Ibn Majah

Benefits and Issues:

➊ When one is hungry and food is ready, during the prayer the attention will remain towards the food, and the prayer will not be performed as it ought to be. Therefore, in the case of hunger, it is better to eat first, so that the prayer can be performed with full concentration.

➋ If there is a delay in the preparation of food, then one should perform the prayer. Because in this situation, there is no benefit in delaying the prayer.

➌ The religion of Islam is the religion of nature (fitrah). In it, a beautiful balance has been established by taking into account the needs of both body and soul. Considering merely causing hardship to the body as righteousness, like Hindu yogis or Christian monks, is misguidance.

Hadith Commentary:
The purpose of all these narrations and hadiths is simply this: if food is ready at the time of hunger, one should first finish eating, so that the prayer may be performed with complete tranquility and the heart is not preoccupied with food. And this ruling applies to the one who is already feeling the pangs of hunger.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
The mention of the Maghrib prayer here indicates that, all the more so, in the case of the other prayers, eating should be given precedence over prayer, provided there is a fear of distraction of the heart. This is because the time for Maghrib prayer is short; despite the shortness of time, if eating is being given preference over prayer, then when the time is ample, eating should all the more be given precedence over prayer.
(Hashiyat al-Sindi: 1/23)

(2)
In the hadith, the word ‘asha’ is used, whose literal meaning is “night meal,” but in terms of its meaning, it refers to food in general; it is not restricted to eating at night. As Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established a chapter heading and clarified this, and in fact, Abu Darda radi Allahu anhu has taken an even more general meaning from it—that if there is any need besides eating, it should be fulfilled first, and then, with a free mind, one should turn to prayer.
Imam Tahawi rahimahullah has written that this hadith is specific to the fasting person (sa’im), but the reasoning behind it requires that it be left upon its generality.
Although in this narration the Maghrib prayer is mentioned, this is not for restriction, because hunger can trouble not only the fasting person but others as well. In any case, there is no restriction of time or food.
Whenever anything becomes a cause of distress for the one praying, it should first be removed, and then, after being free from it, the prayer should be performed.
(Fath al-Bari: 2/208)

1:
Some people have interpreted "prayer" here to mean the Maghrib prayer and have considered the ruling mentioned in it to be specific for the fasting person. However, it is more appropriate, in view of the underlying reason (‘illah) for this ruling, to apply it generally—whether it is lunch or dinner.

854. Commentary: This applies when there is an intense need for food. If one prays in such a state, there will be no concentration, and the mind will remain restless. Or, if there is a risk that the food will be wasted, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has prohibited wasting wealth. If these two matters are not present, then the prayer should be performed first, as in the hadith in Sahih Bukhari, where the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was eating meat and was informed of the prayer, so he put down the knife and went for the prayer. See: [صحیح البخاري ، الوضوء ، حدیث : 208]

� Lexical Explanation:
«قُدِّمَ» is the passive form of taqdim, which means: was brought, was presented.
«اَلْعَشَاءُ» has a fatha on the letter ‘ayn and a madd at the end. It means the evening meal. The meaning is that if food has been prepared before starting the prayer (and one is hungry), then one should eat first so that there is no deficiency in the humility (khushu‘) of the prayer, because in the state of hunger, the mind will remain preoccupied with the food.

Benefit:
When a person is hungry and food is present before him, he should eat, even if he misses the congregational prayer. If a person is hungry and food is available, then at that time it is not correct for him to perform the prayer, as his attention will remain focused on the food.
It should be noted that the imam is exempt from this; that is, if the imam is hungry and food is present with him, and the time for the congregation has arrived, then he will leave the food and lead the congregation. [صحيح البخاري : 675]
Furthermore, if a person is not hungry and the food arrives, and at the same time the time for the congregation has come, then he should first perform the prayer with the congregation. In some madrasas, such strictness is observed regarding the prayer that if a child misses the first takbir, he is given a severe punishment without listening to his excuse, even if he was late due to a legitimate (shar‘i) excuse. This attitude is not correct.