Supplication for Drinking Milk
Author: Imran Ayyub Lahori
The Supplication Taught by the Prophet ﷺ
Ibn ʿAbbās (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ومن سقاه الله لبنا فليقل: اللهم بارك لنا فيه وزدنا منه
“Whoever Allah grants milk to drink, let him say:
اللَّهُم بَارِك لَنَا فِيهِ وَزِدْنَا مِنْهُ
O Allah! Bless it for us and increase us in it.”
📚 Hasan: Sahih al-Tirmidhi: 2749; Tirmidhi: 3455
A Weak Narration
The narration which mentions that the Prophet ﷺ, after eating, would say:
الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَنَا وَسَقَانَا وَ جَعَلَنَا مُسْلِمِينَ
“All praise is due to Allah Who fed us, gave us drink, and made us Muslims”
is weak.
📚 Daʿīf: Daʿīf Ibn Mājah: 709; Ibn Mājah: 3283
Regarding Eating While Reclining
Abu Juhayfah (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
لا آكل متكئا
“I do not eat while reclining.”
📚 Bukhari: 5398, 5399; Abu Dawood: 3769; Tirmidhi: 1830; Ibn Mājah: 3262
Scholarly Views
- Some scholars hold that this was specific to the Prophet ﷺ. 📚 Nayl al-Awtār: 5/242
- Imam al-Bayhaqī said: For others, it is also disliked, as it is an act of the arrogant. However, if due to an excuse, eating while reclining is permissible without dislike.
- Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī said: Reclining while eating was disliked lest it lead to a protruding belly. 📚 Ibn Abī Shaybah: 5/140, 24519
- Ibn ʿAbbās (RA), Khālid ibn al-Walīd (RA), ʿUbaydah al-Salmānī, Muhammad ibn Sīrīn, ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, and al-Zuhrī held it permissible without restriction. 📚 Fath al-Bārī: 10/679
Preferred View
Eating while reclining is permissible but disliked — permissible because the Prophet ﷺ did not prohibit it, and disliked because it was not his practice.
A Necessary Clarification
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ never used:
- A dining table for eating
- Small bowls for individual servings
- Finely sifted flour
- A goat roasted whole after removing its insides with the skin intact
- Sifted barley flour
Rather, he ﷺ would eat from unsifted barley flour. 📚 al-Rawdah al-Nadiyyah: 2/434
