The Bliss of Sustenance

Islam is fair in its consideration of both the demands of the spirit and those of the body. It does not require the person to deprive himself of material of natural delight or bodily pleasure, as long as he attains it legally and moderately. Allah, the Most High, says:

Seek with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on you, in the abode of the Hereafter, and do not forget your portion in this world, but do good, as Allah has been good to you. (Quran, al-Qasas:77)

Allah provides the believers with a spiritual force that moves them to prefer the Hereafter, which is far better for them, to the life of the present. Allah explains:

The life of this world is but amusement and play; but verily the home in the Hereafter - that is life indeed, if they but knew. (Quran, al-Ankabut:64)

The present life is a test for people, and a means to attain bliss in the Hereafter as well. Every side of life, whether at home, in the market, at the factory, the shop or elsewhere - is a different experience set for people. Allah says:

We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. To Us must you return. (Quran, al-Anbiya:35)

The Muslim should look to food and drink as a means to an end, not as an end in itself. That he eats and drinks for the sake of the protection of the health of his body by which he is able to worship Allah, the Exalted, and whose worship qualifies him to the honour of the Hereafter and its bliss. That he does not eat and drink for the sake of eating and drinking, so that he does not lusts and greeds after it. If he is not hungry he does not eat, and if he does not become thirsty he does not drink. Ibn Umar (r) reported that Prophet Muhammad (s) said, "Most of the people who became over-indulged in food and drink in this life will find themselves hungry on the Day of Judgement." (Tirmidhi)

Many people become slaves to their lusts, reducing their lives to the needs of food, drink and the like. That is why Allah calls man to train his spirit by doing good and to clean his heart from the filth of desire:

Truly he succeeds that purifies it, and he that fails that corrupts it. (Quran, al-Shams:9-10)

A true believer is one who has conceived Allah's Grace and Sublimely, has come to feel Allah's Gentleness and Beneficence, and knows well that it is He alone who is his Sustainer. Such a person is strongly impressed by this realisation and hence, bears affection to Allah. His heart is filled with concern for his Creator, and all his deeds are carried out to gain Allah's favour. Thus, a believer's happiness comes from his obedience to Allah and never disobeying His orders:

The parable of the Garden which the righteous are promised - beneath it rivers flow: perpetual is the enjoyment thereof and the shade therein. Such is the end of the righteous, and the end of the unbelievers is the Fire. (Quran, al-Rad:35)

The weaker a person's spiritual wishes, the stronger are his physical desires, which is often the desire to eat. We notice that excessiveness in the desire to eat leads one to consider life as a means for mere physical satisfaction. Allah warns against gluttony and describes the gluttonous as being detested by Allah:

Eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters. (Quran, al-Araf:31)

Similarly, gluttony leads to dullness and to turning away from nourishing the mind and spirit with the knowledge it needs. The main concern of the gluttonous is to think of various kinds of food and of throwing himself into cheap worldly delight which distracts him from purifying his spirit. The Quran explains that this quality, which sometimes men fall down to, is one of the qualities of the unbelievers:

Those who disbelieve enjoy (this world) and eats as cattle eat, and the Fire is their Abode. (Quran, Muhammad:12)

Therefore, it is essential that we adopt the manners of the Prophet (s):
"A human being never filled a pot more malicious than his belly, the supposition of the son of Adam a few bites by which his loin is straightened. If he does not do it then a third for the food, and a third for drink, and one third for the breath." (Hadeeth: Ahmad & Tirmidhi)
Narrated Ibn Umar (r), Allah's Apostle (s) said, "A believer eats in one intestine (is satisfied with a little food), and a kufr (unbeliever) or a hypocrite eats in seven intestines (eats too much)". (Hadeeth: Bukhari)
Ibn Umar (r) reported that the Prophet (s) said, "Eat and drink and pay sadaqah and wear clothes without wasting and without showing off". (Hadeeth: Hanbal, An-Nisai, Al-Hakim & Ibn Majah) Umar (r) reported that the Prophet (s) said, "Eat together, don't separate because blessing is with the group". (Hadeeth, Ibn Majah)
Narrated Abu Huraira (r): Allah's Apostle (s) said, "The food for two persons is sufficient for three, and the food of three persons is sufficient for four persons". (Hadeeth: Bukhari)

These are only four of the Sunnah of eating. The Prophet (s) has left us with a complete set of guidelines on how to eat, (for more details read 'The Etiquette of Eating According to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (s)', p6), we should therefore, try our best to follow them.

Being grateful to Allah is one of man's duties, if he fails to do so then he commits extreme ingratitude. We reproach one who does not pay thanks to those who help him, but how about the one who does not show gratefulness to the Creator, the Source of all bliss? None could possibly gain good favour of Allah without gratitude:

A sign for them is the earth that is dead: We do give it life, and produce grain therefrom, of which you do eat. And We produce therein orchards with date palms and vines, and We cause springs to gush forth therein: that they may enjoy the fruits of this (artistry): it was not their hands that made this - will they not give thanks? (Quran, Yasin:33-35)

Seldom, however, are people grateful to Allah and all His blessings:

Verily Allah is full of Bounty to mankind, but most of them are ungrateful. (Quran, Yunus:60)

It should be clear, however, that gratefulness does not yield any benefit to Allah; He gains nothing from people's gratitude, nor does He suffer any harm from their ingratitude. The benefit of gratitude goes directly to the grateful person, it purifies his soul and brings him nearer to Allah:

Any who is (so) grateful does so to the profit of his own soul, but if any is ungrateful, verily Allah is free of all wants, worthy of all praise. (Quran, Luqman:12)