Recite Dua Before Eating Food | Satan and Food

The Story of Little Zayd

Satan and food

Fuzayl Attari - Madani Channel Kids

‘Mum, how much longer will it take?’ said a hungry Little Zayd as he rubbed his stomach.

‘Only five more minutes - and today I’m making delicious biryani and rice pudding for Little Zayd,’ cried Mum from the kitchen.

‘Still five more minutes?’ moaned Little Zayd.

Dad heard Little Zayd’s pleas so went over to see what was going on. ‘What is the matter? Is everything okay?’ asked Dad as he rubbed Little Zayd’s head.

Little Zayd’s face lit up as soon as he saw Dad, but moments later, he was frowning again, moving his spoon around the empty plate in front of him.

‘Our Little Zayd seems to be very hungry today. Your hunger will not go away by moving the spoon around on an empty plate. I will tell you a true story while we wait for the food.’ Little Zayd got up and sat next to his father.

‘So how old is this story father?’ asked Little Zayd, looking towards Dad.

‘Fourteen hundred years old,’ Dad said.

‘Fourteen hundred years!’ exclaimed Little Zayd.

‘Yes, Little Zayd! What happened was that a group of Muslims were once dining together and a very respected person had joined them. All of a sudden, a small girl came running and extended her hand towards the food. Seeing this, the respected man quickly took hold of her hand.’

‘Why did he grab her hand, dad? Did she not wash her hands before eating?’ asked Little Zayd.

‘What is the hurry, Little Zayd? The story has only begun, Dad said with a subtle smile, ‘Then do you know what happened? After a short while, another person hurriedly came and also began to extend his hand towards the food.’

Before his father could finish his words, Little Zayd said, ‘And the respected man grabbed his hand too!’

‘Yes!’ cried Dad, ‘The honourable man took hold of that individual’s hands too, and then he said to both of them, ‘If the name of Allah Almighty is not mentioned over food, then Satan makes that food Halal for himself.’’ (Derived from, Muslim, p. 860, Hadith 5259)

‘What does it mean that he makes it Halal for himself?’ asked Little Zayd.

‘It means that the food over which the name of Allah Almighty is not mentioned; over which ‘بِسْمِ الله’ is not recited, Satan also partakes in eating that food,’ explained Dad.

‘I see. That’s why the respected man grabbed their hands,’ said Little Zayd, nodding his head in agreement.

‘Exactly Little Zayd!’ replied Dad, patting the young boy’s head.

‘You have told our Little Zayd that food shouldn’t be eaten without reciting ‘بِسْمِ الله’, but you haven’t mentioned who that respected person was?’ remarked Little Zayd’s mother as she brought in the meal from the kitchen.

‘Well, that respected person was our Beloved, the Final Prophet of Allah Almighty, Sayyiduna Muhammad صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.’

Hearing the blessed name, they all let out a humble and gentle ‘صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم’ before reciting ‘بِسْمِ الله’ and beginning their dinner.