[Commentary]
This chapter, which the author—may Allah have mercy on him—placed in the “Book of the Etiquette of Eating,” corroborates what we noted earlier: people should eat from the rim of the bowl—that is, from its sides—rather than from its middle or upper part. The reports of ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās and ʿAbd Allah ibn Busur (may Allah be pleased with them both) clearly establish this. Hence, when food is set before a person, he is not to reach for the top layer but should eat from the side; and if he is eating with others, he should take only what lies directly in front of him and not encroach on the portion in front of someone else.

The Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “Blessing descends upon the middle of the food,” indicates that if someone eats from the top—that is, the center—the blessing is removed from the dish. The scholars make an exception, however: if the meal consists of various kinds of food and one of those kinds is placed in the center, there is no harm in taking from it. For example, if the meat is arranged in the middle of the platter, it is permissible to eat that meat even though it is in the center, because nothing similar is available on the sides. Likewise, the Prophet ﷺ used to follow the pieces of pumpkin, picking them from all parts of the dish; pumpkin is the well-known squash.

The hadith of ʿAbd Allah ibn Busur (may Allah be pleased with him) also contains evidence for the recommendation of the two rakʿahs of the Duha (mid-morning) prayer, for the wording says, “when they had performed the Duha prostration,” meaning when they had offered that prayer.