Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When anyone’s servant prepares his food and brings it to him after being near its heat and smoke, he should make him sit down with him and eat; but if the company is large* and the food small in quantity he should put one or two mouthfuls of it in his hand.”
* Mashfuhan qalil'an. The word mashfuhan is applied either to food which is small in quantity, or to food which is being partaken of by a number of people. The latter meaning obviously applies here as it is followed by qalil (small in quantity); but some people understand mashfuh here as 'small in quantity’ followed by qalil expressing the same meaning.
‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr told that a steward of his came to him and he asked him whether he had given the slaves their food. When he replied that he had not, he told him to go and give it to them, for God’s Messenger had said, “It is a serious enough fault for a man to withhold his food from one whom he possesses.” A version has, “It is a serious enough fault for a man to destroy one he is bound to sustain.”
Abu Dharr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God has put your brethren under your authority, so he who has his brother put under his authority by God must feed him from what he eats, clothe him from what he wears, and not impose on him work which is too much for him, but if he does so he must help him with it.”
