13 Rules of Eating Food in Islam

The needs of eating food is natural for all human beings. Food and its nutrition that contain in it are used to energize our body and mind. A good and healthy body and mind can be created by consuming healthy food.

Islam also encourage muslims to always consume good food, and the healthy and permissible food according to Islam must be halal.

“O you who have believed, eat from the good things which We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is (indeed) Him that you worship.” (QS. Al-Baqarah : 172)

It is clear from the above verse that Allah gives us with abundance of blessing and gift, provide us with a lot of resources where from that we can eat and drinks. Allah SWT in His verse also mentioned an example of animal that can be eaten by muslims. As long as we follow the rules of eating food in Islam we will achieve that blessing. Read also : ways on how to give qurbani in Islam

Rules of Eating Food In Islam

There are certain rules in Islam to guide their people on picking which food or resources able to eat and which one is not as following:

1. Halal Food

“O you who have believed, fulfill (all) contracts. Lawful for you are the animals of grazing livestock except for that which is reccited to you (in this Qur’an) – hunting not being permitted while you are in the state of ihram. Indeed, Allah ordains what He intends.” (QS. Al-Maidah : 1)

Islam set rules on how the halal food should be, as the verse said that any grazing livestocks are allowed to eat. For example is cow, bull, goat, sheep, and so forth. Read also : benefits of being Islam

2. Haram Food

Otherwise Al-Qur’an also mentioned foods that is forbidden in Islam as in the following verse :

“Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and (those animals) killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you (are able to) slaughter (before its death), and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and (prohibited is) that you seek decision through divinning arrows. That is grave disobidience.

This day those who disbelieve have despaired of (defeating) you religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin – then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (QS. Al-Ma’idah : 3)

In Islam according Al-Qur’an the only foods that explicitly forbidden for muslims are all meat from animals that die of themselves, any blood, pigs, and any food that dedicated to other than Allah SWT.

3. Muslims Allowed to Eat Forbidden Food if Necessity

“He has forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced (by necessity), neither desiring (it) nor transgressing (its limit), there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (QS. Al-Baqarah : 173)

If by a circumtances muslims are facing in a condition that there are no resources of halal food and they are in the line of death and alive than it is permissible for muslims to eat whatever food found by them. That is a blessing of Allah SWT given to us, an ease in trouble. Read also : importance of repentance in Islam

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4. Wash our Hand before Eating Food

Sometimes we are not paying an attention of what our hands already touch. In a day we have a lot of activities that maybe contact our hands with germs and bacteria. Thus, it is recommended for muslims to wash their hand before eating food. Wash with soap will help us omit those germs and bacteria that may cause a serious disease.

5.Recite Basmallah before Eating Food

“They ask you, (O Muhammad), what has been made lawful for them. Say, ‘Lawful for you are (all) good foods and (game cought by) what you have trained of hunting animals which you train as Allah has taught you. So eat of what they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah.’ Indeed, Allah is swift in account. (QS. Al-Ma’idah)

The virtue of saying basmallah before eating will help us case away satan for enjoining our food, as mentioned by Rasulullah SAW in the following hadith :

“Indeed Satan will come to eat food that does not begin with basmallah before being eaten.” (Narrated by Muslim and Ahmad)

6. Eating with Right Hand

From Umar Ibn Abi Salamah, he said that when he was young and under care of the Prophet Muhammad, his hands milling about above the food while eating. Later Rasulullah said,

“O my dear son, read ‘basmallah’, eat with your right hand and eat the food that is in front of you. ‘Then that’s how i eat after that. (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)

Read also : importance of trees in Islam

7. If We Forgot to Recite Basmallah 

From Ibn Mas’ud radhiyallahu ‘anhu, Rasulullah SAW said,

“If one of you, eat than say basmallah, later if you forgot to say basmallah in the beginning, said, 

 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ في أَوَّلَهُ وَآخِرَهُ

‘which means ‘in the name of Allah at the beginning and end.’ 

Thus he was like eating from the beginning again, and Satan was prevented from taking part in eating with him, which he had previously received part of the food.” (Narrated by Ibn Hibban, Ibn Sunni, and validated by Syuaib al-Arnauth)

8. Recite Alhamdulillah after Eating Food

To say thanks to Allah SWT for His blessing that muslims could obtain food is highly recommended. Allah already give us with a pleasure of food when maybe at that time there are some people who can’t obtain a resource of food. That’s the way of cherishing health and the true value of one of the countless bountien from Allah SWT.

“And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you (in favor); but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.'” (QS. Ibrahim : 7)

9. Muslims Recommended With no Hurry

Eating food in rush is not suggested in Islam, since it does not represent a good manner and may cause harm for muslims to eat in hurry such as choke up. And another rules to eat a food is by lengthen the sitting for food and chet the food well. Read also : importance of green color in Islam

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10. Avoid throwing edibles food aside

If we are eating in an open places, muslims are recommended to leave whatever remain in their dining table for other creatures like animals.

11. If Muslims be the guest better eat after the host eat

Sometimes muslims invited to join meal in relatives house, when we are inviting to eat we should wait them to eat first before we are eating and finish eating after the host done. It is a form of etiquette.

12. Muslims should not looking each other while eating food

For Islam it is not proper to looking each other if we are in the middle of eating food, the form to respect the food, enjoy it with full appetite, and respect other persons privacy. Read also : benefits of grapes in Islam

13. Eat with small mouthfuls 

By eating with small mouthfuls muslims avoid the dangerous of choking up and eat twice every day, first in the beginning of the day and second in the beginning of the night.