Wa thuluth li taamik

Wa thuluth li ta'amik (And a Third for Your Food) is an Islamic treatise by Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Qasim focusing on the religious, spiritual, and physical virtues of moderation in diet and the obligation of showing gratitude for the blessings of sustenance.Wa thuluth li taamik It constitutes the eighteenth installment in the author's booklet series Ayna Nahnu min Ha'ula' (Where Are We Compared to Them?).Wa thuluth li taamik

Purpose and Scope

The author composed the treatise in response to widespread overindulgence and excessive spending on food and drink, aiming to remind readers of the value of these divine blessings, the necessity of gratitude (shukr), and the perils of ingratitude (kufr al-ni'ma).Wa thuluth li taamik The title derives from the prophetic guidance on dietary balance: فثلث لطعامه، وثلث لشرابه، وثلث لنفسه ("A third for his food, a third for his drink, and a third for his breath").Wa thuluth li taamik+1

Structure and Content

The work opens with an introduction outlining its central themes, followed by an introductory section (madkhal) and thematic expositions that draw upon Quranic verses, prophetic hadiths, classical exegesis, and sayings of early Muslim figures (the Salaf).Wa thuluth li taamik+1

Scriptural and Legal Foundations

The treatise examines Quranic commands regarding lawful and wholesome provision, such as يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِلَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ (al-Baqarah: 172) and the prohibition of extravagance in وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ (al-A'raf: 31).Wa thuluth li taamik Drawing upon commentators like Ibn Kathir and Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, the author highlights that consuming lawful food is essential for the acceptance of supplications and that eating with the intention of obeying God transforms nutrition into an act of worship.Wa thuluth li taamik+1

Traditions and Manners of Eating

The text reviews neglected prophetic manners concerning food, such as licking the fingers, picking up dropped morsels after cleaning them, and avoiding finding fault with meals.Wa thuluth li taamik+1 It stresses vigilance regarding the lawful source of one's livelihood, citing warnings from early figures against consuming ill-gotten wealth.Wa thuluth li taamik+1

Spiritual and Physical Benefits of Hunger

The treatise details several advantages of curbing food intake and maintaining dietary moderation, adapted from classical scholars such as Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Ibn al-Qayyim, and Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali:Wa thuluth li taamik+2

• Spiritual purity and humility: Lessening food softens the heart (riqqat al-qalb), sharpens the intellect, subdues arrogance, and curbs sinful impulses, particularly idle speech and lust.Wa thuluth li taamik+1
• Facilitation of worship: Hunger dispels excessive sleep, preserves time, and enables nighttime prayer (tahajjud), whereas overeating induces lethargy and heaviness.Wa thuluth li taamik+1
• Bodily health: Light eating protects against illnesses caused by excess food, aligning with classical medical maxims such as that of al-Harith ibn Kalada, who termed dietary restraint the foundation of medicine and overeating the source of disease.Wa thuluth li taamik+1
• Charity and empathy: Experiencing hunger prompts remembrance of the suffering of the poor and the afterlife, encouraging believers to channel surplus food to the needy.Wa thuluth li taamik+1

The author supplements these reflections with anecdotes illustrating the asceticism of early figures, including al-Hasan al-Basri, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.Wa thuluth li taamik+2