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Food and drink · When the moment comes

Eat from what is nearest you

The practice
Take food from the side of a shared dish in front of you
When
Eating from a shared dish
In daily life
At a shared platter, a family pide or a big pan of pilaf, eat from the part in front of you instead of reaching across the table for the best bits.

The source

كُنْتُ غُلاَمًا فِي حَجْرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَكَانَتْ يَدِي تَطِيشُ فِي الصَّحْفَةِ فَقَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ يَا غُلاَمُ سَمِّ اللَّهَ، وَكُلْ بِيَمِينِكَ وَكُلْ مِمَّا يَلِيكَ ‏"‏‏.‏ فَمَا زَالَتْ تِلْكَ طِعْمَتِي بَعْدُ‏.

“I was a boy under the care of Allah's Messenger ﷺ and my hand used to go around the dish while I was eating. So Allah's Messenger ﷺ said to me, 'O boy! Mention the Name of Allah and eat with your right hand, and eat of the dish what is nearer to you." Since then I have applied those instructions when eating”
Narrated by `Umar bin Abi SalamaSahih al-Bukhari 5376
The full hadith, with its chain and grading →

Arabic: ara-bukhari · Translation: Muhsin Khan (eng-bukhari), from the eng-bukhari edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.

Part of: At the Table

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Sources: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and narrations of Jami at-Tirmidhi graded sahih or hasan sahih by al-Albani.