Eat and Drink With the Right Hand

A table manner with a hygienic rationale in a culture where the left hand was reserved for cleaning, and one of a cluster of eating practices that slow a meal down.

Jami at-Tirmidhi 1799
View this hadith on Sunnah.com

Hadith

Ibn 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

When any one of you intends to eat (meal), he should eat with his right hand. and when he (intends) to drink he should drink with his right hand, for the Satan eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand.

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ، وَزُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، وَابْنُ، أَبِي عُمَرَ - وَاللَّفْظُ لاِبْنِ نُمَيْرٍ - قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ، اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ عَنْ جَدِّهِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏"‏ إِذَا أَكَلَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَأْكُلْ بِيَمِينِهِ وَإِذَا شَرِبَ فَلْيَشْرَبْ بِيَمِينِهِ فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَأْكُلُ بِشِمَالِهِ وَيَشْرَبُ بِشِمَالِهِ ‏" ‏ ‏.‏

Reference

Ranking

Sahih — recorded by Muslim; graded hasan sahih by al-Tirmidhi. See grading on Sunnah.com

Sources and references