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What is the ruling on saying "Bismillah" before every bite of food?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Naming [mentioning Allah's name] with each bite is permissible, but what is established in the Sunnah is to say Bismillah at the beginning of the meal, and whoever forgets it is commanded to say it upon remembering. It has been narrated from Imam Ahmad what indicates the desirability of mentioning Allah's name with each bite, reasoning that eating and praising [Allah] is better than eating and remaining silent. However, the majority of scholars believe that suffice it to say Bismillah at the beginning and Alhamdulillah at the end, as this is what is evident from the actions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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