Eat, Drink and Get Rewarded
Allah is pleased with His servant who praises Him when he eats and praises Him when he drinks.
Salamun alaykum wa rahmatullah,
In the last edition of this newsletter, we discussed that with the right intention of serving Allah and following the prescribed way, most of our mundane acts can be turned into acts of worship for which we can be rewarded by Allah. I also promised that the focus subsequently will be to call our attention to how we can start sending these good deeds forth for the morrow.
Before we continue this week, two quick questions – did you read last week’s digest? If you haven’t, you might want to check it out now. If you read it, how have you been sending forth good deeds for the morrow? I will like to read from you in the comments.
This week, we will examine two, probably most mundane, acts with which we can seek the pleasure of and reward from Allah. The intention is that by reminding you of how rewarding these acts can be, you will hopefully put them into practice and get rewarded by Allah.
So, let’s eat…
“O you who believe (in the Oneness of Allah)! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you with, and be grateful to Allah, if it is indeed He Whom you worship.” Al Qur’an, 2 verse 172.
Allah, in His Mercy, who created us provides for us, and there is no soul created except that what will sustain Him has been created as Allah wishes. Thus, Allah commands us to eat that which is lawful and be grateful to Him. As Muslims, we understand that we will be rewarded for acting in accordance with the command of Allah and might be punished if we act otherwise.
The implication of that is that if we always seek and take conscious efforts to ensure that we only eat of the lawful things, and we are grateful to Allah – praising Him for His provisions, then we will be acting in accordance with the command of Allah and can be rewarded for “just” eating.
In addition to that, some etiquettes have been prescribed for us by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with regards to eating, and we know for certain that with the right intention, we will be rewarded for following the ways/traditions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Let’s go over some of these practices;
Mentioning Allah's Name - say ‘Bismillah’ before starting to eat and if you forget, say; ‘Bismillah awwalahu wa akhirahu’ (With the Name of Allah, in the beginning and the end) whenever you remember while eating.
Eating with your right hand.
Eating from what is near you – just as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught Umar bin Abu Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him).
Eating from the side of the vessel – blessings descend upon food in its middle.
Praising Allah after eating – in accordance with the command of Allah so that He might be pleased with you and your past sins might be forgiven.
It was narrated by Mu'adh bin Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "He who has taken food and says at the end: ‘Al- hamdu lillahi-lladhi at'amani hadha, wa razaqanihi min ghairi haulin minni wa la quwwatin’ (All praise is due to Allah Who has given me food to eat and provided it without any endeavour on my part or any power), all his past sins will be forgiven."
And drink…
The same principle applies to drinking. There are etiquettes that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught us and in following these practices while we take our drinks, we are acting in a way for which we can be rewarded. Some of these include;
Mentioning the Name of Allah (i.e., say ‘Bismillah’) when you start drinking
Praising Him (i.e., say ‘Al-hamdu lillah’) after you have finished (drinking).
Drinking in two or three (gulps), not one.
Being in a sitting position while drinking
Indeed, Allah is pleased with His servant who praises Him – says ‘Al-hamdu lillah’, when he eats and when he drinks.
Respected brothers and sisters in Islam, seek the pleasure of Allah by mentioning His Name when you start to eat and drink, and praise Him after eating and drinking. With that, you will not just eat and drink, you’ll also get rewarded and be assured of the pleasure of Allah.
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