and if someone else licks them, that too is perfectly possible. When the affection between a husband and wife is strong, it is quite easy for her to lick his fingers or for him to lick hers; nothing prevents that. Some people object, saying, “The Prophet ﷺ could never have said such a thing—how could someone lick another person’s fingers?” We reply: the Prophet ﷺ speaks only the truth and would never command the impossible; the matter is entirely feasible. The same holds for little children: a person may feel such fondness for them that he licks their fingers after they have eaten, and this is likewise possible.

Hence the Sunnah is that you either lick your own fingers or let someone else lick them, and, praise be to Allah, the matter is flexible. The Messenger ﷺ did not phrase it in a way that would compel people to do something burdensome; rather he allowed either option: “Lick them yourself, or let someone else lick them.”

He ﷺ also said, “You do not know in which part of your food the blessing lies.” The blessing and abundant benefit of the food may reside in that very portion you lick from your fingers. Indeed, some people have related to me—citing certain physicians—that, by Allah’s permission, the fingertips secrete substances while one is eating that help the stomach digest the food. This is a point of wisdom, yet we perform the practice primarily as a Sunnah; if we also reap this medical benefit, then all praise belongs to Allah.