"Eat Little, Be Cautious, and Constantly Remember Allāh"

Extracted from the book :"The manners of the knowledge seeker"


Ibn Jamā’ah said:

“From the best ways to help yourself understand the knowledge you are dealing with and to prevent boredom from it is to eat very little, and from what is halāl."

Ash-Shāfi’ī said:

“For the past sixteen years, I never ate my fill.”

The reason for this is that eating excessively leads to excessive drinking and sleeping, dulling of the senses, and laziness of the body. This is all in addition to the fact that doing so is disliked in the Sharī’ah, and exposes the body to all types of dangerous disease as it was said: Indeed, most of the diseases you see Are from eating and drinking… And none of the famous scholars or awliyā’ were ever described as having eaten much, or was ever praised for doing so. Rather, excessive eating is a trait of mindless animals.

A person’s intellect is the source of his deeds, and it is too noble to be hampered and wasted by such a despicable thing as excess food. If there were no downside to eating too much other than that it forces one to use the bathroom, this would’ve been enough for the intelligent one to steer clear of such a practice. And whoever attempts to be successful in seeking knowledge while insisting upon excessive eating, drinking, and sleeping is attempting the impossible.”

Ibn Qudāmah (may Allāh have Mercy on him) said:

“The desire of the stomach is the most destructive of them all, and it is what caused Ādam (peace be upon him) to exit Paradise, and from the desire of the stomach comes the desire for sex and wealth. These leads to many problems, all the result of satisfying one’s appetite."

‘Uqbah ar-Rāsibī said: “I entered upon al-Hasan while he was eating, and he said: “Come eat with me.” I said: “I have already eaten until I can eat no more.” He said: “Subhān Allāh! Does the Muslim eat until he can eat no more?!””

[Tadhkirat as-Sāmi’ wal-Mutakallim’]

Eating in moderation consists of raising one’s hands from the table while he is still a bit hungry. This strengthens the body and wards off disease, and this is because such a person does not reach for food unless he is hungry for it, and raises his hands back while he is still hungry for it. However, eating too little can also weaken you, and some people were so deficient in what they ate that this caused them to be lax in their obligations. Out of their ignorance, they thought this to be something good while this was not the case, since those who praised and encouraged hunger were referring to moderate hunger that we have described above.”

[‘Mukhtasar Minhāj al-Qāsidīn’]