Sunan Abu Dawud

‘Uqbah b. ‘Amir said:we said: Messenger of Allah! You send us out and we come to people who do not give hospitality, so what is your opinion? The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: If you come to people who order for you what is fitting for a guest, accept it; but if they do not, take from them what is fitting for them to give to a guest. Abu Dawud said: And this is an authority for a man to take a thing if it is due to him

Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas: When the verse: "O ye who believe! eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities, but let there be amongst you traffic and trade by mutual good will" was revealed, a man thought it a sin to eat in the house of another man after the revelation of this verse. Then this (injunction) was revealed by the verse in Surat an-Nur: "No blame on you whether you eat in company or separately." When a rich man (after revelation) invited a man from his people to eat food in his house, he would say: I consider it a sin to eat from it, and he said: a poor man is more entitled to it than I. The Arabic word tajannah means sin or fault. It was then declared lawful to eat something on which the name of Allah was mentioned, and it was made lawful to eat the flesh of an animal slaughtered by the people of the Book

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade that the food of two people who were rivalling on another should be eaten Abu Dawud said: Most of those who narrated it from Jarir did not mention the name of Ibn Abbas. Harun al-Nahwi mentioned Ibn 'Abbas in it, and Hammad bin Zaid did not mention Ibn 'Abbas

Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: Safinah AbuAbdurRahman said that a man prepared food for Ali ibn AbuTalib who was his guest, and Fatimah said: I wish we had invited the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he had eaten with us. They invited him, and when he came he put his hands on the side-ports of the door, but when he saw the figured curtain which had been put at the end of the house, he went away. So Fatimah said to Ali: Follow him and see what turned him back. I (Ali) followed him and asked: What turned you back, Messenger of Allah? He replied: It is not fitting for me or for any Prophet to enter a house which is decorated

Narrated AbdurRahman al-Himyari: A companion of the Prophet (ﷺ) reported him as saying: When two people come together to issue an invitation, accept that of the one whose door is nearer in neighbourhood, but if one of them comes before the other accept the invitation of the one who comes first

Ibn ‘Umar reported the Prophet(ﷺ) as sayings:When the evening meal is brought before one of you and the congregational prayer is also ready, he should not get up until he finishes(eating). Musaddad’s version adds: When the evening meal was put before ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar, or it was brought to him, he did not get up until he finished it, even if he heard call to prayer(just before it), and even if he heard the recitation of the Qur’an by the leader-in-prayer

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Prayer should not be postponed for taking meals nor for any other thing

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: Abdullah ibn Ubaydullah ibn Umayr said: I was with my father in the time of Ibn az-Zubayr sitting beside Abdullah ibn Umar. Then Abbad ibn Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr said: We have heard that the evening meal is taken just before the night prayer. Thereupon Abdullah ibn Umar said: Woe to you! what was their evening meal? Do you think it was like the meal of your father?

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out from the privy and was presented to him. They (the people) asked: Should we bring you water for ablution? He replied: I have been commanded to perform ablution when I get up for prayer

Narrated Salman al-Farsi: I read in the Torah that the blessing of food consists in ablution before it. So I mentioned it to the Prophet (ﷺ). He said: The blessing of food consists in ablution before it and ablution after it. Sufyan disapproved of performing ablution before taking food. Abu Dawud said: It is weak

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out from the valley of a mountain where he had eased himself. There were some dried dates on a shield before us. We called him and he ate with us. He did not touch water

Abu Hurairah said:The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) never expressed disapproval of food; if he desired it, he ate it, and if he disliked it, he left it alone

Narrated Wahshi ibn Harb: The Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) we eat but we are not satisfied. He said: Perhaps you eat separately. They replied: Yes. He said: If you gather together at your food and mention Allah's name, you will be blessed in it. Abu Dawud said: If you are invited to a wedding feast before you, do not take it until the owner of the house (i.e. the host) allows you (to eat)

