Allah the Almighty has made the beautiful nature and all animals and fruits and greeny at the disposal of mankind for his own use, so that he is able to use these things for eating and drinking, and covering himself, to build his shelter, and other necessities, but for the protection of man's life, and for the security of his body and soul, and for those to come after him, and to pro­tect the rights of others, laws and regulations have been laid down, of which, some will be explained in this chapter that relate to eating and drinking.

ISSUE 420: Eating those things which cause death and which are a harm to a person, are haram.

ISSUE 421: Eating and drinking those things which are najis are haram. ISSUE 422: Eating dirt is haram.

ISSUE 423: Eating a very small amout of the dust from the grave ofSayyid ash-Shohada ('a) for shafa' (intercession) from a sickness is not a problem.

ISSUE 424: It is wajib for every Muslim to give those Muslims who are close to him, who may die from hunger or thirst, bread and water so as to save them from death.

The Etiquettes of Eating

ISSUE 425: The following actions, which are related to eating food, are mustahab:

                      1.          Washing the hands before and after eating.

                      2.          Saying (بسم الله) when starting to eat, and saying (الحمد الله)               when one is finished eating.

                      3.          Eating with the right hand.

                      4.          Eating small bites of food.

                      5.          Chewing the food properly.

                      6.          Washing the fruit before eating it.

                      7.          If many people are sitting at the dinner table, whatever food is          front of each person, that person should start with it.

                      8.          The host should start eating before all others, and should finish       after all others.

ISSUE 426: The following actions, which are related to eating food, are makruh:

                      1.          Eating food eventhough one is full.

                      2.          Eating to one's fill (eating too much food).

                      3.          Looking at the faces of others while eating.

                      4.          Eating hot food.

                      5.          Blowing over hot food.

                      6.          Cutting the bread with a knife.

                      7.          Placing the bread under the dishes.

                      8.          Throwing away fruit before it has been completely eaten.

The Etiquettes of Drinking Water

ISSUE 427: The following actions, related to drinking water, are mustahab:

                      1.          In the daytime, standing while drinking water.

                      2.          Before drinking water, saying (بسم الله) and saying (الحمد الله)             when one is finished drinking.

                      3.          Drinking water in three sips.

                      4.          After drinking water, remembering Hadhrat Imam Hussayn                 ('a), his family, and his companions, and cursing their killers.

ISSUE 428: The following actions, related to drinking water, are makruh:

                      1.          Drinking too much.

                      2.          Drinking water after eating fatty foods.

                      3.          Drinking with the left hand.

                      4.          In the evening, drinking while standing.

 (The Rules of Slaughtering)

ISSUE 429: If the four large veins in the neck of a halal meat animal are completely cut from the bottom to the top, with the conditions that will be listed, that animal will be tahir, and halal.

The Conditions for the Slaughter

ISSUE 430: There are five conditions for slaughtering the animal:

                       ·           The person who is conducting the slaughter must be a Muslim.

                       ·           The animal must be slaughtered by an instrument made of iron.

                       ·           At the time of the slaughter, the animal must be facing Qiblah.

                       ·           At the time of the slaughter, the name of Allah must be said, and

even if just (بسم الله) is said, this is sufficient.

                       ·           After the animal has been slaughtred, it should move around abit so that one can be sure that it was alive (before being slaughtered).

The normal amount of blood should flow out of the body of the animal.

Hunting by Weapons

ISSUE 431: If a halal meat wild animal is hunted with a weapon by the conditions that will be mentioned, it will be tahir and its meat •will be halal:

                       ·           The weapon of hunting is something like a sharp dagger or knife, or sword, or is something sharp or pointed like a dart or an arrow, and its sharpness is that so much so as to cut through the body of the animal.

                       ·           The person who is hunting the animal must be a Muslim.

                       ·           The weapon must be used for the hunt, so then if one is aiming for something else, and then accidently an animal is hit, that animal will not be halal.

                       ·           At the time of using the weapon (for example at the time of shooting the arrow) the name of Allah must be said.

                       ·           When one reaches to the animal, the animal must be dead, or there must not be enough time to slaughter the animal, so then, if the animal has not died, but there is enough time to slaughter the animal, but this is not done, until the animal dies, it is haram.

Fishing

ISSUE 432: If a fish who has scales is taken out of the water alive, and it dies out of the water, it is tahir, and it is halal for consumption, but if it dies inside the water, even though its body is tahir, it is haram to eat it, unless it dies in the water in a net.

ISSUE 433: If a fish that does not have scales is taken out of the water alive, and dies outside of the water, it is haram.

ISSUE 434: It is not necessary that the person who goes to catch fish be a Muslim, and it is also not necessary that the name of Allah be taken over the fish.