(Food) Crisis Averted

Bringing Barakah Back to the Table

by Amira Murphy

FOOD IS THE new gold, say investors and market analysts, and we had better get our (inedible) shares of it while the prices are high and the demands even higher. Besides economic opportunity, this catchphrase can be interpreted in terms of an alarming phenomenon that is gripping citizens of every country. Food, the very bounties of this vast earth, has become a commodity that is quickly slipping out of the reach of millions. The estimated 1 billion people who are living on less than $1 a day, never qualifying to be a substantial part of their nations economies, have been placed in a dismal situation. In (Muslim!) countries like Mauritania, planning one meal has become a weekly endeavor with parents often choosing to forgo the meager scraps that are mustered in unavailing attempts to sustain their extremely malnourished children. The food is there, mind you, but the prices are so obscene that the one-dollar earned will buy only a fraction of what it did just last year. Similar conditions have been copied and pasted to more than 37 different countries, while citizens of economically developed countries have been reduced to coupon-clipping, bargain-hunting, eat-at-homersnot as heart-wrenching a description, but significant in its own right. Undoubtedly, we have all been affected by inflated food prices. We can criticize the intricate economic lattice that has been tangled into an insufferable knot, one that cannot be undone by governments or United Nation Programmes, but chances are we will be left tired, frustrated, andhungry. Whether we like it or not, these high food prices are here to stay. The cost of living will go up, and we will all be paid the same, but we must go on living (and eating). In these trying times, we hear an endless parade of compound words like cost-effective and fuel-efficient, but once these words are prescribed for things we put in our mouth, chew, and swallow, we should be more than afraid. I stand at the grocery checkout as light, easy-listening music is droned out by the succession of beeps emitted incessantly by dozens of price scanners. I watch as food, sneakily packaged in smaller containers with heavier price tags, travels down the conveyer belt and across the threshold, changing the digits on the price display exponentially. A thought crosses my mind: we strive to find cost-efficient ways to live, but if we want to maintain a diet of good, wholesome food, a different approach has to be taken. We need to focus on the barakah-efficiency of our eating habits. How do we maximize the blessings and benefits of our meals? Is it possible to have less and still feel fulfilled? Can anything be done to change a mundane act into something that will strengthen me both physically and spiritually, both here and in the Hereafter? The longer I go on in life, the more I am blessed to see that all of the worlds problems have their solutions in the Quran and the Sunnah. The practices of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, are the best of practices and emulating him while seeking the pleasure of Allah is the way to spread barakah to every aspect of our lives.

His Sunnah is ever the ultimate etiquette. So here are 9 steps in the path of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, that you can take to maximize the barakah benefits of your next (and every) meal: 1. EAT AS AN ACT OF WORSHIP: I remember an imam telling a younger me that any and every action done can be a way to worship Allah. Anything? I asked. Anything, he smiled, even playing basketball. I have never liked basketball, but the point was made. By intending to perform an action to please Allah and to improve ourselves in His Worship, the action itself becomes a blessed form of worship. So the proverbial phrase food for the soul can denote a more literal meaning! Intend to eat to maintain the strength and health to correctly worship The Sustainer. We should make all of our meals a source of spiritual sustenance, as well as physical maintenance. 2. BEGIN GRACIOUSLY: Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said: When one of you eats, he should mention Allahs name (i.e., say bismillah). If he forgets to mention Allahs name at the beginning, he should say (when he remembers): I begin in the name of Allah in its beginning and its end* (Abu Dawud and Tirmithi). We hear of various ways that Satan hinders our pursuit of Paradise, taking pleasure in our follies. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, explained as reported by Imam Muslim, that Satan partakes in a meal that was not initiated with the name of Allah. Imagine you are very hungry and have just completely destroyed a plate of food only to feel as though you have eaten a small amount. We have all been there. Remove Satan from your table! I still wait for the day when we widely equate overeating with neglecting to say bismillah. There could be subtle dawah in the form of a diet book (The Bismillah Diet: Loose Weight and Attain Gods Mercy!) 3. PUT YOUR BLESSED HAND FORWARD: In the Quran, the right hand is something that inspires thoughts of blessing and success: So as to one who is given his book [of deeds] in his right hand, he, then, shall undergo an easy reckoning, and he shall return to his people rejoicing [84:7-9]. In Imam Nawawis Riyadh-us-Saleheen, a section is dedicated to the performance of all good acts by the right hand. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said: Do not eat with your left hand for Satan eats with his left hand (Muslim). 4. EAT TOGETHER: Some of the Companions complained to the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, that they ate and did not feel satisfied. After finding out that they had eaten alone, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said: Eat together and recite the name of Allah. The food will be blessed for you (Abu Dawud). The TV is not another person. Neither is the computer.

5. STAY ON YOUR SIDE AND SIT UP: When the Prophet was teaching Umar ibn Abi Salamah the etiquette of eating, he told him to start with the name of Allah, use his right hand, and eat from the portion in front of him. It is also against the Sunnah to lie down while eating (Bukhari). 6. FIND NO FAULT IN FOOD: When something that does not suit our taste is presented to us, remember that the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, never found fault with any food. If it was something he liked, he ate of it. Otherwise, he silently left it alone. 7. WASTE NOT, WANT NOT: Allah tells us in the Quran, "...eat and drink [freely], but waste not by excess. For, indeed, [Allah] loves not those who waste by excess [7:31]. Sometimes it takes the month of Ramadhan for us to realize that food is a blessing and a mercy from Allah. Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, ordered us not to leave anything in the plate and he said: You do not know in which bit of your food Allah has put the barakah (Muslim). 8. GIVE YOURSELF SOME BREATHING ROOM: Anyone who has eaten to their capacity (and beyond) knows that, while the process may have been pleasing, the discomfort and lethargy that follows is not nearly as nice as that second (+plus) serving. Said the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam: No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink, and one third for his breath (Ahmad, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasai,
Ibn Majah).

9. END THANKFULLY: No matter how down and out we may feel with our current economy, we must remember to be thankful to Allah for the sustenance He has provided. At the end of eating say: All praise is for Allah, Who has given me this and provided for me without any effort or power on my part (AtTirmithi). Remember: Eat Food, good, wholesome, and pure. For barakah is not just connected to how we eat, but also to what we eat (refer to Eat, Drink and Be Muslim from a previous edition of Al-Jumuah for a fantastic, comprehensive approach to eating in a God-conscious way. Also read Michael Pollans In Defense of Food). Achieving a barakah-efficient meal will cause us to reflect on how little we need in order to be sustained. It should likewise initiate heart-felt reflections on how much we have and how much others need. We should add barakah to our lives by helping quell the suffering that comes with extreme hunger and poverty. Support Muslim charity organizations that strive to ease the pain of the present food (price) crisis with the help of Allah, the Most High. A final note on the hopefully obvious: we must teach our children from an early age to lead barakah-filled lives, especially when it comes to eating. It warmed my heart when I saw a

friends very young daughter, who, after grabbing a grape with her left hand and proceeding to pop it into her mouth, when a peculiar look crossed her face and her brow furrowed with concern. She then reached into her mouth with her chubby fingers, removed the grape, and, placing the morsel in her right hand, silently whispered Allahs name. She then continued her barakah-filled snack.
*All Duaa are available in Arabic in Imam an-Nawawis Riyadh-us-Saleheen.