Sunnah of eating, drinking, sleeping and dressing etc.

Posted by: "Alikan Moosalkaheen" aboonayeema@yahoo.com   aboonayeema

Wed Oct 7, 2009 5:50 pm

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalaamualaikum dear brother,

Praises be to Allah, and thank Allah for guiding people to righteous path through you, may Allah reward with the best for our duas are always there for you, I would request to know the correct sunnah way of eating, sleeping, nature calls (going to toilet 1's& 2's), nail cutting, oiling, dinking water and dressing, as this is our day to day life, I would love to implement each and every correct sunnah in my life, kindly give all the reference from Quran and Hadith.

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Answer:

Sunnah of eating, drinking, sleeping, and dressing etc

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.

Ref: Eating and Drinking

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.288 Narrated by Umar bin Abi Salama

I was a boy under the care of Allah's Messenger (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) and my hand used to go around the dish while I was eating. So Allah's Messenger (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) said to me: 'O boy! Mention the Name of Allah and eat with your right hand, and eat of the dish what is nearer to you." Since then I have applied those instructions when eating.

 

Sahih Muslim Hadith 5008 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

 

Allah's Messenger (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) said: 'When any one of you intends to eat, he should eat with his right hand, and when one (intends) to drink he should drink with his right hand, for the Shaytaan eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand.'

Ref: Sleeping

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.326 Narrated by Hudhaifa

When the Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) retired to bed at night, he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) would put his hand under his (right) cheek and then say, "Allahumma bismika amutu wa ahya (O Allah, by Your Name I die and I live)" and when he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) got up (from sleep), he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) would say, "Al-Hamdu lil-lahi al-ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana, wa ilaihi an-nushur (Praise be to Allah Who gave us life after death, and to Him is the return."

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 5027 Narrated by Hafsah, Ummul Mu'minin

When the Messenger of Allah (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) retired to go to sleep, he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) would put his right hand under his cheek and would then say three times: 'O Allah, guard me from Thy punishment on the Day when Thou raises up Thy servants.'

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4718 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

When Allah's Messenger (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) saw a man lying on his stomach he said, "This is a method of lying down which Allah does not like."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4731 Narrated by Abu Dharr

The Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) came upon him when he was lying on his stomach, jerked him with his foot and said, "Jundub, only those who go to Hell (the Shayateen) lie like this!"

Other than sleeping on one's stomach, one may sleep in any posture one wills. The normal posture of the Messenger (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) when he retired to bed was to sleep on his right side with his right hand under his cheek.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.119

Topic: Supplications at Bed-Time

Hudhaifah and Abu Dharr reported that when the Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) retired to bed, he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) would say, "O Allah, Lord of the heavens, the earth, and the Mighty Throne, our Lord and the Lord of everything, Who causes the seed to grow and the date-stone to split and sprout, Who sent down the Taurah, the Injeel, and the Qur'an, I seek refuge in You from the evil of all evil-mongers under Your Control. You are the First and there is nothing before You, and You are the Last, and there is nothing after You. You are the Evident and there is nothing beyond You, and You are the Source and there is no power beside You. Relieve us of our debt and poverty."

Related by Bukhari.

It is also reported that the Messenger of Allah (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) would also pray "Praise be to Allah Who has fed us and given us to drink, met all our needs, and given us refuge, while there are many who have neither anyone to meet their needs nor anyone to provide them with a refuge." And every night when he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) retired to bed he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) would hold out his hands together imploringly and blow over them after reciting Surah Al-Ikhlas, Surah Al-Falaq, and Surah An-Nas, and then rub his hands over whichever parts of his body he was able to rub, starting with his head, face, and front of his body. He used to do that three times.

The Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) instructed his companions that when they go to bed they should supplicate, "In Your Name, O Lord, I lay me down to sleep. And by Your leave I raise myself up. So if You take away my soul during sleep, forgive it, and if You keep it alive after sleep protect it just as You protect Your pious servants."

The Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) advised his daughter, Fatimah, "Say 'Subhan-Allah' thirty three times, 'Al-hamdu-lillah' thirty three times, and 'Allahu Akbar' thirty four times." He (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) also commended the recitation of the Ayatal-Kursi, (Al-Baqarah 255) along with the above supplications, and said that he who does so will be under the protection of Allah, Who will assign a protector to protect him.

The Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) said to Bara, "When you go to bed make 'wudu' as you do for the regular prayer, and then lie down on your right side and say, 'O Allah, I surrender my soul to You, and I tum my face toward You, and I trust my affairs to Your care. I turn to You in fear and hope. There is no refuge nor any protection against You except in You. I believe in Your Book which You have revealed to Your Prophet whom You sent'." Then he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) added, "If you die, you will die in your true nature, and these words will be your last words."

Ref: nature calls (going to toilet 1's& 2's)

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.146 Narrated by Abu Aiyub Al Ansari

Allah's Messenger (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) said, "If anyone of you goes to answer the call of nature he should neither face nor turn his back towards the Qibla (when relieving himself).'

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.17a

Anas reported that when the Messenger of Allah (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) entered the privy to relieve himself, he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) would say, "In the name of Allah. O Allah! I seek refuge in You from male and female noxious beings (the Shayateen)."

This is related by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 359 Narrated by Aisha

When Allah's Messenger (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) came out from the privy, he said: '(I seek) forgiveness from Thee, O Allah.'

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 374 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

When Allah's Messenger (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) came out from the privy, he said: 'Praise be to Allah Who has removed injurious things from me, and kept me in health.'

It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) would say upon exiting the toilets: "O Allah, make me amongst those who constantly turn in repentance to You, and amongst those who keep themselves pure and clean."

Ref: nail cutting

 

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.779 Narrated by Abu Huraira

I heard the Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) saying. "Five practices are characteristics of the 'Fitra' (nature): removing the pubic hair, clipping the nails, depilating the hair of the armpits; and circumcision and cutting the moustaches short (for the males)

Anas ibn Malik (r.a.) reported "The time period for us to trim the moustache, clip the nails, pluck out the underarm hairs and cut the pubic hairs was (once in at least) forty nights."

Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud.

Ref: oiling

Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) as saying, "Whoever has hair should honor it."

Related by Abu Dawud.

Said 'Ata ibn Yasar, "A man came to the Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) with unkempt hair and an untidy beard. The Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) pointed to him, as if ordering him to straighten his hair and beard. He did so and returned. Thereupon the Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) observed, 'Is that not better than one of you coming with his hair unkempt, as if he were a devil?"' Related by Malik.

Abu Qatadah related that he had a great amount of hair. He asked the Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam), "O Messenger of Allah (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam), I have lots of hair. Should I comb it?" He (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) answered, "Yes ... and honor it." Abu Qatadah said he would oil his hair twice a day due to the Prophet's (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) words, "... and honor it."

Ref: Dressing

Allah and His Messenger (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) have neither specified nor limited the believers to a particular Islamic dress, but rather gave some conditions which the dress one adorns himself/herself with must be fulfilled:

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verse 26:

26 O ye children of Adam! We have bestowed clothing upon you to cover your shame as well as to be an adornment to you; but the clothing of 'taqwa' (piety, righteousness, etc.) that is the best. Such are among the Signs of Allah that they may receive admonition!

Provided that the below five conditions of apparel are not violated, there is absolutely no restriction on the type or color of clothing the believers are allowed to wear in Islam:

1. Clothes worn should not announce arrogance.

2. The 'satr' of the person (man or woman) must be covered.

3. The clothes worn must not be tight so as to display ones figure and curves, and should not be transparent.

4. The clothes worn must not be an imitation of the pagans or disbelievers.

5. Men should not imitate women in their clothing; nor should women imitate men in their clothing.

Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri reported that when the Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) got a new piece of garment, whether a turban or a shirt or a cloak, he (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) would say, "O Allah! All praise and thanks be to You. You have given me this garment. I seek from You its good and the good that is made of it, and I seek Your refuge against its evil and the evil that it is made of."

Related by Abu Daw'ud and Tirmidhi.

Hadrat Umar reported that he heard the Prophet (Sall'Allahu- alaihi wa'sallam) say "If anyone wears some new clothing and says, 'All praise and thanks be to Allah Who clothed me to cover my nakedness, and made it a means of adornment for me,' and then takes his old garment and gives it in charity, will be under the protection of Allah and will be treated as if striving in the Cause of Allah, in life and after his death."

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah's Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan

May Almighty ALLAH (Subhanuhu wa Ta`ala) guide all of us to the Right Path and give all of us the courage to accept the Truth in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah and to reject all things which are in contradiction to the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah, Aameen.

 

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