The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was brought a bowl containing plenty of tharid (broth-soaked bread) and wadak (fat/gravy) (31). We began to eat, and I struck my hand into the areas around it. He said: "O Ikrash, eat from one place, for it is one food." Then we were brought a dish containing various types of fresh dates. The hand of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) moved about the dish, and he said: "O Ikrash, eat from wherever you wish, for it is not of one type." Narrated by Ibn Mājah (32). One should not eat from the top of the tharid, based on what Ibn ʿAbbās narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said: "If one of you eats food, let him not eat from the top of the dish; rather, let him eat from its bottom, for the blessing descends from its top." And in [another hadith] (33): "Eat from its sides and leave its top, for it will be blessed." Both were narrated by Ibn Mājah (34).
Section: It is recommended to eat with three fingers, and one should not wipe his hand until he has licked it. Muthannā said: I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh about eating with all the fingers. He leaned toward the use of three fingers, so I mentioned to him the hadith narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he used to eat with his whole palm (35). He did not deem it authentic and did not approve of anything but three fingers. It has been narrated by Kaʿb ibn Mālik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to eat with three fingers and would not wipe his hand until he had licked it. Narrated by al-Khallāl with his isnād (36).
(31) Al-wadak: the fat of meat and grease; it is what drips out from that. (32) In: The Chapter on eating from what is near you, from the Book of Food. Sunan Ibn Mājah 2/1089, 1090. It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhī, in: The Chapter on what is narrated regarding mentioning the name of Allah over food, from the Chapters of Food. ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī 8/40. (33) In A, B, and M: "the hadith". (34) The first hadith, with the wording presented by the author, was recorded by Abū Dāwūd from Ibn ʿAbbās, in: The Chapter on what is narrated regarding eating from the top of the dish, from the Book of Food. Sunan Abū Dāwūd 2/313. He also recorded the second [hadith] from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Busr in the same chapter. As for Ibn Mājah, he recorded the first from Wāthilah ibn al-Asqaʿ al-Laythī, with slight variations in some of its wordings, and recorded the second from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Busr. He also recorded from Ibn ʿAbbās that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "If food is placed, eat from its edge and leave its center, for the blessing descends into its center." See: The Chapter on the prohibition of eating from the top of the tharid, from the Book of Food. Sunan Ibn Mājah 2/1090. (35) Recorded by Ibn Abī Shaybah, in: The Chapter on eating with how many fingers, from the Book of ʿAqīqah. Al-Muṣannaf 8/299, with the wording: "He used to eat with five." (36) It was recorded by Muslim, in: The Chapter on the recommendation of licking the fingers and the bowl... from the Book of Drinks. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 3/1605. And Abū Dāwūd, in: The Chapter on the napkin, from the Book of Food. Sunan Abū Dāwūd 2/329. And al-Dārimī, in: The Chapter on eating with three fingers, from the Book of Food. Sunan al-Dārimī 2/97. And Imām Aḥmad, in: Al-Musnad 6/386.
