Nafie' نافع مولى ابن عمر · Chapters on Food

“When the Prophet (ﷺ) came to Al-Madinah, the people rushed to meet him, and it was said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has come! The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has come! The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has come!’ Three times. I came with the people to see him, and when I saw his face clearly, I knew that his face was not the face of a liar. The first thing I heard him say was when he said: ‘O people!…

“O Messenger of Allah, which (aspect) of Islam is the best?” He said: “Offering food (to the needy) and greeting with Salam those whom you know and those whom you do not know.”

“The food of one person is sufficient for two, the food of two is sufficient for four, and the food for four is sufficient for eight.”

“When the slave of anyone of you brings his food to him, for which he (the slave) has worked hard and endured heat, let him invite him to eat with him, and if he does not do that then let him take a morsel and put it in his hand.”

“The Prophet (ﷺ) never ate from a dish or from an individual plate.” He said: “From where did he eat?” He said: “From the dining sheet.”

It was narrated from ‘Aishah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade standing up before the food had been cleared away.

“The best food of the people of this world and the people of Paradise is meat.’”

“Some people were bringing meat to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he said: ‘The best meat is the meat of the back.’”

“What a blessed condiment vinegar is.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered upon ‘Aishah, when I was with her, and said: ‘Is there any food?’ She said: ‘We have bread, dates and vinegar.’ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘What a blessed condiment vinegar is. O Allah, bless vinegar, for it was the condiment of the Prophets before me, and no house will ever be poor in which there is vinegar.’”

“Whoever is given food by Allah, let him say: Allahumma barik lana fihi wa arzuqna khairan minhu (O Allah, bless it for us and provide us with something better than it). And whoever is given milk to drink by Allah, let him say: Allahumma barik lana fihi wa zidna minhu (O Allah, bless it for us and give us more of it). For I do not know of any food or drink that suffices, apart from milk.”

“A house in which there are no dates, its people will go hungry.”

“It is extravagance to eat everything you want.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered the house and saw a piece of bread that had been thrown (on the floor). He picked it up, wiped it and ate it, and said: ‘O ‘Aishah, show honor to the precious (i.e., food), for is the blessing of food departs from people, it never comes back.’”