Get the app

Sunan Ibn Majah 3349

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) say: ‘A human being fills no worse vessel than his stomach. It is sufficient for a human being to eat a few mouthfuls to keep his spine…

Al-Miqdamnarrated it
Sahihgraded sahih by Al-Albani
6names in the chain
Read Ibn Majah 3349 in the appOffline, in the WhatSurah app. Free.Get the app

حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ الْحِمْصِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَتْنِي أُمِّي، عَنْ أُمِّهَا، أَنَّهَا سَمِعَتِ الْمِقْدَامَ بْنَ مَعْدِيكَرِبَ

يَقُولُ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «مَا مَلأَ آدَمِيٌّ وِعَاءً شَرًّا مِنْ بَطْنٍ حَسْبُ الآدَمِيِّ لُقَيْمَاتٌ يُقِمْنَ صُلْبَهُ فَإِنْ غَلَبَتِ الآدَمِيَّ نَفْسُهُ فَثُلُثٌ لِلطَّعَامِ وَثُلُثٌ لِلشَّرَابِ وَثُلُثٌ لِلنَّفَسِ»

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) say: ‘A human being fills no worse vessel than his stomach. It is sufficient for a human being to eat a few mouthfuls to keep his spine straight. But if he must (fill it), then one third of food, one third for drink and one third for air.’”

মিকদাম ইবনে মাদীকারিব (রাঃ) বলেন, আমি রাসূলুল্লাহ সাল্লাল্লাহু আলাইহি ওয়াসাল্লাম কে বলতে শুনেছিঃ মানুষ পেটের চেয়ে নিকৃষ্ট কোন পাত্র ভর্তি করে না। (যতটুকু খাদ্য গ্রহণ করলে পেট ভরে পাত্র থেকে ততটুকু খাদ্য উঠানো কোন ব্যক্তির জন্য দূষণীয় নয়)। যতটুকু আহার করলে মেরুদন্ড সোজা রাখা সম্ভব, ততটুকু খাদ্যই কোন ব্যক্তির জন্য যথেষ্ট।

এরপরও যদি কোন ব্যক্তির উপর তার নফস (প্রবৃত্তি) জয়যুক্ত হয়, তবে সে তার পেটের এক-তৃতীয়াংশ আহারের জন্য, এক-তৃতীয়াংশ পানির জন্য এবং এক তৃতীয়াংশ শ্বাস-প্রশ্বাসের জন্য রাখবে।

مقدام بن معد یکرب رضی اللہ عنہ کہتے ہیں کہ میں نے رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کو فرماتے سنا: آدمی نے پیٹ سے زیادہ برا کوئی برتن نہیں بھرا، آدمی کے لیے کافی ہے کہ وہ اتنے لقمے کھائے جو اس کی پیٹھ سیدھی رکھ سکیں، لیکن اگر آدمی پر اس کا نفس غالب آ جائے، تو پھر ایک تہائی پیٹ کھانے کے لیے، ایک تہائی پینے کے لیے، اور ایک تہائی سانس لینے کے لیے رکھے ۱؎۔

Telah menceritakan kepada kami [Hisyam bin Abdul Malik Al Himshi] telah menceritakan kepada kami [Muhammad bin Harb] telah menceritakan kepadaku [Ibuku] dari [Ibunya] bahwa dia berkata; saya mendengar [Al Miqdam bin Ma'dikarib] berkata, "Aku mendengar Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda: "Tidaklah anak Adam memenuhi tempat yang lebih buruk daripada perutnya, ukuran bagi (perut) anak Adam adalah beberapa suapan yang hanya dapat menegakkan tulang punggungnya.

Jika jiwanya menguasai dirinya, maka sepertiga untuk makanan, sepertiga untuk minum dan sepertiga untuk bernafas

Mıkdâm bin Madîkerib (r.a.)'den; Şöyle demiştir: Ben, Resulullah (Sallallahu Aleyhi ve Sellem)'den şöyle buyururken işittim: Âdem oğlu karın (yâni mide)den daha şer (fena) bir kab doldurmamıştır. Âdem oğluna, belini doğrultan bir kaç lokma yeter. Eğer Âdem oğluna nefsi galebe çalarsa, karnını (yâni midenin) üçte biri yiyecek, üçte biri içecek ve üçte biri de nefes içindir

Sunan Ibn Majah 3349, Book 29, Chapters on Food, Hadith 99. 1 min read

What it means

The noble Prophet (ﷺ) directs us to one of the principles of medicine, namely, to protect our health by eating little. Rather, a person should only eat the amount that maintains his survival and enables him to do the necessary activities. The worst vessel to be filled is the stomach, given the numberless ruinous diseases that result from fullness, sooner or later, and outwardly or inwardly.

Then, the Messenger (ﷺ) said: If a person must fill his stomach, let him eat as much as one-third, another one-third for drinking, and another one-third for breathing, so that he does not suffer difficulty and harm and laziness in performing the duties Allah has imposed on him concerning his religion and worldly life.

What it teaches

  • We should not eat and drink much. This is a principle that combines all principles of medicine, given the numerous illnesses and maladies that result from satiety.
  • The purpose behind eating is to maintain one's health and strength, which are necessary for the soundness of life.
  • Filling the stomach with food results in physical and religious harmful effects. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Beware of gluttony, for it harms the body and causes laziness toward the prayer."
  • Eating, in terms of its ruling, falls into various categories: Obligatory: that which preserves life, and neglecting it would lead to harm. Permissible: what goes beyond the obligatory amount without fear of harm. Disliked: what carries a risk of harm. Prohibited: what is known to cause harm. Recommended: what aids a person in worshiping and obeying Allah. This is summarized in the Hadīth in three levels: 1. Filling the stomach. 2. A few bites or morsels that keep the back straight. 3. His saying: "One-third for his food, one-third for his drink, and one-third for his breath." And all of this applies when the type of food itself is lawful.
  • The Hadīth is a principle from among the principles of medicine. Since the science of medicine revolves around three foundations—preservation of strength, dietary regulation, and elimination—the Hadīth encompasses the first two of them, as in the statement of Allah Almighty: {Eat and drink, but do not waste, for He does not like the wasteful.} [Surat al-A‘rāf: 31]
  • The Hadīth demonstrates the perfection of this Shariah, as it includes people's interests concerning their religion and worldly life.
  • The sciences of Shariah include the principles of medicine and various types of it, like what is reported on honey and the black seed.
  • The rulings of the Shariah contain wisdom and are based on the principle of warding off evils and bringing about benefits.

From the Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths, hadeethenc.com.

The chain

Who passed it on, from Ibn Majah back to the one who was there.

  1. 1Ibn MajahCompiler, died 273 AH
  2. 2Hisham ibn Abd al-MalikTold us, Fourth generation, died 251 AH
  3. 3Muhammad ibn HarbTold us, Third generation, died 192 AH
  4. 4أُمِّيTold me
  5. 5أُمِّهَاFrom
  6. 6Al-Miqdam ibn Madi KaribHeard, Companion, died 87 AH

Read this in the app

Sunan Ibn Majah 3349 and the rest of the library, offline, with Bengali, Urdu, Indonesian or Turkish under the English.

Get the app

The Hadith and the Qur'an.
On your phone, offline.

Seventeen collections, the whole Qur'an and Identify, free in the app.