Hadith 9
Zahdam ibn Muḍarrib al-Jarmi said, “We were in the company of Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī when he called for a table to be set, and on it were pieces of chicken meat. A man of Banū Taym Allāh then entered—he was ruddy-complexioned and resembled the mawalī. Abū Mūsā said to him, ‘Come and eat,’ but the man hesitated. Abū Mūsā repeated, ‘Come, for I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ eating it.’ ”

Unfamiliar terms
• Zahdam ibn Muḍarrib al-Jarmi: a trustworthy narrator from Basra. Zahdam is pronounced with a fatḥa on the zāʾ, a silent hāʾ, and a fatḥa on the dāl. Muḍarrib has a ḍamma on the mīm, a fatḥa on the ḍād, and a kasra on the doubled rāʾ. Al-Jarmi (fatḥa on the jīm, sukun on the rāʾ) refers to his affiliation with Jaram ibn Ziyān, a well-known Arab tribe of Qudāʿa, from the Qaḥṭānī branches.
• Banū Taym Allāh: Taym is spelled tāʾ, yāʾ, then mīm and is linked to the Divine Name; they form a clan of the larger Arab tribes.
• Halumma (come!): the verb of invitation. Ḥijāzīs use a single form for singular, dual, and plural—as in the Qur’an: “and those who say to their brothers, ‘Halumma ilaynā’” (Q 59:11). Najdīs attach pronouns, saying halum for one person, halummā for two, halummū for a group, and halummī for a woman.
• Talakkāʾa: he hesitated or held back.

Lessons derived from the ḥadith
1- The narration establishes the permissibility of eating chicken, for it is among the wholesome things.
2- The fact that chickens often peck at impurities does not render them forbidden; at most they take the ruling of an animal that habitually consumes filth (jallālah). (1)
3- Enjoying comfort and refinement in food, drink, and dress is permissible and does not contradict the Sacred Law. Whoever shuns such comforts as an act of devotion is not upon the truth, for Allah says, “Say, who has forbidden the adornment of Allah that He has produced for His servants, and the wholesome things of provision?” (Q 7:32). Nevertheless, one should not make luxury a constant habit, lest he become attached to it and unable to do without.

Hadith 10
Ibn ʿAbbās ﵄ reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “When any one of you eats food, let him not wipe his hand until he has licked it.”

(1) An animal classed as jallālah is one whose primary feed is filth; its meat and milk become impure to taste until it is kept on clean fodder for a time.