DAILY POST #70
Imaam Ibn Hajar Al-‘Asqalaani – rahimahullaah – said:
It is reported from Al-Miqdam Ibn Ma’diyakrib radiyallaahu anhu who said:
” The Messenger of Allah -salallaahu alayhi wasallam said:
“A human being has never filled a vessel which is more worse than his own belly.”
Transmitted and recorded by Imam At-Tirmidhi in his “Sunan”#2317 and Imam Al Albani declared the hadith to be Sahih in “Sahihul Jamiu”#5911.
COMMENTARY
The hadith shows the importance of the following:
1. It indicates that it is disliked for one to attain a stage of satiation after eating. Muslims ought to eat for survival and to maintain good health – they should not live to eat, or make food the sole focus of their existence.
2. Moderation in dietary or eating habits can help people to live healthy and have a balanced lives. Modern research has proven that excessive eating and improper diet can increase the chance of diseases such as obesity, high cholesterol, heart diseases and diabetes.
3. It shows that overeating has been strongly discouraged in the Quran and Sunnah.
Going through these verses and the hadith of the messenger Sallahu-alayhi wasallam, one may wonder, why is there so much stress or regard given to something mundane like food and eating, when there are so many more important matters like charity, mercy, love, abstinence and piety that need our attention? This stress on the everyday details of life is, however, part of the worldview of Islam. The essence of Islam lies in the relationship between the human being and his or her Creator.
Therefore, Islam lays down injunctions and rules for living in order to promote the lifestyle that achieves the best results in rendering Ibaadah(worship) to Allah. Consequently, Islam believes that optimum spiritual health goes hand in hand with a sound, healthy physical constitution.
4. It indicates that food is just like a fuel that is needed when necessary. Food plays an important role in an individual’s life, as it is required for the survival of a human being and the nourishment of the body and mind not for entertainment and comfort. However, in modern times, people have developed an unhealthy relationship with food, in that they use (or abuse) it as a means of entertainment and comfort, to ward off boredom or to combat a feeling of emptiness in their lives.
Consequently, most people are engaged in perpetual warfare against their bodies by binging on food or by resorting to extreme diets, leading to health problems like obesity and eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
Nowadays, eating is not an act of giving our bodies nourishment, but something that makes us feel full as fast as possible. Mindless eating has led to the development of a fast food culture that makes it impossible for us to keep track of how much we eat. At the end of the day, we may even struggle to recall what we put in our bodies. Over time, we may find ourselves gaining weight without really knowing why, leading us to different types of diseases like hypertension, obesity and diabetes etc.
Allaahu A’alam!
Baarakallaahu feekum!
