Speaking about the blessing of eating and the blessing of expelling what we have eaten.

The Shaykh : Now, know that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has bestowed upon us His blessings, both apparent and hidden, such as food, drink, clothing, shelter, and other blessings that are too numerous to count. In food and drink, Allah has blessings upon us that precede and follow. As for the preceding ones, this water we drink did not come by our power or strength. Thus, Allah the Exalted has clarified His favor upon us with the water that descends from the sky and springs from the earth. Yes, the food we eat: This is a great blessing from Allah; He is the One who planted it and grew it until it was complete, and He facilitated for us the means by which we harvest and reap it, then through grinding and cooking, and other numerous blessings. Some scholars said: "There are no fewer than three hundred and sixty blessings in the food placed before you." This is something that one cannot fully grasp, how the ungraspable becomes graspable. Then, there are blessings in your consumption when it is placed before you; there are blessings in taking it in. How is it when you eat it while hungry? What is its delight? You cannot imagine! And when you put it in your mouth, you find pleasure, and when it goes down, you find pleasure, and when it moves through the intestines, you do not feel fatigue. Now, if a mosquito were to stand here on your hand, would you feel its legs or not? You do not feel them, yet you shudder from it. But this coarse food descends through these delicate intestines, and you do not feel it. These are blessings from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), because there is no sensation inside the body cavity; it passes through the cavity without sensation. Then, Allah the Exalted created glands that secrete substances to soften this food so that it descends and is lightened so that it descends. Then, Allah the Exalted made for it channels; channels through which the waste goes, and channels through which the water goes. Then, there are veins spread throughout these intestines that distribute blood to the body. Where does it deliver it? It delivers it to the heart. Then this small heart, in a moment, purifies this blood so that it exits from the other side of the heart pure. Then it circulates in the body, then returns a second time to the heart, where it purifies and filters it, then returns it pure, and so on and on. All this, and we do not feel this thing; we do not feel it. Otherwise, the heart would say: "Thus are the beats; each beat takes something, and the next beat expels something from this blood." And yet, this blood goes to all parts of the body through fine, organized capillaries arranged according to the wisdom and power of Allah. And with this, also from the great, ultimate power of Allah, is that the blood vessels do not agree in the organs; each organ has its own specific vessels. In other words, the blood vessels in your right hand are not like those in your left hand; they differ. And so it is with the leg; they differ. All this is to demonstrate the power of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). And without doubt, this is also the requirement of wisdom, for if there were no wisdom requiring this hand to have certain vessels and this hand to have certain vessels, Allah would not have created them this way. The important thing is that all this is to demonstrate that Allah has material and physical blessings upon us in this food, preceding its arrival to us and following it. Then, there are, my brothers, religious blessings associated with this food: you name [Allah] when eating, and you praise [Him] when you finish. What is the reward? This blessing is the pleasure of Allah, which is the ultimate goal of every person. Whoever attains the pleasure of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and yet enjoys His blessings, if we praise Him, He is pleased with us, and He is the One who first bestowed these blessings. This blessing is greater than the blessing of the body. What do you think if Allah had not prescribed for us to praise Him when eating and drinking? If we had praised Him, we would have become innovators and sinners. But He prescribed it for us in order to lead us to His pleasure. I ask Allah to realize that for me and for you, so that we may reach His pleasure. This is a great blessing, my brothers, a blessing that a person does not grasp except through contemplation. Then, also in expelling what we have eaten or drunk, there are physical and legal religious blessings. As for the physical blessings, if this food or drink were to accumulate in your stomach and not come out, what would be the outcome? Certain death. But it comes out. If the wind, which Allah the Exalted made like a soldier in front of the prince to open the passages for what passes through them, were to be blocked, what would happen? Death would occur; the belly would swell and then burst. And so it is with urine. So, Allah has a blessing upon us in its exit and its ease. Then, a greater blessing, and praise be to Allah; we ask Allah for you and for us the continuity of the blessing in its retention when you wish and its release when you wish. Who is able to open the bladder so that the urine descends, if not that Allah facilitated it? Whenever you wish, you may go and urinate, and there may be only a quarter of it in the bladder. What is the issue? It is not compulsory. And you may retain it while it is full, but you are able to bear this. This is a blessing from Allah, and one does not know the value of this blessing except one who is afflicted with incontinence. May Allah keep us safe. He knows how he values this blessing. And so it is with the other exit. These are great blessings. And with this, there are religious blessings associated with this blessing: when entering, there is prescribed dhikr that brings you closer to Allah (Mighty and Majestic); when exiting, there is prescribed dhikr that brings you closer to Allah (Mighty and Majestic); and during the act, there is prescribed action that brings you closer to Allah. So contemplate how Allah has blessed you with a comprehensive, wide, religious and worldly blessing. And by this, we know the truth of this noble verse, a truth with no doubt in it whatsoever: Meaning, He forgives us and has mercy on us even if we do not establish the gratitude for these blessings. See, it clarifies the state of the human and the state of the Lord (Mighty and Majestic). The state of the Lord with these great blessings, facing this injustice and disbelief regarding these blessings, is with what? With forgiveness and mercy. As for the state of the servant, it is injustice and disbelief. But this is faced, and praise be to Allah, with forgiveness from a Great Lord and mercy. Yes, we return now to the words of the author, and I presented this introduction because these matters should be kept in our minds always so that we know the value of the great blessings.