51. Avoid overeating and overindulging. Eat so that there remains room to breath and some appetite for more food.
Miqdām ibn Ma’dikarib (r.a.) reported that the Messenger of Allāh (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “The son of Adam cannot fill a vessel worse than his stomach. It is enough for him to take a few bites to straighten his back. If this is not possible, then a third for food, a third for drink, and a third for his breath.” (Tirmidhī)
Salmān (r.a.) narrated that the Messenger of Allāh (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “The people who most eat to their fill in this world will be the most hungry on the Day of Judgement.” (Ibn Mājah)
Excessive eating causes laziness and sluggishness. It also eliminates the sweetness of worship. There many other worldly and religious harms in the excessive eating.
Besides this, prophetic narrations have judged excessive eating to be a trait of non-Muslims, while, on the other hand, regarded eating moderately to be a trait of a Muslim.
The scholars have stated that to eat enough so that one is able to live and carry out obligations such as salah and fasting, is compulsory. To eat so that one is capable of performing optional worship and earn one’s livelihood is mustaḥabb (recommended). It is permissible to eat until a third of the stomach is filled. To eat more whereby one is overfilled and the body becomes heavy and sluggish, is disliked.
Some scholars have said that one should eat to his “fill” and not his “craving”. When one is in two minds of whether they should eat more or not, it is at this point one should stop eating.
52. The Messenger of Allāh (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prohibited blowing in food and drink.
Ibn Abbās (r.a.) narrates that Messenger of Allāh (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prohibited blowing in food an drink. (Musnad Aḥmad)
It is narrated from Abū Saīd Khuḍrī (r.a.) that the Messenger of Allāh (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prohibited drinking from the broken side of a utensil and from blowing into water. (Musnad Aḥmad)
The broken side of a utensil tends to gather dirt, and it can injure it’s user. It may also cause spillages. As a result, the Messenger of Allāh (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prohibited the use of broken utensils.
Accordingly, one should avoid blowing into the food. If the food is too hot to consume, a little time should be given for the food to cool. Similarly, one should avoid unnecessarily smelling the food. However, some scholars have permitted to blow into food without making a sound when there is a need.
(Adapted from Khāne Pīne ke Ādāb by Muftī Muhammad Riḍwan. Published by Kutub Khāna Idāra Gufrān, Rawalpindi.)
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