Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, in what he quoted from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding some of the etiquettes of eating: that when a person finishes eating, he should lick his fingers and lick the plate, meaning he should lap it up until no trace of food remains in it. For you do not know in which of your food the blessing is. These are two etiquettes: the first is licking the plate, and the second is licking the fingers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not command his Ummah with anything except that there is good and blessing in it. For this reason, doctors have said that there is a benefit in licking the fingers after eating, which is to facilitate digestion, because these fingers have a substance that, by the permission of Allah, is secreted when licking after eating, which facilitates digestion. And we say this in the context of knowing the wisdom of the Shari'ah in what it commands. Otherwise, the principle is that we lick them in obedience to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Many people do not understand this Sunnah; you find one who finishes his food with the edge of his plate all around covered in food. You also find him going to wash his hands without licking his fingers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited a person from wiping his hands with a napkin until he licks them and cleans them of food, and then after that he wipes with the napkin, and then after that he washes them if he wishes. Also, among the etiquettes of eating is that if a person's morsel falls on the ground, he should not leave it, because Satan is present with a person in all his affairs. All your affairs—eating, drinking, intercourse, anything—he is present. So if you do not mention Allah when eating, he will share in your eating and will eat with you. For this reason, the blessing is removed from the food if it is not mentioned. And if you mention Allah over the food and then the morsel falls, meaning a morsel or a date or something similar falls from your hand, then Satan takes it. But he does not take it while we are looking, because this is a matter of the unseen that we do not see. But we were informed of it by the truthful, veracious one (peace and blessings be upon him). He eats it, he eats it, and even if it remains before us physically, he eats it in the unseen. This is one of the unseen matters that we must believe in. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) directed us to good, saying:Sunan al-Bayhaqi 10:1925 If there is, for example, dirt or twigs or something it got dirty with from the ground, remove this and then eat it, and do not leave it for Satan. And if a person does this in obedience to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and in humility to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and in depriving Satan of eating it, he obtains these three benefits: obedience to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), humility, and depriving Satan of eating it. These are three benefits. Most people, if the morsel falls on a clean tablecloth, leave it, and this is contrary to the Sunnah. Take it and remove whatever harm is in it. And in this hadith is a fourth benefit: that it is not permissible for a person to eat food that contains harm, because your soul is a trust with you. Do not eat anything that contains harm, such as twigs or thorns or something similar. Accordingly, we remind those who eat fish to be cautious for themselves, because fish has fine bones like needles. If a person does not guard against them, they may enter his stomach and injure his stomach or intestines while he is not aware. For this reason, a person should take care of himself and be the best caretaker for him. May the prayers and peace of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, in what he quoted from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding some of the etiquettes of eating: that when a person finishes eating, he should lick his fingers and lick the plate, meaning he should lap it up until no trace of food remains in it. For you do not know in which of your food the blessing is. These are two etiquettes: the first is licking the plate, and the second is licking the fingers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not command his Ummah with anything except that there is good and blessing in it. For this reason, doctors have said that there is a benefit in licking the fingers after eating, which is to facilitate digestion, because these fingers have a substance that, by the permission of Allah, is secreted when licking after eating, which facilitates digestion. And we say this in the context of knowing the wisdom of the Shari'ah in what it commands. Otherwise, the principle is that we lick them in obedience to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Many people do not understand this Sunnah; you find one who finishes his food with the edge of his plate all around covered in food. You also find him going to wash his hands without licking his fingers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited a person from wiping his hands with a napkin until he licks them and cleans them of food, and then after that he wipes with the napkin, and then after that he washes them if he wishes. Also, among the etiquettes of eating is that if a person's morsel falls on the ground, he should not leave it, because Satan is present with a person in all his affairs. All your affairs—eating, drinking, intercourse, anything—he is present. So if you do not mention Allah when eating, he will share in your eating and will eat with you. For this reason, the blessing is removed from the food if it is not mentioned. And if you mention Allah over the food and then the morsel falls, meaning a morsel or a date or something similar falls from your hand, then Satan takes it. But he does not take it while we are looking, because this is a matter of the unseen that we do not see. But we were informed of it by the truthful, veracious one (peace and blessings be upon him). He eats it, he eats it, and even if it remains before us physically, he eats it in the unseen. This is one of the unseen matters that we must believe in. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) directed us to good, saying: