Licking or Wiping the plate: Which is Sunnah?

[Sunni_Student786]

As salaamu alaykum.

Is it Sunnah for one to lick one's plate? Or is it to wipe one's plate with bread or something and then eat it? Or would either of the two suffice as the Sunnah?

I am a bit confused about this, having heard and read conflicting things. If someone could shed light on the aboev insha'allah, I would appreciate it.

Jazakallahu Khair.

Wa'salaam.

[Abu Hurayrah]

109: Chapter: On the Recommendation to eat with three fingers and the recommendation to lick the fingers. It being disliked to wipe them before licking them. The recommendation to lick the plate and pick up the morsel which has fallen and eat it. Permission to wipe the hand on the arm, foot, etc. after licking it


748. Ibn 'Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When one of you eats, he should not wipe his fingers until he has licked them or had them licked." [Agreed upon]

749. Ka'b ibn Malik said, "I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, eating with three fingers. When he finished, he licked them." [Muslim]

750. Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded that both the fingers and the plate should be licked. He said, "You do not know in what part of the food the blessing lies." [Muslim]

751. Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If one of you drops a morsel, he should pick it up and wipe off any dirt on it and eat it and not leave it for Shaytan. He should not wipe his hand with a cloth until he has licked his fingers. He does not know in what part of the food the blessing lies." [Muslim]

752. Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Shaytan is present with each one of you in everything he does, even when he is eating. If you drop a morsel, you should pick it up and wipe off any dirt on it and then eat it and not leave it for Shaytan. When you finish, you should wipe your fingers. You do not know in what part of food the blessing lies." [Muslim]

753. Anas said, "When he ate, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would lick his three fingers, and he said, 'If one of you drops a morsel, he should pick it up and wipe off any dirt on it and then eat it and not leave it for Shaytan.' He commanded us to wipe the plate and said, 'You do not know in what part of the food the blessing lies.'" [Muslim]

754. Sa'id ibn al-Harith said that he asked Jabir about doing wudu' on account of eating something that had been touched by fire (i.e. cooked). He said, 'No. In the time of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, we only had such food on rare occasions. When we had it, we did not have napkins, and would wipe our fingers on our palms, forearms and feet. Then we would pray without doing wudu'." [al-Bukhari]

[PaglaRizu]

There are many books on this subject, some are as follows:

"Shamail Tirmidhi" by Imam Tirmidhi Muhammad bin 'Esä (rehmatullah 'alaih)
or its Urdu translation "Khasail Nabawi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam)" by Sheikhul Hadith Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalvi (rehmatullah 'alaih)

"Seeratun Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam)" by Allama Syed Suleman Nadvi (rehmatullah 'alaih) Vol 6 according to 3rd edition [pub. 1984].

"Maarilful Hadith" by Muhammad Manzoor Nu'mani (rehmatullah 'alaih) Vol 6.

"Hujjatullah al-baligha" by Hazrat Shah Wali ullah dehlvi (rehmatullah 'alaih), but to understand this book you have to have a Mufti or Alime deen who himself have been doing fatwa work "Fatwa navesi" for atleast 15 - 20 yrs..

There are many more, all these books can be easily found.

[Sunni_Student786]

So according to the hadiths above, wiping or licking the plate would both suffice as fulfilling the Sunnah?

[Yusuf]

So according to the hadiths above, wiping or licking the plate would both suffice as fulfilling the Sunnah?
I remember reading from Mufti Ebrahim desai that you shouldnt literally lick the plate but use your fingers to wipe it clean..