by Sanaa Mian
Eating is a task we do every day, in Islam it is more than just filling our stomach and satiating our hunger, it is a form of ibadah to Allah the Almighty. Our meals become a great source of physical and spiritual blessing when we eat with gratitude, good manners, good intentions, and moderation. Islam guides us in every aspect of life including how we should eat our meals.
The Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) teach us easy to follow habits we should follow to keep our bodies healthy, and our souls connected to Allah the Almighty. Our society is fast paced and busy, in this environment of hast and greed many people often struggle with overeating and unhealthy food consumption. Fast food, big portions, social media food trends, and busy lifestyles can make it hard to eat healthy food with moderation. In this article I will present the benefits of eating with moderation through the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), Qur’anic verses, and hadith references.
Taking care of our bodies is a huge part of our faiths as Muslims. The Holy Quran is a guide for our lives from Allah the Almighty, and it teaches us that food is a divine gift from Allah we should be grateful for. We see this in the Quran. Allah tells the believers:
“O children of Adam! Look to your adornment at every time and place of worship and eat and drink but exceed not the bounds; surely, He does not love those who exceed the bounds.”1
(7:32)
This particular verse from the Holy Quran tells us that we should eat and drink within bounds, but we should never harm our bodies by overeating.
Moderation is a key part of showing our gratitude to Allah for all the blessings he has given to us. A straightforward way of showing our gratitude can be by following the Holy prophet Muhammad (sa) guidance of saying “Bismillah” (In the name of Allah) before starting our meal and saying duas before eating, after finishing our meal saying “Alhamdulillah” (All praise belongs to Allah).
Food should not be wasted at all and should not be taken for granted. The Holy Prophet (sa) gave us clear instructions of etiquettes for eating he says “Kill not your hearts with excessive eating and drinking. There is no vessel worse for a person to fill than his stomach. A few mouthfuls should suffice to keep him on his feet. But if he must eat more, then let him fill one-third of his stomach with food, one-third with drink and leave one-third for easy breathing.”2 (Jami` at-Tirmidhi 238).
This one-third rule that the Holy Prophet has taught us protects and safeguards our health since overeating can lead to dire health consequences overtime such as discomfort, sleepiness, nausea, indigestion, and long-term health problems like obesity and type 2 diabetes.3 Following this sunnah helps us feel energized and lighter this will lead to improvement in prayer, studies, and work. This Sunnah also helps us as Muslims to control our greed and gluttony.
Islam teaches its believers that our bodies are Amanah (trust) from Allah the almighty we will be held responsible for how we care for them. This is why we must ensure that we protect our bodies, minds, and souls from all harms and evils. We will be held accountable for the ways we harm our bodies to Allah.
The Holy Quran emphasizes this when Allah the exhalted says to the believers:
And spend for the cause of Allah, and cast not yourselves into ruin with your own hands, and do good; surely, Allah loves those who do good.”
(2:196)
In this verse Allah is telling Muslims that harming our bodies is a great sin. Overeating and eating unhealthy food is a form of harming our body and health. When we choose to eat with moderation, we are pleasing Allah and taking care of our bodies according to his commands.
The Holy Prophet (sa) has given us further guidance on this matter instructing all Muslims “Your eyes have a right over you; your body has a right over you; your family has a right over you and your wife and children have a right over you. Therefore, you may pray indeed, but it is also important to sleep.” (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 302)4. This Hadith is crucial for every Muslim to follow it teaches us that taking care of our health physically is an obligation as a Muslim and a great way of worship to Allah the Almighty.
Eating balanced healthy meals, drinking a healthy amount of water, and avoiding overeating are all part of our faith and obligations as Muslims. As Muslims we look up to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and he preferred to live a simple and modest life, this also applied to his meals, he preferred to eat whole and natural meals derived from the simplest of ingredients.
Our beloved Huzur has reminded us of the Holy Prophet’s modest way of eating when he says during a Friday sermon (April 30th, 2004) “there would be days when even some discarded date would not be available for him to eat, after prophet-hood the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) did not eat bread made with milled wheat flour, rather his bread would be made of coarse barley. In his supreme sense of contentment the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) referred to vinegar as a ‘fine’ broth and once for the duration of two months food was not cooked in his house and they survived by eating dates, drinking water and at times his neighbours would send some milk to drink.”5 natural and wholesome foods the Holy Prophet used to eat that we should incorporate into our meals include dates, barley bread, milk, honey, figs, water, and olive oil. His lifestyle shows us that meals do not have to be lavish to be fulfilling.
Food is a huge part of our culture and with this comes excessive food waste and unfair distribution of food, for example instead of wasting so much money and food on extensive weddings we should follow the example of simplicity from The Holy Prophet (sa) and donate food and money to the poor.
We should never waste food since that is a great sin; food is a blessing that we should be extremely grateful and respectful for. Eating is an act we do every day but through the teachings of Islam we can make it an act of worship, and a means to strengthen our spiritual bond with Allah the Almighty.
When we eat moderately and with gratitude, we are protecting our health and wellbeing while also strengthening our relationship with Allah. May we all be successful in following the proper way of eating in Islam and may it bring us peace spiritually and physically.
Ameen.
Works Cited
1 “Read Qur’an.” Al Islam, www.alislam.org/quran/app/1. Viewed December 1, 2025.
2 “Chapter 4: The Daily Life of a Muslim Woman.” Pathway to Paradise, Al Islam, https://www.alislam.org/book/pathway-to-paradise/daily-life-of-muslim-woman/. Viewed December 1, 2025.
3 Klein, Samuel. “Why Does Obesity Cause Diabetes?” Cell Metabolism.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8740746/?utm. Viewed December 1, 2025.
4 “Uthman bin Maz’un (ra).” Al-Islam.org www.alislam.org/articles/uthman-bin-mazun/. Viewed December 1, 2025.
5 “Printer-Friendly Summary” April 30, 2025, Friday Sermon. Al Islam. https://www.alislam.org/friday-sermon/printer-friendly-summary-2004-04-30.html Viewed December 1, 2025.
