68 - آدَابُ الأكلِ‏

68. Table Manners

202.رسولُ اللَّهِ صلى اللَّه عليه وآله : مَنْ أكَلَ وَذُو عَيْنَيْنِ يَنْظُرُ إلَيْهِ وَلَمْ يُواسِهِ، ابْتُلِي بِدَاءٍ لَا دَوَاءَ لَهُ .¹

202.The Prophet (SAWA) said, 'A man who is eating and is being watched by another, to whom he does not offer to share his food will be afflicted with an incurable disease.' ²

203.رسولُ اللَّهِ صلى اللَّه عليه وآله : المُؤْمِنُ يَأْكُلُ بشَهْوَةِ أهْلِهِ ، والمُنَافِقُ يَأْكُلُ أهْلُهُ بِشَهْوَتِهِ .³

203.The Prophet (SAWA) said, 'The believer eats according to the desire of his family, while the hypocrite makes his family eat according to his own desires.' ⁴

204.الإمامُ عليٌّ عليه السلام : مَنْ ذَكَرَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ عِنْدَ طَعَامٍ أوْ شَرَابٍ فِي أوّلِهِ ، وَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ فِي آخِرِهِ لَمْ يُسْألْ عَنْ نَعِيمِ ذلِكَ الطَّعَامِ أبَداً .⁵

204.Imam Ali (AS) said, 'Whoever mentions the name of Allah at the beginning of [eating his] food or drink and thanks Allah at the end will never be asked about the favour of this food.' ⁶

205.الإمامُ عليٌّ عليه السلام : ابْدَؤوا بِالمِلْحِ فِي أوَّلِ طَعَامِكُمْ ، فَلَوْ يَعْلَمُ النَّاسُ مَا فِي المِلْحِ لاخْتَارُوُهُ عَلَى الدِّرْيَاقِ المُجَرَّبِ .⁷

205.Imam Ali (AS) said, 'Start with salt before you eat. If people knew what [benefits] salt has, they would prefer it to tested medicine.' ⁸

206.الإمامُ عليٌّ عليه السلام : أقِرُّوا الحَارَّ حَتّى‏ يَبْرَدَ ، فإنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى اللَّه عليه وآله قُرِّبَ إلَيْهِ طَعَامٌ حَارٌّ فَقَالَ : أقِرُّوهُ حَتَّى‏ يَبْرَدَ ، مَا كَانَ اللَّهُ‏عزّ وجلّ لِيُطْعِمَنَا النَّارَ ، وَالبَرَكَةُ فِي البَارِدِ .⁹

206.Imam Ali (AS) said, 'Set hot food aside until it cools down, for when the Prophet (SAWA) was given hot food, he said, 'Set it aside until it cools down, for Allah, Mighty and Exalted, would not feed us fire when blessings lie with that which is cool.' ¹⁰

207.الإمامُ الحسنُ عليه السلام : فِي المَائدةِ اثْنَتَا عَشرَةَ خَصْلَةً يَجِبُ عَلى‏ كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ أنْ يَعْرِفَهَا : أرْبَعٌ مِنْها فَرْضٌ ، وَ أرْبَعٌ سُنَّةٌ، وأرْبَعٌ تأدِيبٌ.
فَأمَّا الفَرْضُ : فَالمَعْرِفَةُ ، وَالرِّضَا ، وَالتَّسْمِيَةُ ، وَالشُّكْرُ .
وَأمَّا السُّنَّةُ : فَالوُضُوءُ قَبْلَ الطَّعَامِ ، والجُلُوسُ عَلَى الجَانِبِ الأيْسَرِ ، والأكْلُ بِثَلاثِ أصَابِعَ ، وَلَعْقُ الأصَابِعِ.
وَأمّا التَّأدِيبُ : فَالأكْلُ مِمَّا يَلِيكَ ، وَتَصْغِيرُ اللُّقْمَةِ، وَتَجْوِيدُ المَضْغِ ، وَقِلّةُ النّظَرِ فِي وُجُوهِ النّاسِ .¹¹

207.Imam al-Hasan (AS) said, 'There are twelve things that every Muslim should know about the table [manners]; four are mandatory, four are recommended, and four are general manners. The mandatory are: knowledge [of the food], to be content with it, mentioning the name of Allah [before it], and offering thanks to Him [afterwards]. The recommended acts are: ablution before eating, sitting on one's left side, eating with three fingers. And the general manners are: eating from the closest spot to you, taking small bites, chewing well, and looking less at people's faces [while eating].' ¹²

208.الإمامُ الصّادقُ عليه السلام: مَنْ غَسَلَ يَدَهُ قَبْلَ الطَّعَامِ وَبَعْدَهُ بُورِكَ لَهُ فِي أوَّلِهِ وَآخِرِهِ ، وَعَاشَ مَاعَاشَ في سَعَةٍ، وَعُوفِيَ مِنْ بَلْوىً فِي جَسَدِهِ .¹³

208.Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, 'He who washes his hands before and after eating will be blessed at the beginning and at the end of his food. As long as he lives, he will be in comfort, and he will be cured of the ills of his body.' ¹⁴

209.الإمامُ الصّادقُ عليه السلام - عن آبائهِ عليهم السلام في حديثِ مَناهي النّبيِّ صلى اللَّه عليه وآله - : ونَهَى‏ أنْ يُنْفَخَ فِي طَعَامٍ أو شَرَابٍ .¹⁵

209.Imam al-Sadiq (AS) narrated, on the authority of his fathers about the tradition entailing certain prohibitions of the Prophet (SAWA), 'He prohibited blowing on food or drink.' ¹⁶

210.الإمامُ الصّادقُ عليه السلام : لَا تَدَعُوا آنِيَتَكُمْ بِغَيْرِ غِطَاءٍ ؛ فإنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ إذَا لَمْ تُغَطَّ الآنِيَةُ بَزَقَ فِيها، وَأخَذَ مِمَّا فِيهَا مَا شَاءَ .¹⁷

210.Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, 'Do not leave your plates uncovered for Satan spits on uncovered plates and takes from them what he wants.' ¹⁸

211.الإمامُ الكاظمُ عليه السلام - لَمّا سُئلَ عنِ السَّفْلَةِ - : الّذِي يَأْكُلُ فِي الأسْوَاقِ .¹⁹

211. Imam al-Kazim (AS), when he was asked who the contemptible person was, replied, 'The one who eats in the marketplaces.' ²⁰

212.الاختصاص : رُويَ : أطِيلُوا الجُلُوسَ عَلى‏ المَوائِدِ ؛ فَإنَّها أوْقَاتٌ لَا تُحْسَبُ مِنْ أعْمارِكُمْ .²¹

212. It is narrated in al-Ikhtisas: 'Prolong your seating at the dinnertable [observe proper eating manners], for these are times that will not be accounted for as part of your lives.' ²²