The 365 · Sunnah · Day 62 · Food
Eating and Drinking with the Right Hand
The hadith
إِذَا أَكَلَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَأْكُلْ بِيَمِينِهِ، وَإِذَا شَرِبَ فَلْيَشْرَبْ بِيَمِينِهِ، فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَأْكُلُ بِشِمَالِهِ وَيَشْرَبُ بِشِمَالِهِ
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'When one of you eats, let him eat with his right hand. When one of you drinks, let him drink with his right hand. For the shayṭān eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand.' (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2020, narrated by Ibn ʿUmar ra.)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'När någon av er äter, låt honom äta med höger hand. När någon av er dricker, låt honom dricka med höger hand. För Shaytan äter med vänster hand och dricker med vänster hand.'
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2020 (Ibn ʿUmar); cross-reference Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5376 + Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2022 (ʿUmar ibn Abī Salamah)
The story
Ibn ʿUmar narrated this hadith. Cross-ref the famous incident: the Prophet ﷺ saw a man eating with his left hand and said: 'Eat with your right hand.' The man said: 'I cannot.' The Prophet ﷺ said: 'May you not be able.' Pride had prevented him. After this, the man could not raise his right hand to his mouth. (Muslim 2021.) The hadith establishes the seriousness: the Prophet's ﷺ instruction was structurally important enough that defiance of it produced visible consequence.
Why it's here
The right hand is structurally honored in Islamic practice: it is used for eating, for drinking, for shaking hands, for entering the masjid. The left hand is used for cleansing after the bathroom, for what is dirty. The Prophet ﷺ named the structural distinction: shayṭān eats with the left. The believer's eating with the right is therefore not arbitrary; it is a structural disassociation from the demonic pattern.
Try it today
1. Eat exclusively with the right hand. 2. Drink exclusively with the right hand. 3. If left-handed, train yourself; the sunnah applies regardless of native handedness. 4. Pass food to others with the right hand. 5. Receive food and drink with the right hand. 6. Teach children early; the habit installs naturally if reinforced from childhood.
In your day
Modern eating contexts (cutlery, multi-utensil meals) sometimes complicate this. The principle: the dominant eating-hand should be the right. Cutlery: knife in right (for cutting, brief use), then switch to right for the eating utensil; some classical scholars allow knife-in-left, fork-in-right throughout. Drinking: always right.
A reflection to carry
Eating with the right hand. The Prophet ﷺ: 'When one of you eats, let him eat with his right hand; when he drinks, let him drink with his right hand; for indeed Shayṭān eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand.' (Muslim 2020.)
Read the longer reflection
The structural opposition: the believer's right-hand pattern vs the Shayṭān's left-hand pattern. The Prophet's ﷺ instruction was severe: a man at the Prophet's ﷺ table ate with his left hand; the Prophet ﷺ: 'Eat with your right.' The man: 'I cannot.' The Prophet ﷺ: 'May you not be able': the man's right hand became permanently disabled. (Muslim 2021.) Cure: always eat and drink with the right hand; if you have a medical reason for left-hand-only, the Sunnah is excused; otherwise, the discipline is non-negotiable. Modern western utensil-handling habits often default to left-hand for fork; reverse this when not using a knife.
Sources: Sahih Muslim. 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.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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