The Appetite of The Believer

عَنْ جَابِرٍ وَابْنِ عُمَرَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ الْمُؤْمِنُ يَأْكُلُ فِي مِعًى وَاحِدٍ وَالْكَافِرُ يَأْكُلُ فِي سَبْعَةِ أَمْعَاءٍ

Jabir and Ibnu ‘Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “The believer eats in one intestine while a non-believer eats in seven.”

Narrated in Sahih Bukhari

Grade: Sahih (authentic)

Reflections:

1. A Muslim eats in moderation and with etiquette.

2. Believers should distinguish themselves from non-believers including when it comes to eating, taking less in amount.

3. Imam an-Nawawi said of the above hadith, “The meaning behind it is to encourage a person to diminish worldliness and to develop zuhud (the state of detachment from the material) and qana’ah (contentedness). Consuming little is a nobility and gluttony is its opposite.”

4. Imam asy-Syafi’e said, “Fullness renders the body hefty, hardens the heart, takes away sprightliness, and causes sleepiness and lethargy in performing ‘ibadah (acts of worship).”