11. Ḥuḍayfah (r.a.) mentions that when we would eat with the Messenger of Allāh (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), we would not begin to eat until the Messenger of Allāh (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would begin. (Muslim)
Thābit bin Abī Idrīs (r.a) narrates a mursal ḥadīth (transmitted by a successor (tābʿī) and attributed directly to the Prophet without mentioning the Companion who narrated it) in which the Messenger of Allāh (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) mentions: “When the food is served, let the leader of the gathering, or owner of the house, or the most virtuous among you commence.” (Ibn ʿAsākir)
On the basis of such narrations, the muḥaddithīn (ḥadīth scholars) have deemed it an etiquette that when an individual of small status is with a person of high calibre, the person with high calibre should be allowed to begin eating.
12. Eating in the open, where people tend to pass by should be avoided to the best of ones ability. This practice is deemed contradictory to that of a decorous and civilised Muslim.
(Adapted from Khāne Pīne ke Ādāb by Muftī Muhammad Riḍwan. Published by Kutub Khāna Idāra Gufrān, Rawalpindi.)
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