From the Manners of Eating Food
Taken from
‘Silsilah Ahadeeth As-Saheehah’
By the
Muhaddith, Shaykh, Allamaa’
Muhammad Nasir uddeen al-Albaani
Translated by
Abbas Abu Yahya
No. 71 – From AbdurRahman bin Jubayr who said: a man who used to serve the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- for eight years narrated to him: that he used to hear the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- say when food was brought close to him:
‘In the name of Allaah (Bismillaah)’
when he would finish he would say:
‘O Allaah! You fed, You gave drink, You satisfied, You guided, You gave life, so for You is praise for what You have given.’ (Allaahumma Attamta, wassqayta, wa Aqnayta, wa Haadayta wa Ahayata, Fallak al-Hamd ala ma A’aatayta).
Shaykh Albaani said:
‘And in this hadeeth it mentions that saying ‘Bismillaah’ (in the name of Allaah) is done when you begin to eat, and that you do not add anything extra to that ‘Bismillaah’.
All the authentic Ahadeeth which have been mentioned regarding this topic, such as this hadeeth do not mention any extra wording, and I am not aware of it being mentioned in any hadeeth. Any extra wording is a Bida’ according to the Fuqaha (Scholars of Fiqh) with the meaning of a real Bida’, as for the blind followers then their answer is well-known: ‘What’s wrong with extra wording?!’
In fact we say: everything is wrong with it. Since it is a form of trying to amend the One who legislated the Deen, The Wise, Who never left anything whatsoever which will bring us closer to Allaah except that He ordered us with it and legislated it upon us.
Therefore, if it was legislated to add extra wording to ‘Bismillaah’ and there was nothing wrong with that, then the Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- would have added an extra wording, even once. And is this extra wording added to saying ‘Bismillaah’ not like the extra wording added on to sending Sallat (Praise) upon the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- when someone sneezes and adds the Sallat (Praise) after saying ‘Alhamdulillah’.
Abdullaah ibn Umar –Radi Allaahu anhu– rejected this Bida’ as is mentioned in the ‘Mustadrak’ of al-Hakim, and reaffirmed by Suyootee in ‘al-Haaweeya lilfatawaa’ that it is a disliked Bida’, so can the blind followers (al-Muqalidoon) give a reply to the reason which made Suyootee reaffirm that it is a Bida’! !
Some of the negligent people among them hastily accuse Suyootee – as is their habit to do so – that he is a Wahaabi! Even though Suyootee’s death took place before the death of Muhammad bin AbdulWahhab by about three hundred years! !
This reminds me of a strange story which took place in some of the schools in Damascus. One of the famous teachers from amongst the Christians was talking about the movement of Muhammad bin AbdulWahhab in the Arabian Peninsula, and how they fought against Shirk, Bida’ and superstitions, and it seems as if he praised that movement, so some of his students said: it is evident that the teacher is a Wahhabi!!
Some of the other people, perhaps said that Suyootee was incorrect, however, where is the proof for this? ! On the contrary the proof is with Suyootee which is the saying of the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- : ‘Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours that which is not of it, then it will be rejected.’ (Collected by Bukhari and Muslim).’
[Taken from Silsilah Ahadeeth as-Saheehah by Shaykh al-Albaani (No. 71)]