❖ Question:
Is eating something sweet after bread or a meal included in the Sunnah?
❖ Answer by:
Shaykh ʿAbdul Wakeel Nāṣir ḥafiẓahullāh
Narration:
Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها said:
"كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُحِبُّ الْحَلْوَاءَ وَالْعَسَلَ"
(Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5431)
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to like sweet things and honey.”
❖ Explanation:
✔ This ḥadīth indicates that the Prophet ﷺ liked sweet things and honey.
✔ However, there is no explicit evidence in the authentic narrations to specify that sweet food was consumed after a meal in particular.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ’s preference for sweet items is well established, but the act of designating sweets specifically for after meals is not supported by clear texts.
✔ To the best of the Shaykh’s knowledge, there is no direct narration proving that eating something sweet after food is a Sunnah.
❖ Conclusion:
✔ Eating sweet items is among the liked habits of the Prophet ﷺ,
✘ but limiting it to after meals is not established from authentic textual sources.
Hence, it is a generally praiseworthy practice but not a specific Sunnah tied to post-meal consumption.
