Saying Bismillah When Starting to Eat and Alhamdulillah Afterwards

380. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘When one of you eats, he should mention the Name of Allah the Almighty. If he forgets to mention the Name of Allah the Almighty at the beginning, he should say, “Bismillahi awwalahu wa akhirah” (In the Name of Allah, the first of it and the last of it). (Sunan Abu Dawud, At’ima, 15; Sunan at-Tirmidhi, At’ima, 47).

382. Mu’adh ibn Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever eats food and says, ‘Praise be to Allah who gave me this and provided me with it without any strength or power on my part,’ will be forgiven his previous wrong actions.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Libas, 1; Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Da’awat, 56).

 

Nawawi, Imam. Riyad As-Salihin; The Gardens of the Righteous: A collection of authentic hadiths. Tughra Books Press, Inc. 2014