Jabir bin ‘Abd Allah said that he heard the Prophet(ﷺ) say:When a man enters his house and mention Allah’s name on entering and on his food, the devil says: You have no place to spend the night and no evening meal; but when he enters without mentioning Allah’s name on entering, the devil says: You have found a place to spend the night, and when he does not mention Allah’s name at his food, he says: You have found a place to spend the night and an evening meal

When we were at food with the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) none of us put in his hand till the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)put his hand first. Once we were at food with him. A nomad Arab came in as though he were being pushed, and he was about to put his hand in food when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) seized him by the hand. Then a girl came in as though she were being pushed, and she was about to put her hand in the food when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) seized her by the hand, and he said:The devil considers the food when Allah’s name is not mentioned over it, and he brought his nomad Arab that it might be lawful by means of him, so I seized his hand: then he brought this girl that it might be lawful by means of her, so I seized her hand. By Him in Whose hand my soul is, His hand is in my hand along with their hands

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: When one of you eats, he should mention Allah's name; if he forgets to mention Allah's name at the beginning, he should say: "In the name of Allah at the beginning and at the end of it

Narrated Umayyah ibn Makhshi: Umayyah was sitting and a man was eating. He did not mention Allah's name until there remained the last morsel. When he raised it to his mouth, he said: In the name of Allah at the beginning and at the end of it. The Prophet (ﷺ) laughed and said: The devil kept eating along with him, but when he mentioned Allah's name, he vomited what was in his belly. Abu Dawud: Jabir bin Subh is grandfather of Sulaiman bin Harb from his mother's side

Abu Juhaifah reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as sayings:I do not eat while reclining

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was never seen reclining while eating, nor walking with two men at his heels

Anas said:The Prophet(ﷺ) sent me(for some work), and when I returned to him found him eating dates and squatting

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: When one of you eats, he must not eat from the top of the dish, but should eat from the bottom; for the blessing descends from the top of it

Narrated Abdullah ibn Busr: The Prophet (ﷺ) had a bowl called gharra'. It was carried by four persons. When the sun rose high, and they performed the forenoon prayer, the bowl in which tharid was prepared was brought, and the people gathered round it. When they were numerous, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah has made me a respectable servant, and He did not make me an obstinate tyrant. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Eat from it sides and leave its top, the blessing will be conferred on it

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade two kinds of food: to sit at cloth on which wine is drunk, and to eat by a man while lying on his stomach. Abu Dawud said : Ja'far did not hear this tradition from al-Zuhri. His tradition is rejected

The tradition mentioned above has been transmitted by al-Zuhri from a different chain of narrators

Ibn ‘Umar reported the Prophet(ﷺ) as sayings:When any of you eats, he should eat with his right hand, and when he drinks, he should drink with his right hand, for the devil eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand

Narrated Umar ibn AbuSalamah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Come near, my son, mention Allah's name, eat with your right hand and eat from what is next to you

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Do not eat meat with a knife, for it is a foreign practice, but bite it, for it is more beneficial and wholesome. Abu Dawud said: This tradition is not strong

Narrated Safwan ibn Umayyah: I was eating with the Prophet (ﷺ) and snatching the meat from the bone with my hand. He said: bring the bone near your mouth, for it is more beneficial and wholesome. Abu Dawud said: 'Uthman did not hear (traditions) from Safwan. This is a mursal tradition

Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: The bone dearer to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was the bone of sheep

Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: The tradition mentioned above (No. 3771) has also been narrated by Ibn Mas'ud with a different chain of narrators. This version has: The Prophet (ﷺ) liked the foreleg (of a sheep). Once the foreleg was poisoned, and he thought that the Jews had poisoned it

Anas b. Malik said:A tailor invited the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to a meal which he had prepared. Anas said: I went along with the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) barley bread and soup containing pumpkin and dried sliced meat. Anas said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) going after the pumpkin round the dish, so I have always liked pumpkins since that day

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The food the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) liked best was tharid made from bread and tharid made from Hays. Abu Dawud said: It is a weak (tradition)

