The 365 · Sunnah · Day 63 · Food
Eating from the Portion of the Dish Closest to You
The hadith
يَا غُلَامُ، سَمِّ اللَّهَ، وَكُلْ بِيَمِينِكَ، وَكُلْ مِمَّا يَلِيكَ
The Prophet ﷺ said to ʿUmar ibn Abī Salamah ra. (a young boy in his household whose hand was wandering all over the dish): 'O young boy, mention the name of Allah, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is near you (mimmā yalīka).' (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5376, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2022.)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'O unge man, nämn Allahs namn, ät med höger hand, och ät från det som är närmast dig.'
Sunan Abī Dāwūd 3767, Sunan at-Tirmidhī 1858 (ṣaḥīḥ, ʿĀ'ishah); Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2018 (Jābir, household entrance); Q 6:118
The story
The hadith of ʿUmar ibn Abī Salamah is the foundational adab al-akl hadith. The Prophet's ﷺ correction was specific: ʿUmar's hand was wandering in the dish, taking from various portions. The Prophet ﷺ corrected the wandering with one phrase: mimmā yalīka. ʿUmar said: 'From that day onwards, this remained my practice when eating.' (Bukhārī 5376.)
Why it's here
The third part of the foundational eating-sunnah hadith. Mimmā yalīka (from what is near you) names the structural courtesy: do not reach across the dish to take the better portion; eat from the portion in front of you. The principle is courtesy in shared meals, but it also names a deeper character-formation: the believer trains himself to be content with what comes to him, rather than reaching for what others have. The eating-table becomes a daily training ground for adab and contentment.
Try it today
1. In any shared dish, eat only from your immediate portion. 2. If you need to take a piece from elsewhere (a particular fruit, a specific bone), wait for it to come around or ask politely. 3. Teach children at every shared meal. 4. The exception named by the classical scholars: dried fruits and similar where the Prophet ﷺ allowed taking from various sides because each piece is distinct (Tirmidhī 1849).
In your day
Modern shared dining (buffets, family-style meals, communal platters) tests this discipline. The principle: do not reach across. The sunnah builds patience and courtesy in micro-moments dozens of times per week.
A reflection to carry
Eating from what is in front of you: the Prophet's ﷺ instruction to the boy who reached around the dish: 'O young boy, mention Allah's name, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is closest to you (kul mimmā yalīk).' (Bukhārī 5376.)
Read the longer reflection
The structural discipline: do not reach across to another's portion; do not pick at the dish to find better pieces (taḥarrī); do not extend yourself to grab what others might want. The contentment-with-one's-portion is itself worship; reaching for the better is a form of greed. Cure: at shared meals, eat from the side of the dish closest to you; even if better pieces are visible elsewhere, do not reach; train children explicitly. Modern buffet-style eating often defaults to grabbing the best; the Prophetic alternative is structural restraint, even when more is available.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, 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.
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