The Prophet said, 'When you eat, do not wipe your hands till you have licked it, or had it licked by somebody else."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Jabir reported from Allah's Messenger. (may peace be upon him) about mentioning the licking (of fingers) and the (falling of) the mouthful.

Ibn Ka'b b. Malik reported on the authority of his father that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to eat (food) with three fingers and he licked his hand before wiping it (with towel).

'Abdullah b. Ka'b reported that his father Ka'b narrated to him that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) used to eat with three fingers and when he had finished (eating), he licked them.

Ibn Ka'b b. Malik reported on the authority of his father that he saw Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) licking his three fingers (after having finished the food). Ibn Hatim made no mention of" three". This hadith is also narrated through another chain of transmitters.

The Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) as saying : When a dog licks a (thing contained in a) utensil you must wash it seven times, using earth (sand) for the seventh time.

Abu Dawud said : This tradition has been transmitted by another chain of narrators in which there is no mention of earth.

The Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: The purification of the utensil belonging to any one of you, after it has been licked by a dog, consists of washing it seven times, using sand in the first instance.

Abu Dawud said : A similar tradition has been narrated by Abu Ayyub and Habib b. al-Shahid on the authority of Muhammad.

The Messenger of Allaah (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) ordered the killing of the dogs, and then said: Why are they (people) after them (dogs)? and then granted permission (to keep) for hunting and for (the security) of the herd, and said : When the dog licks the utensil wash it seven times, and rub it with earth the eighth time.

Abu Dawud said : Ibn Mughaffal narrated in a similar way.

"When the Prophet (saws) ate, he would lick his three fingers, and he said: 'If one of you drops a piece (of food) then let him remove any harm (dirt) from it and eat it, and do not leave it for Ash-Shaitan.' And he would order us to finish (clean) the dish. And he said: 'Indeed you do not know in which part of your food is the blessing.'

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib Sahih.

That the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Indeed Ash-Shaitan has a sense of taste, for which he licks, so beware of him. So whoever spends the night with [a smell] on his hand and something happens to him, then let him not blame anyone but himself."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Gharib from this route. It has also been reported in a narration of Suhail bin Abi Salih, from his father, from Abu Hurairah, from the Prophet (saws).

That Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "When one of you eats, then let him lick his fingers, for indeed he does not know in which of them is the blessing."

He said: There are narrations on this topic from Jabir, Ka'b bin Malik, and Anas.

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Gharib, we do not know of it except from this route, as a narration of Suhail. I asked Muhammad about this Hadith, so he said: "This is among the diverse narrations of 'Abdul-'Aziz, we do not know of it except from his narration."

Some people were sick and they said, "O Allah's Apostle! Give us shelter and food. So when they became healthy they said, "The weather of Medina is not suitable for us." So he sent them to Al-Harra with some she-camels of his and said, "Drink of their milk." But when they became healthy, they killed the shepherd of the Prophet and drove away his camels. The Prophet sent some people in their pursuit. Then he got their hands and feet cut and their eyes were branded with heated pieces of iron. I saw one of them licking the earth with his tongue till he died.

"My grandmother, Umm 'Asim narrated to me - and she was the slave woman of Sinan bin Salamah - she said: 'Nubaishah Al-Khair entered upon us while we were eating from a large bowl. He narrated to us that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Whoever eats from A Qas'ah, then licks it, the Qas'ah will seek forgiveness for him."

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Gharib, we do not know of it except through the narration of Al-Mu'alla bin Rashid. And Yazid bin Harun and others among the A'immah reported this Hadith from Al-Mu'alla bin Rashid.

The Prophet said, "A man felt very thirsty while he was on the way, there he came across a well. He went down the well, quenched his thirst and came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. He said to himself, "This dog is suffering from thirst as I did." So, he went down the well again and filled his shoe with water and watered it. Allah thanked him for that deed and forgave him. The people said, "O Allah's Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?" He replied: "Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate (living being)." (See Hadith No. 551)

Allah's Apostle said, "While a man was walking on a road. he became very thirsty. Then he came across a well, got down into it, drank (of its water) and then came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. The man said to himself "This dog is suffering from the same state of thirst as I did." So he went down the well (again) and filled his shoe (with water) and held it in his mouth and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for that deed and forgave him." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?" He said, "(Yes) There is a reward for serving any animate (living being) ."

I used to accompany Allah's Apostle to fill my stomach; and that was when I did not eat baked bread, nor wear silk. Neither a male nor a female slave used to serve me, and I used to bind stones over my belly and ask somebody to recite a Qur'anic Verse for me though I knew it, so that he might take me to his house and feed me. Ja`far bin Abi Talib was very kind to the poor, and he used to take us and feed us with what ever was available in his house, (and if nothing was available), he used to give us the empty (honey or butter) skin which we would tear and lick whatever was in it.

The people used to say, "Abu Huraira narrates too many narrations." In fact I used to keep close to Allah's Apostle and was satisfied with what filled my stomach. I ate no leavened bread and dressed no decorated striped clothes, and never did a man or a woman serve me, and I often used to press my belly against gravel because of hunger, and I used to ask a man to recite a Qur'anic Verse to me although I knew it, so that he would take me to his home and feed me. And the most generous of all the people to the poor was Ja`far bin Abi Talib. He used to take us to his home and offer us what was available therein. He would even offer us an empty folded leather container (of butter) which we would split and lick whatever was in it.