and after it" (43). Yahya said to me: How excellent it is to perform wudu' before and after it. I mentioned the hadith to Ahmad, and he said: No one narrated this (44) except Qays ibn al-Rabi', and his hadith is munkar (denied/rejected). I said: It reached me from Yahya ibn Sa'id that he said: Sufyan used to dislike washing the hands at the time of eating. Why did Sufyan dislike that? He said: Because it is from the custom of the non-Arabs (Ajam). I said: It reached me from Yahya ibn Sa'id that he said: Sufyan used to dislike having a loaf of bread under the bowl. Why did Sufyan dislike that? He said: He disliked that food be used [in that manner]. I said: Do you dislike it? He said: Yes. It was narrated from 'Uqayl that he said: I attended a banquet with Ibn Shihab, and they spread the dining table with bread, so he said: Do not take bread as a mat. Al-Marrudhi said: I said to Abu 'Abd Allah: Abu Ma'mar said that Abu Usama presented bread to them, and he broke it. He said: This is so you do not know how much you are eating. It was said to Abu 'Abd Allah: Is it disliked to eat while reclining? He said: Did the Prophet (peace be upon him) not say: "I do not eat while reclining"? Narrated by Abu Dawud (46). From Shu'ayb [ibn 'Abd Allah] (47) ibn 'Amr, from his father, he said: The Messenger of Allah was never seen eating while reclining. Narrated by Abu Dawud (48). From Ibn 'Umar, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade a man from eating while lying on his stomach. Narrated by Abu Dawud (49).
Section: It is recommended to mention the name of Allah (Tasmiya) at the beginning of the meal and to praise Allah (Hamd) at its end, because 'Umar ibn Abi Salama (50) narrated that he said: I ate with the Prophet (peace be upon him), and my hand wandered in the bowl, so he said: "Say the name of Allah, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is near you." He said: My eating remained like that ever since.
(43) Recorded by Abu Dawud, in: Chapter on washing hands before food, from the Book of Foods. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/311. And al-Tirmidhi, in: Chapter on what has come regarding wudu' before and after food, from the Chapters on Foods. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 8/36. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 5/441. (44) In A and B: "with it". (45) In A and B: "dislikes". (46) Its authentication was previously provided in: 10/215. (47) Omitted from: Original. (48) In: Chapter on what has come regarding eating while reclining, from the Book of Foods. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/313. It was also recorded by Ibn Majah, in: Chapter on he who disliked that his heels be stepped on, from the Introduction. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/89. (49) In: Chapter on what has come regarding sitting at a dining table containing some things that are disliked, from the Book of Foods. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/314. It was also recorded by Ibn Majah, in: Chapter on the prohibition of eating while lying on one's stomach, from the Book of Foods. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/1118. (50) In M: "Muslima", an error.
