Giving correct scholarly opinions to both Muslims and non-Muslims: Are Muslims allowed to use utensils when eating or does it have to be by hand?

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Are Muslims allowed to use utensils when eating or does it have to be by hand?

Question:

Can a Muslim eat with utensils like forks and chopsticks or is this forbidden?

Answer:

The Prophet (peace be upon him), his Companions, and the pious predecessors all used to eat with their hands. They did not employ any other means to bring food to their mouthes.

However, this is really a matter of regional custom. There is no blame on a person who eats by another method according to his habit or his custom. It is important, however, that he gives preference to his right hand, even if he is eating with a utensil.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded: "Mention Allah's name, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is in front of you." [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

And Allah knows best.

http://en.islamtoday.net/node/1248

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The purpose of this blog is to give accurate and fair fatwas from notable scholars on the religion of Islam.

What's a fatwa?

A fatwa is an opinion or ruling by one who is knowledgeable about Islamic ethics. Usually these people are Imam's, Mufti's, or anyone who has done deep studies of Islam.

Why should we follow scholars?

The Prophet Muhammed (peace be upin him) said:

“Scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.”

A Quran verse is said to coincide with this hadith:

“Then We gave the Scripture as inheritance unto those whom We elected of Our servants.” [Qur'an, 35.32]

Another hadith states:

”The superiority of a scholar (alim) over the devout (abid) is like my superiority over a worshipper or like that of the moon in the night when it is full over the rest of the stars, and truly the scholars arc the heirs of the Prophets, and truly the Prophets do not leave behind them gold or silver, they only leave knowledge as their heritage. So whosoever acquires knowledge acquires a huge fortune.” (Transmitted by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and al Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.)

We pick and choose the most relevant opinions on major issues that many Muslims have either doubts or questions on.

The thing is there's many sites that give fatwas, but many of them are too extreme, flat out stupid or just wrong, all of whom contradict Islamic teachings. It's gets real tiring hearing about what some ulema (body of scholars) say about women, non-Muslims, and harmless customs. They judge, accuse and somtimes even degrade others. These people are suppose to guide us and help us, yet they're doing the opposite. Islam tells us only God and his Prophet (peace be upon him) can declrare what is haraam (forbidden), however these 'scholars' will find out ways to try and make whatever they want as haraam.
These are also feeders to anti-Islamic material. It makes us look even more worse than we're portrayed.

Another thing, there's many liberal and secular sites that are giving their own rulings, and they lack some of the basic Islamic education, most of which are found in kid's books. They are also doing significant damage to the ummah (worldwide Muslim community).

Our goal is to set things straight and educate both Muslims and non-Muslims about Islam. All of the postings on this blog are to-the-point As well, these posts are for our own benefit, so we can refer back to them when we need to.

The rulings and opinions from scholars on this blog are mostly selected from the following popular sites:

http://www.askthescholar.com/ (run by Sheikh Ahmed Kutty, labeled as one of the top 100 Muslims worldwide).
http://www.onislam.net/ (formerly IslamOnline, one of the most visited Islamic websites in the world).
http://www.muslimvillage.com/
http://www.askamufti.com/
http://en.islamtoday.net/
http://www.canadiancouncilofimams.com/
http://fiqhcouncil.org/
http://www.ali-gomaa.com/ (Grand Mufti of Egypt)
http://www.dar-alifta.org/ (headed by the Grand Mufti of Egypt, advises the Egyptian government on matters)

We are thankful to God that we have found these sites, as they are the only ones (as of now) who post relevant and reliable material. And we hope inshallah (God willing) other Muslims can benefit from them as well)

We also pick out videos from sites like Youtube that feature scholars giving lectures, or their opinions on certain matters.

WE NEVER ISSUE OUR OWN FATWAS, EVER. We have studied Islam and know it well enough to know what's in our religion and what isn't. We can tell what's a good fatwa and what isn't. This is just a heads up because we don't want to recieve emails critisizing us about our selection of fatwas. All the scholars featured on this blog are well known and respected. They aren't random people wanting to misguide the ummah.