Cheese and eating it

Abu Hamzah relates: I heard Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) when he was asked about cheese. He said: Place the knife in it, mention the name of Allah, and eat.

It is narrated from Abu Hayyan al-Azdi; he said: I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) about cheese. He said: Of all the things that come to us from Iraq, nothing is dearer to us than it.

It is narrated from Qarazah; he said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Eat cheese, for it is colostrum and milk.

It is narrated from Tamlik; she said: I asked Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her). She said: Place your knife in it, mention the name of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and eat.

People narrate from Ibn al-Hanafiyyah that he said: Eat cheese as it comes to you (without asking who made it).

Rabi'ah narrates from his maternal aunt that she said: Cheese came to us from Iraq, so I sent it to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and she said: Eat it yourself and feed me as well.

It is narrated from Ibrahim that he said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said in a written message: Mention the name of Allah over cheese and eat it.

Ibrahim said: When we travelled to these mountains and saw what the non-Arabs were making, we disliked it, unless we asked about it.

It is narrated from Qays bin al-Sakan that he said: Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Eat only the cheese that Muslims or the People of the Book have made.

It is narrated from Suwayd, who was a slave of Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him), and whom (the narrator) praised well, that he said: When we conquered al-Mada'in, the people went out in pursuit of the enemy. Meanwhile we found a basket. On seeing it, Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Open it. If it is food, we will eat it, and if it is property, we will hand it over to these people. When we opened it, there were some loaves of a special kind (huwwari), cheese and a knife in it. This was the first time the Arabs had seen such a thing. Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) told the people how it is made. Then he cut it with the knife and said: In the name of Allah, eat.

It is narrated from al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin that they both said: There is no harm in the cheese that the People of the Book make.

It is narrated from Abd al-Malik that he said: I asked Sa'id bin Jubayr about cheese, and he said: What Muslims and the People of the Book make (is lawful).

It is narrated from Abd al-Malik that he said: I heard Sa'id bin Jubayr saying: Eat only the cheese that Muslims, Jews or Christians make. As for the Magians, their slaughtered animals are not lawful for us, so how could their cheese be lawful for us?

It is narrated from Abu Wa'il and Ibrahim that they both said: When the Muslims arrived, they came upon the foods of the Magians, their bread and their cheese. They ate it and did not ask anything about it.

He said: Cheese was described to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: Mention the name of Allah over it and eat it.

It is narrated from Ibrahim that he said: When we came to the mountainous region and saw the things (the people of the mountains) made, we disliked them.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: When you do not know who made the cheese, mention the name of Allah over it and eat it.

It is narrated from Amr bin Shurahbil that he said: We mentioned cheese in the presence of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to him: It is made with the rennet of carrion mixed into it. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Mention the name of Allah over it and eat it.

It is narrated about Sayyiduna al-Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was asked about cheese, and he said: There is no harm in it. Place the knife on it, mention the name of Allah over it, and eat.

Amr bin Uthman narrates about Musa bin Talhah; he said: I heard Musa saying that Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to place the knife (on the cheese), mention the name of Allah, cut the cheese and eat it.

It is narrated from Abu Razin that he said: There is no harm in cheese.

It is narrated from Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman bin al-Harith that he said: People used to take cheese as provision on their journeys.

It is narrated from al-Sha'bi that he said: Cheese was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during the Battle of Tabuk, and it was said to him: This is a food that the Magians make. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Mention the name of Allah over it and eat it."

Ubaydullah bin Umar narrates about Salim that he used to eat Kufan cheese.

Al-Nushajan Abu al-Mughirah relates; he said: I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) about cheese, and he said: No fruit comes to us from Iraq that we like more than it.

It is narrated from Sa'id bin Ubaydah that he said: A man asked Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) about cheese, and Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) asked him: What is cheese? He said: It is made from milk. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said to him: Eat cheese and drink it too. The man said: There is carrion in it as well. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said to him: Then do not eat the carrion.