Muhammad (saw) – The Perfect Man — Page 14
CHAPTER 2 A Glimpse of the Excellent Qualities of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa 14 Food and Eating Habits The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa has advised us to wash our hands before and after a meal; 23 to begin the meal with 'Bismill a h' ; to partake of the food that is immediately before us, and to eat with the right hand. 24 His food was very simple. Quite often, only milk would suffice for his supper. 25 While taking a drink, he would stop for breath thrice. He would begin with the name of All a h and finish by offering gratitude to Him. 26 There were no sieves in those days, so he ate bread made of coarse oat and wheat flour. Although in meat he liked the shoulder best, he would eat whatever was available and was grateful for it. In vegetables, he liked the turnip. Once he ate his bread with vinegar and remarked, "What a nice curry is vinegar!" 27 He very much liked the Arab dish called Thar i d which is a mixture of wheat and meat. He also ate Har i sah, another Arab dish. He enjoyed eating orange with dates and offered gratitude to God for every food given by Him. 28 In fruit, he loved the watermelon. He would hold dates in his right hand and a piece of watermelon in his left, and say: "We are tempering down the effect of the dates with the water-melon. " 29 In sweets, he liked honey, semolina and rice pudding. 30 He would not lean on anything when eating. He also avoided very hot food. 31