of the green variety. The report that Imam Ahmad refrained from eating melon because he did not know how the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—ate it is falsely attributed to Imam Ahmad.

He—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would eat the fruit of his land. He never declined fruit offered to him out of misguided asceticism or misplaced scrupulousness. Rather, he would neither refuse what was available nor go to undue lengths to obtain what was not. He followed the words of Allah Most High:

“O you who believe, eat of the good things We have provided for you, and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him that you worship.”

Thus, He commanded both eating and gratitude. Whoever forbids good things to himself and refrains from eating them without a reason sanctioned by Islamic law is blameworthy, an innovator, and falls within His words:

“O you who believe, do not forbid the good things Allah has made lawful for you.”

Whoever eats them without giving the gratitude due for them is also blameworthy. Allah Most High says:

“Then, on that Day, you will surely be questioned about the blessings.”

That is, about gratitude for those blessings. It has been narrated that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“One who eats and is grateful has the same standing as one who fasts and is patient.”

In the Sahīh, it is reported that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Allah is indeed pleased with a servant who eats a meal and praises Him for it, or takes a drink and praises Him for it.”

Likewise, “excess in eating” is blameworthy: it means going beyond the proper limit. Whoever eats with the intention of gaining strength for worship is rewarded for doing so. The same applies to what he spends on his household, as the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said in an authentic hadith:

“What a Muslim spends on his family, seeking reward for it, is charity.”

He also said to Saʿd:

“You will never spend anything seeking thereby the Face of Allah without being raised in rank and standing through it—even the morsel you place in your wife’s mouth.”