with digestion.

Yet the believer’s foremost concern is not physical well-being; what matters most to him is to follow the Messenger ﷺ and take him as a model, for that is the health of the heart. The more closely a person imitates the Messenger ﷺ, the stronger his faith becomes.

The Prophet ﷺ also said, “If one of you drops a morsel” – meaning onto the ground or onto the eating mat – “let him remove any dirt from it and eat it, and do not leave it for Satan.” So if a piece of bread, a date, or the like falls onto the mat, pick it up, wipe off any dust or splinters, and eat it: out of humility before Allah, obedience to the Prophet ﷺ, and to deprive Satan of sharing your food, for if you leave it, Satan will eat it.

Indeed, Satan may join a person in his food in such a case, and likewise whenever someone eats without saying the name of Allah, Satan shares his meal.

A third instruction is to scrape the plate or bowl – the vessel that holds the food. When you finish eating, scrape it, that is, lick it: pass your hand over it, gather what remains with your fingers, and lick them.

This too is a Sunnah that, sadly, many people – even some students of knowledge – have overlooked. When they rise from a meal, the part of the dish nearest them still contains food; they do not lick the plate. This runs contrary to the Prophet’s ﷺ command. The Messenger ﷺ then clarified the wisdom, saying, “You do not know in which portion of your food the blessing lies.” That blessing may reside in precisely that last bit of food