat, but we are never satiated. We are always hungry.

Look at what the Prophet says. Sometimes these things are spiritual problems and not physiological problems. The Prophet says: "la'allakum taftariquna 'an ta'amikum, fa 'jtami'u alayh". The Prophet says, it seems that you do not eat together. Everyone eats by themselves. And this is one of the calamities of our time. People are under one roof. It's one family. The husband is eating by himself. The wife is eating in the kitchen by herself. All of the kids have their own food, and They are eating alone. And They are watching their iPhones and their iPads. The whole family is dispersed.

The Prophet says: come together and eat together. And he says: "Wa 'dhkur ism Allahi alayh". And say "Bi 'smi-Llah". Eat together, eat in congregation, eat as a family and say "Bi 'smi-Llah". "Yubarak lakum fi". Allah will put "baraka" in your food. It will nourish you. There will be "baraka" in your food. If we did this.

In another hadith, one last hadith relating to the importance of saying "Bi 'smi-Llah". There's a hadith from the Prophet that says: "man akala al-halal". If you eat halal, it is not that Allah is just not going to punish you, Allah will reward you for eating halal. We think that if I eat haram, Allah will punish me, but if I eat halal, there is no punishment. It is not that there is no punishment, there is a reward.

The hadith says: "man akala al-halal qama 'ala rasihi malakun yastaghfiru lahu hatta yafrugha min aklih". The Prophet says, the one who eats halal and says, "Bi 'smi-Llah", an angel stands above his head and asks Allah to forgive that person until they finish eating. You earn the Du'a of Mala'ika. When you eat halal, and when you mention and you invoke the name of Allah.

There is another hadith from the Prophet where he says, and this is something that we should try to implement: "at-ta'amu idha jama'a arba'u khisalin fa khattam". A meal that combines the following four characteristics is a perfect meal in the eyes of Allah. We want to make sure that we eat in a way that is pleasing to Allah.

Number one "idha kana min halal". Number one, we said there are four. Number one is that ensure that what you are eating is halal. Number two: "wa kathurat il-aydi" Allah loves a meal where there are multiple hands stretched over it, meaning people are eating together. Number three is a meal where you begin by saying "Bi 'smi-Llah". "wa umida Allahu fi akhira", and you end the meal by saying "Al-hamdu li 'l-Lah". If you do these four, Allah will put baraka in that meal. And this is a perfect meal.

There is a hadith from Imam Al-Mujtaba, and we will conclude, because tonight is the night of the As-hab. Imam Al-Mujtaba. He says. "fi l'-ma'idati ithatai-'ashrata khisla", there are twelve manors that we should observe when we have a meal. Twelve. Every Muslim should know these manners. "'Arbau minha fardh". Four of them are fardh, they are obligatory. Now, here, obligatory doesn't mean wajib, but it means that these are very important Akhlaqi teachings. They are very important ethical practices.

"Wa 'arbatum Sunna". Four of them are the Prophetic tradition. "Wa 'arbaum tahdib", and four are related to etiquette. "Fa amma al-fardh". The Imam says Ask for the necessary manners. The four that are the most important is: "Fa al-ma'rifah, wa ar-ridha', wa at-tasmi'a, wa ash-shukr". "Ma'rifah", first, you should know that this food is a na'ma of Allah, that it comes from Allah. You need to recognize the source of this blessing, Allah. And when you eat. That is why it is recommended to sit humbly when you eat food, because food is a great na'ma, you should treat it with sanctity.

Number two, "ar-ridha'". Be content. Don't complain that I don't like this food. Why didn't you make something else? This is bad manners, brothers and sisters. Imam Al-Mujtaba, he says be content! There are almost 1 billion people in the world today that are under nourished, don't whine that this is chicken and I wanted beef, or this is pizza and I wanted sushi. This is shameful, if this is how we speak. Be content. "Wa at-tasmi'a", say "Bi 'smi-Llah", and end by saying "Al-hamdu li 'l-Lah", express gratitude. So these are four.

The four that are Sunnah, that are the Prophetic legacy is: "fa 'l-wudhu kabil at-ta'am", do wudhu before you eat. You may ask I thought wudhu is for Salah. Remember that you are an 'abd of Allah. Everything that you do is sacred. Everything that you do is for Allah, so be in the state of Tahara. "Wa al-julus 'ala janib al-'ysar". It is recommended to sit on the ground, on the floor. And when you sit, put your weight on your left side. This might be a health tip. And then the Imam says: "wa al-aklu bi thalathi ashabi'". Today we have silverware, but it is mustahab to eat with your hands and to eat with three fingers.

"Wa la'qul asabi'". The Prophet, when he would eat, he used to lick his fingers. Imam Al-Baqir explains. He says because Rasul Allah did not even want to waste the residue of the food. Some of us, we throw a lot of food away. Rasul Allah doesn't even want to waste the particles that are on his fingers.

And the final four that are etiquette is what? "Fa laklu min ma yalik". If you are sitting at a table, Imam Al-Mujtaba says: eat from the food that is close to you. Don't do acrobatics and try to extend and grab what's on the other side. It is Akhlaq to eat what is close to you. "Wa tasghira al-luqma", don't put large morsels of food in your mouth. Small bites. You even look more dignified. You are not chewing too much food. "Wa tajridu al-

Chew your food well, juhanas and do not look at people while they are eating. This is the adeb that the Alubai have taught us with respect to foods.