that some of it is lifted with bread, such as salt and the like. The second is that they are combined in the mouth, in chewing and swallowing, which is the reality of eating; thus, their separation before that does not matter. As for dates, there are two views regarding them: one is that they are a condiment, based on what Yusuf ibn Abd Allah ibn Salam narrated, saying: I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) place a date on a piece of bread and say: "This is the condiment for this." Narrated by Abu Dawood, and mentioned by Imam Ahmad. The second is that they are not a condiment, because it is not customarily used as a condiment; rather, it is eaten as food and for sweetness. If one eats salt with bread, it is a condiment, for the reasons we mentioned regarding the report, and because bread is eaten with it and it is not customarily eaten alone, resembling cheese and olives.

Section: If one swears not to eat food, he violates his oath by eating everything that is termed food: including staples, condiments, confections, dates, solids, and liquids. Allah the Almighty said: "All food was lawful to the Children of Israel, except what Israel had made unlawful to himself" (Quran 3:93). He also said: "And they give food in spite of love for it" (Quran 76:8), meaning out of a love for the food, because of their need for it; it is also said: out of the love of Allah the Almighty. Allah the Almighty also said: "Say, I do not find within that which was revealed to me anything forbidden to a consumer who would consume it, unless it be carrion, or blood spilled out, or the flesh of swine" (Quran 6:145). The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) called milk food, saying: "Their cattle's udders only store their food for them." And concerning water, there are two views: