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On Returning from a Journey
It is recommended to gather ones friends and to feed them on returning from a journey, as the Prophet (may Allah’s peace be upon him) used to do.
Jaabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) related that:
Whenever the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace be upon him) returned to al-Madeenah he sacrificed a camel or a cow.
[Muslim]
This food which is presented after a journey is known as al-Naqee’ah. This hadeeth shows that feeding the Imaam, the leader or ones friends upon returning from a journey was a recommended act with the salaf [companions of the Prophet and early generations].
[Source: ‘A Manual on the Rites of Hajj,’ by Sh. Alee ibn Wahf al-Qahtaani; p40.]
Serve Others First
Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (may Allah’s peace be upon him), said:
“He who serves others with drinking water should be the last to drink himself.”
[At-Tirmidhi]
Commentary from Riyad-us-Saliheen: Referring to this Hadith, Imam An-Nawawi stresses the manner of serving food or drink and says that the distributor should have his share in the end.
[Riyad-us-Saliheen; Chapter 115, #773. Dar-us-Salaam]
Wasting Food
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace be upon him) commanded the licking of fingers and the gleaning of the dish, saying:
“You do not know in which portion the blessing lies.”
[Muslim]
Commentary from Riyad-us-Saliheen: This Hadith underlines the wisdom behind licking the fingers and the vessel. The eater never knows whether a blessing underlies what has been eaten by him, or the particles sticking to his fingers and vessels contain it. Those particles, therefore, should not be wasted; they should be made part of food by being licked. They may be invested with a blessing and proved more useful for the eater’s health and strength. Moreover, by this way he escapes disregarding the Bounty of Allah.
[Riyad-us-Saliheen; Chapter 109, #750. Dar-us-Salaam]
Criticizing Food
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (May Allah’s peace be upon him) never found fault with food. If he had inclination to eating it, he would eat; and if he disliked it, he would leave it.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Commentary from Riayad-us-Saliheen: This Hadith throws light on the Prophet’s excellent manners which ought to be followed by all Muslims. It is a deplorable state of affairs that when we find a dish a bit unsavoury, we lose our temper and create quite a scene in the house. May we follow the excellent example of our Prophet (May Allah’s peace be upon him)!
[Riyad-us-Saliheen; Ch. 101, #736. Dar-us-Salaam]
Feed, and Greet
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him):
A man asked the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace be upon him), “What sort of deeds or (what qualities of) Islam are good?”
The Prophet replied:
“To feed (the poor) and greet those whom you know and those whom you do not Know.”
[Sahih Bukhari; Volume 1, Book 2, Number 12]
Captives, Hungry, and the Sick
Narrated Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace be upon him) said:
“Free the captives, feed the hungry and pay a visit to the sick.”
[Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 282.]
The Best People
Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that:
Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace be upon him) said:
The best people are those most beneficial to [other] people.
[Collected by at-Tabaranee and ad-Daaraqutnee; authenticated in Shaykh Al-Albani’s Saheeh al-Jaami’ as-Sagheer, No. 3289]
