Virtue of Eating Less: Analysis of a Baseless Report and Authentic Islamic Guidance from Ṣaḥīḥ Aḥādīth
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1 – Principles, Takhrīj, and Authentication of Narrations – p. 594
❖ Question
A narration is commonly quoted among the people, summarized as follows:
A physician came to Madinah and presented himself to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ instructed him to stay in Madinah. After a month, he was surprised that no patients came to him. When he mentioned this, the Prophet ﷺ said: “The people here do not eat until they feel intense hunger, and because of this, they do not fall ill.”
Is this narration authentic, or is it a fabrication attributed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, wa al-ṣalātu wa al-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
◈ This narration is not found in the reliable books of ḥadīth despite extensive research.
◈ Any report without a chain of transmission and a reliable source is mardūd (rejected) and baseless, unless someone produces it with an authentic isnād.
❖ Authentic Ḥadīth on Eating Less
From Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Ṭāʾī (a thiqah tābiʿī):
"مَا مَلأ آدَمِيٌّ وِعَاءً شَرًّا مِنْ بَطْنٍ، بِحَسْبِ ابْنِ آدَمَ أُكُلاتٌ يُقِمْنَ صُلْبَهُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ لا مَحَالَةَ، فَثُلُثٌ لِطَعَامِهِ، وَثُلُثٌ لِشَرَابِهِ، وَثُلُثٌ لِنَفَسِهِ"
(No human ever filled a vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Ādam to eat a few bites to keep his back straight. If he must, then a third for food, a third for drink, and a third for breath.)
– Reported in Musnad Aḥmad (4/132, ḥadīth 17318) with an authentic chain.
– Also in Sunan al-Tirmidhī (ḥadīth 2380), where Imām al-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
– Found in Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān (al-Iḥsān 673; Mawārid al-Ẓamʾān 1349).
– Authenticated by al-Ḥākim (al-Mustadrak, 4/331, ḥadīth 7945) and agreed upon by al-Dhahabī.
– Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله declared it ṣaḥīḥ in al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (5/337, ḥadīth 2265) and Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl (7/42, ḥadīth 1973).
❖ Other Supporting Narrations
Muslim vs. Kāfir in Eating:
"The Muslim eats with one intestine, while the disbeliever eats with seven."
– Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (ḥadīth 5394)
– Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (ḥadīth 2061)
Eating to Fullness:
It is reported about the Companions رضي الله عنهم: “They ate until they were satisfied.”
– Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (ḥadīth 5381)
– Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (ḥadīth 2040, 2144)
❖ Conclusion
✘ The narration about the physician in Madinah is baseless and has no authentic chain. Attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ is incorrect.
✔ However, authentic aḥādīth establish that:
– Eating less is sunnah and more beneficial for health.
– Avoiding overeating is a Prophetic principle.
– The ideal balance: one-third food, one-third drink, one-third breath.
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب