The 365 · Sunnah · Day 61 · Food
Saying Bismillah Before Every Meal and Snack
The hadith
إِذَا أَكَلَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَذْكُرِ اسْمَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، فَإِنْ نَسِيَ أَنْ يَذْكُرَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي أَوَّلِهِ، فَلْيَقُلْ: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ أَوَّلَهُ وَآخِرَهُ
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'When one of you eats, let him mention the name of Allah. If he forgets to mention Allah's name at the beginning, let him say: bismillāhi awwalahu wa-ākhirahu (in the name of Allah at its beginning and at its end).' (Sunan at-Tirmidhī 1858, Abū Dāwūd 3767, classed ṣaḥīḥ, narrated by ʿĀʼishah ra.)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'När någon av er äter, låt honom nämna Allahs namn. Om han glömmer att nämna Allahs namn i början, låt honom säga: Bismillahi awwalahu wa akhirahu.'
The story
ʿUmar ibn Abī Salamah ra. (the Prophet's ﷺ stepson, raised in his household) reported: 'I was a young boy in the care of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. My hand used to wander all over the dish. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me: O young boy! Say bismillah, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is near you.' (Bukhārī 5376, Muslim 2022.) The hadith is the foundational eating-sunnah hadith. ʿUmar said: 'From that day onwards, this remained my practice when eating.'
Why it's here
Bismillah before eating is the believer's structural marker that the food is a blessing from Allah, not earned by the believer's own work. The Prophet ﷺ established it as the universal eating prerequisite. Failure to say bismillah is not just a missed sunnah; it has operational consequences: the Prophet ﷺ said the shayṭān shares the meal of one who does not name Allah on his food. (Muslim 2018, narrated by Jābir.) The single word converts the meal from shared with shayṭān to shared with Allah's blessing.
Try it today
1. Before every meal, every snack, every drink (including water), say bismillah. 2. If you forget at the beginning, say bismillāhi awwalahu wa-ākhirahu when you remember. 3. Teach children explicitly: this is the first sunnah of eating. 4. Build the habit in public meals (restaurants, business lunches, family gatherings) without performing piety; just say it briefly.
In your day
Most modern Muslims have lost this practice in non-religious settings. The bismillah is silent and quick; it can be said anywhere. The Prophet's ﷺ instruction is unambiguous: every meal. Build the habit at every dining context.
A reflection to carry
Bismi-llāh before eating: the foundational eating Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ: 'When one of you eats, let him say bismi-llāh. If he forgets at the start, let him say: bismi-llāhi awwalahu wa-ākhirah.' (Tirmidhī 1858.)
Read the longer reflection
The Prophet ﷺ described the structural mechanism (Muslim 2017): when bismi-llāh is said, Shayṭān cannot eat with the believer; when omitted, Shayṭān shares the meal. The bismi-llāh is the structural threshold-marker for the eating-event. Cure: never start a meal without bismi-llāh; train children explicitly; if you forget, recite the corrective formula. The combined practice of bismi-llāh + right-hand + closest-portion (Day 62-63) is the complete Prophetic eating-protocol; modern eating typically misses all three.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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