Chapter One
What is Necessary for the Person Eating Alone Being three Sections: Before the Food is Served; When One is Eating; When the Meal is Over.
On the manners to be observed before the meal and they are:
The first [rule of conduct]: that the food be lawful both in itself and in the means by which it was acquired; that it shall be in accordance with the Sunna and with piety. It should not have been gained through anything contrary to canonical law, nor through some evil inclination, nor deceit relating to debt—and agreeing with what will be presented in the Book of the Lawful and Unlawful regarding the meaning of what is unconditionally good.
God has ordered the eating of that which is good (al-tayyib), this being the lawful. He has put the prohibition of ‘wrongful eating’ (al-akl bi’l-batil) before that of killing, in order to illustrate the gravity of that which is unlawful and the greatness of the blessing of that which is lawful. He said, ‘O you Who believe, squander not your wealth (la ta’kalu amwalakum) among yourselves in vanity...And kill not one another,’ to the end of the verse. The basic principle with respect to food is that food must be good, this being one of the duties and fundamentals of religion.
The second [rule of conduct] is to wash one’s hands. The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) has said, ‘Ablution performed before a meal banishes poverty, ablution after a meal banishes minor sins.” And in another version, ‘[Ablution performed] both before and after the meal banishes poverty.’ Since the hand cannot escape dirt in the performance of tasks, washing it is the best way to keep it clean and unsullied. And because eating as a support for religion is a form of worship, it is proper that one approach it in the same state as for prayers.
The third [rule of conduct] is to place the food on a sufra on the ground—for this is closest to what the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) did—rather than to place it on a raised table. ‘When food was brought to the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace), he would place it on the ground,’ for this is closer to humility. If not, then it should be on a sufra, as a reminder of travelling; and travelling puts in mind travelling to the Afterlife and the need for provision in the form of pious deeds. Anas ibn Malik said, ‘The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) ate neither on a table (khiwan) nor in a sukurruja.’ Someone asked: ‘On what have you been eating, then?’ ‘On a sufra,’ he said.
It was said that after [the death of] the Emissary of God four things were introduced: tables, sieves, potash, and repletion. Know that although we have said that eating on a sufra is more appropriate, we do not say that eating on a table is proscribed as either distasteful or forbidden, for no proscription of it has been established. As for the claim that it was an innovation that occurred after the Emissary of God, not everything innovated is proscribed, but only that innovation which is contrary to an established Sunna, as it does away with the canonical law while not solving the problem. However, innovation may be required in cases where the circumstances have changed. For there is nothing about a table other than food has been raised from the floor and laid out on it for facility of eating and the like. And there is nothing abhorrent about this.
The four things together regarded as innovation are not of equal importance. Potash is good because of its cleansing properties. Washing is desirable for cleanliness and potash perfects cleaning. People had not been using potash perhaps because they were not accustomed to doing so, or it was not easily available, or they were preoccupied with matters more important than indulging in excessive cleanliness. Thus they also used not to wash their hands [before and after meals], their [only drying] cloth being the hollow in the soles of their feet. This, however, does not preclude the desirability of washing.
As for the sieve, its purpose is to render food more pleasant. This is permissible so long as it does not lead to a life of excessive luxury. Just as the table is helpful in eating, it, too, is permissible so long as it does not lead to pride and haughtiness. Repletion is the worst of the four in that it arouses the passions and activates maladies in the body. Therefore, understand the difference between these innovations.
The fourth [rule of conduct] is that upon sitting at the sufra one ought to sit properly and remain in that position. Thus, ‘The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) used often to squat down on his knees and sit on his heels for the meal. At other times he would raise his right leg and sit on his left.’ He used to say: ‘I do not eat when reclining... for I am but a slave; I eat as a slave eats and sit as a slave sits.’
To drink when reclining is also disagreeable for the stomach, and to eat lying down or reclining is abhorrent except when munching seeds and berries. It was related concerning Ali (may God ennoble his countenance) that he ate dry bread from a shield while lying down—[in another version], while lying prostrate on his stomach, which the Bedouin Arabs sometimes did.
The fifth [rule of conduct] is to have the intention, when eating, of strengthening oneself in obedience to God, so as to be obedient through food and not to seek gratification and luxurious living through food. Ibrahim ibn Shayban said, ‘For eighty years I have not eaten anything for my own appetite.’ And yet he resolved to lessen his intake of food. Since he ate for the purpose of increasing his capacity for worship, his intention was sincere only when he ate less than what satisfied him, for repletion obstructs worship and does not increase the capacity for it. Thus for this intention it is necessary that one’s appetite be broken, and that one prefer frugality to being distended.
The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘No human being has ever filled a container worse than his own stomach. The son of Adam needs no more than some morsels of food to keep up his strength; doing so, he should consider that a third of [his stomach] is for food, a third for drink and a third for breathing.
With regard to this intention, the person must refrain from stretching his hand towards the food unless he is hungry, for hunger is something which must always precede eating. Then he must raise up his hand before repletion. Doing so, he dispenses with doctors. The benefit of eating little and of gradually reducing one’s food intake will be dealt with in the ‘Chapter of Destroying the Appetite for Food’, from the fourth section of those things that bring about a man’s end.
The sixth [rule of conduct] is to be content with any sustenance and any food available. One should not strive for luxury, ask for more or expect a condiment in which to dip one’s bread. In fact, it is a mark of the esteem accorded to bread that no condiment be served with it.
One Tradition enjoins holding bread in esteem, for every thing that keeps the spark of life alive and strengthens one’s capacity for worship is of great benefit and should not be despised. In fact, when the time for prayer arrives, one should not put off eating bread [i.e., the meal] if there is sufficient time. The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘If the time for evening prayers and that of supper coincide, begin with the supper.’ Abd Allah Ibn Umar would often hear the Imam reciting [the Qur’an at prayers] and would not rise from his supper. So long as one does not yearn for food and there is no harm in putting off the time for food, it is more seemly to give preference to prayer. But if the food is ready and the time for prayer has come, and by putting off the meal the food will become cold or spoiled, giving it preference is more desirable when there is time, whether one craves it or not—according to most Traditions. This is because one cannot abstain from thinking about food that has been laid out, even when it is not very hungry.
The seventh [rule of conduct] is that one should try to have many hands partake of the meal, even if they be only your women and children. The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘Gather together over your food and you will be blessed in it.’ Anas [ibn Malik] said, ‘The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) used not to eat alone.’ And the Emissary of God said, ‘The best food is that over which there are many hands.’
Book XI of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din)
DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES
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