Food
Food can be a source of nourishment or a distraction. It can contribute to physical and spiritual well-being or adversely affect health. In the modern day, food has become what it was not supposed to be. The standard modern diet includes substances that cannot even be classified as real “food” and overfilling our bellies with such things only leads to deterioration of physical, spiritual, and psychological health. On the other hand, healthy nourishing food, when eaten for the right reasons and intentions, has an immense impact on our lives.
As a mother there are only few things that could be more satisfying than watching my daughter eat healthy food. I make dua that every single morsel that enters her body contributes to her inner and outward self becoming more pleasing to Allah SWT.
Cooking nourishing food for my family is an act of love that I like to do daily. Dishing out food in everyone’s plates for dinner and then eating together before bedtime is special family time. Our Prophet ﷺ gave extensive guidelines about the etiquettes of having food, and the general purpose of food in our lives. He ﷺ modeled appreciating someone who provides food for us, while also not becoming too focused on the food itself.
Something that is often ignored is the huge emotional labor that goes into being responsible for our family’s intake of food. When we take on this daily responsibility, sometimes we feel worn out, no matter how much love and joy we feel while preparing food. In those moments, a family member stepping up and caring enough to cook or order food (both having their own special joy) is a blessing. The person in your life who makes sure that your plate is full on every dinner, the one who arranges and packs lunches for everyone, also deserves to be looked after. When we are concerned to also put food in their plate, they feel loved and cherished. Indeed, there is no doubt that a small gesture goes a long way. Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “You will be rewarded for whatever you spend for Allah’s sake even if it were a morsel which you put in your wife’s mouth.” SubhanAllah there is appreciation in our deen of every aspect of providing food: financial, physical, and emotional. When each adult member of the family contributes in some way, everyone gets a share of the reward!
May Allah SWT give us the taufeeq to feed our family and those in need, with love, and may He make it heavy on our scale of deeds. And may He give us taufeeq to appreciate those who consistently make this effort for us. Ameen.
