‘A’isha reported God’s messenger as saying, “When one of you eats and forgets to mention God over his food he should say, ‘In the name of God at the beginning and at the end of it’.”
Umayya b. Makhshi told that a man who was eating and had not mentioned God’s name said when he raised the last morsel to his mouth, “In the name of God at the beginning and at the end of it.” The Prophet laughed and said, “The devil kept eating along with him, but when he mentioned God’s name he vomited what was in his belly.”
Abu Ayyub told that when God’s messenger ate or drank he said, “Praise be to God who has given food and drink, made it easy to swallow, and provided an exit for it.”
Salman said he read in the Torah that the blessing of food consists in ablution after it, and when he mentioned that to the Prophet he said, “The blessing of food consists in ablution before it and ablution after it.”
Ibn ‘Abbas told that when food was presented to the Prophet or, his coming out from the privy and he was asked whether they should bring him water for ablution, he replied, “I have been commanded to perform ablution only when I get up for prayer.”
Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted it on Abu Huraira’s authority.
Ibn ‘Abbas told that the Prophet was brought a dish containing tharid* and said, “Eat from its sides and not from the middle, for the blessing descends in the middle of it.”
*Bread crumbled and mixed with soup which may have pieces of meat in it.
Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a hasan sahih tradition. In Abu Dawud’s version he said, “When one of you eats he must not eat from the top of the dish, but from the bottom, for the blessing descends from the top of it.”
God’s messenger was brought some bread and meat when he was in the mosque, and he ate and we ate along with him. He then stood up and prayed and we prayed along with him, doing no more than wiping our hands with pebbles.
‘A’isha reported God’s messenger as saying, “Do not cut meat with a knife, for it is a foreign practice, but bite it, for that is more beneficial and wholesome.”
Abu Dawud and Baihaqi, in Shu'ab al-iman, transmitted it, both saying it is not strong.
God’s messenger came in to visit me accompanied by ‘Ali when we had some ripening dates hung up. He began to eat, and ‘Ali along with him, but God’s messenger said to ‘Ali, “Stop, Ali, for you are convalescing.” I then prepared some beetroot and barley for them and the Prophet said, “Take some of this, ‘Ali, for it will be more beneficial for you.”
Anas said God’s messenger liked what was at the bottom of the pot.*
*Mirqat, iv, 381 has quite a long discussion of the meaning of thufl. It means 'dregs', or 'what sinks to the bottom'. The preference for the meaning in the translation above is said to "be either because what is in the bottom of the pot is cooked longer and so is better than the rest, or because the Prophet liked others to be served first. It is also suggested that here thufl means tharid.
Tirmidhi and Baihaqi, in Shu'ab al-iman, transmitted it.
Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “If anyone spends the night with grease on his hand which he has not washed away, he can blame only himself if some trouble comes to him.”
The Prophet came in to visit me and asked whether I had anything. When I replied that I had nothing but some dry bread and vinegar he said, “Produce it; a house in which there is vinegar is not devoid of condiments.”
Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.
Yusuf b. ‘Abdallah b. Salam said he saw the Prophet take a piece of barley bread and put a date on it. Saying, “This is the condiment of this,” he ate it.