Narrated Qabisah ibn Halb: A man asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): Is there any food from which I should keep myself away? I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Anything which creates doubt should not occur in your mind by which you resemble Christianity

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited eating the animal which feeds on filth and drinking its milk

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited to drink the milk of the animal which feeds on filth

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade riding the camel which feeds on filth and drinking its milk

Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah said:The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) forbade the flesh of domestic asses on the day of Khaibar, but permitted horse flesh

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: On the day of Khaybar we slaughtered horses, mules, and assess. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade us (to eat) mules and asses, but he did not forbid horse-flesh

Narrated Khalid ibn al-Walid: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade us to eat horse-flesh, the flesh of mules and of asses. The narrator Haywah added: Every beast of prey with a fang. Abu Dawud said: This view is held by Malik. Abu Dawud said: There is no harm in (eating) horse-flesh and this tradition is not practised. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been abrogated. A body of Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) had eaten horse-flesh. OF them are: Ibn al-Zubair, Fudalah bin 'Ubaid, Anas bin Malik, Asma' daughter of Abu Bakr, Suwaid bin Ghaflah, 'Alqamah; the Quraish used to slaughter them (horses) during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

Anas b. Malik said:I was an adolescent boy. I hunted a hare and roasted it. Abu Talha sent its hunch through me to the Prophet (ﷺ), so I brought it to him and he accepted it

Abu Khalid b. al-Huwairith said :‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amar was in al-safah. The narrator Muhammed (b. Khalid) said: it is a place in Mecca. A man brought a hare which he had haunted. He said: ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amr, what do you say ? He said: It was brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when I was sitting (with him). He did not eat it, nor did he prohibit to eat it. He thought that it menstruated

Ibn ‘Abbas said that his maternal aunt presented to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) clarified butter, lizards and cottage cheese. He ate from clarified butter and cheese, but left the lizard abominably. It was eaten on the food cloth of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Had it been unlawful, it would not have been eaten on the food cloth of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

Ibn ‘Abbas said on the authority of Khalid b. al-Walid that he entered the house of Maimunah along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). A roasted lizard was offered to him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stretched his hand for it. Some of the women is going to eat. They said:It is a lizard. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) raised his hand. I (Khalid) asked: Is it forbidden, Messenger of Allah? He replied, No, but it is not found in the land of my people, so I find it distasteful. Khalid said: I then pulled it and ate it while The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was seeing

Narrated Thabit ibn Wadi'ah: We were in an army with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). We got some lizards. I roasted one lizard and brought it to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and placed it before him. He took a stick and counted its fingers. He then said: A group from the children of Isra'il was transformed into an animal of the land, and I do not know which animal it was. He did not eat it nor did he forbid (its eating)

Narrated AbdurRahman ibn Shibl: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade to eat the flesh of lizard

Narrated Safinah: I ate the flesh of a bustard along with the Prophet (ﷺ)

Narrated at-Talabb ibn Tha'labah at-Tamimi: I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), but I did not hear about the prohibition of (eating) insects and little creatures of land

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: Numaylah said: I was with Ibn Umar. He was asked about eating hedgehog. He recited: "Say: I find not in the message received by me by inspiration any (meat) forbidden." An old man who was with him said: I heard AbuHurayrah say: It was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Noxious of the noxious. Ibn Umar said: If the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had said it, it is as he said that we did not know

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: The people of pre-Islamic times used to eat some things and leave others alone, considering them unclean. Then Allah sent His Prophet (ﷺ) and sent down His Book, marking some things lawful and others unlawful; so what He made lawful is lawful, what he made unlawful is unlawful, and what he said nothing about is allowable. And he recited: "Say: I find not in the message received by me by inspiration any (meat) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it...." up to the end of the verse

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about the hyena. He replied: It is game, and if one who is wearing ihram (pilgrim's robe) hunts it, he should give a sheep as atonement