Chapter: The instruction to eat from the side of the bowl and the prohibition of eating from its center. It also contains his ﷺ saying, “Eat from what is in front of you,” agreed upon as cited earlier.

744 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Blessing descends upon the middle of the food, so eat from its edges and do not eat from its center.” Related by Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī, who graded it sound and authentic.

745 – ʿAbd Allāh ibn Busur (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet ﷺ possessed a large serving bowl called al-Gharraʾ, which four men could carry. After sunrise, once they had prayed the ḍuḥā prostration, that bowl was brought—bread having been crumbled and soaked in broth inside it—and they gathered around it. When their number became large, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ kneeled down on his shins. A Bedouin remarked, “What kind of sitting is this?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “Allah has made me a gracious servant; He has not made me a haughty tyrant.” He then said, “Eat from what is around it and leave its topmost part, for blessing is placed therein.” Narrated by Abū Dāwūd with a good chain. The word dhurwatu-hā means “its uppermost part,” with either a short ‘i’ or ‘u’ vowel on the initial dhāl.