His food and drink ﷺ

His ﷺ guidance in eating

The Prophet ﷺ used to eat with three fingers, say the Name of Allah (Bismillah) and eat from what was next to him. He would lick his three fingers after finishing the food and would not wipe them with a cloth before licking them. He used to say, "You do not know in which part the blessing is." He never ate reclining, and he said, "I am a servant; I eat as a servant eats and I sit as a servant sits."

• He used to eat with his right hand and from what was next to him
• He would lick his three fingers after the meal
• He never ate reclining — out of humility before Allah the Exalted
• He would say Bismillah at the beginning of the meal and praise (Allah) at its end
• He did not disparage food nor praise it — if he desired it he ate it, and if he disliked it he left it

Foods most beloved to him ﷺ

He ﷺ loved the duba' (gourd) and would seek it at the edges of the platter. He used to eat cucumber with fresh dates — narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim from Abdullah ibn Ja'far [al-Bukhari] [Muslim]. The fruits most beloved to him ﷺ were fresh dates (rutab) and watermelon.

• Duba' (gourd) — he would seek it from the edges of the vessel
• Cucumber with fresh dates — [muttafaqun 'alayhi]
• Fresh dates with watermelon — narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi [Abu Dawud] [al-Tirmidhi]
• Honey — he ﷺ loved sweets and honey
• Meat — especially the meat of the forearm
• Tharid — and the Prophet ﷺ said: "The superiority of tharid over other foods is like the superiority of Aisha over the women."

His drinking ﷺ

He ﷺ would drink in three breaths — he would say Bismillah at the beginning and praise God at the end. He liked to drink honey with water. The drink he liked most ﷺ was sweet, cold water.

• He drank in three breaths and did not breathe into the vessel
• He would say Bismillah at its start and praise God at its end
• His preferred drink: sweet, cold (water)
• He would turn the vessel away from his right and begin with the one on his right