Food Practiced By The Prophet Religion Essay

Islam is a part of so many religions and has contributed much to the nutritional practices of the society and world. In Islam, eating is considered to be a matter of worship, and eating for Muslim is only as a basis for survival and maintaining healthy body, self indulgence is one of the things that are prohibited when eating (Kittler & Sucher, 2007).

The basic food pattern of Muslim dietary laws is based on the restriction or prohibition of some foods and the promotion of others. According to Esposito (2004), the acceptable food and drinks are referred as halal, meaning lawful; impure products are haram and prohibited and there is also term called mashbooh that according to Schmidt and Fieldhouse (2007) means doubtful or suspected food.

Halal products for example include milk, fish, and most vegetables while haram or forbidden foods are pork products, most carnivorous animals, birds of prey, animal that is not slaughtered according to Islamic law and also alcohol. On the other way, mushbooh food is of uncertain status and should be avoided for example processed foods as the ingredients are often unknown origin and feared to contain unlawful ingredients (Schmidt& Fieldhouse, 2007).

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Islamic nutritional practices are predominantly determined by the commands and regulations of Islam as outlined by the Quran, Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) s.a.w and Hadith. In addition to providing food guidelines, the Quran also encourages Muslim to eat a nutritious, balanced diet. It recommends a selection of beef, chicken, fish, grains, milk, fruits and vegetables (Esposito, 2004). The Quran further calls on manner of eating such as to avoid waste and excess when eating and Muhammad also delivered rules for proper eating etiquette.

With the vast information on recommended food and eating manner, the holy book of Muslims which is the Quran recorded the word of God, together with the words and deeds of Muhammad (pbuh) written down in Hadith, can be used to guide Muslim in their everyday lives, including their food practices.

“Obey Allah and obey the Messenger” and on the other verse “You have beautiful pattern to follow in the Messenger of Allah” (Emerick, 2002), these are just two of many verses in Koran that tell Muslims to follow the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Muslims believe in the prophets and messengers of God, starting with Adam, including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus (Ibrahim, 1997). However, Allah had determined that final message to a mankind; the Holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad and him the one who will be the eternal guidance to the humankind. On top of that, Prophet’s guidance in regard with food and other aspects of life is perfect guidance for the society. The guidance in term of foods for example encompasses all aspects from nutritional, health and psychological benefit to mankind.

1.2 Problems Statement

As a great leader of all times, the life history of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is written in details ever since he was in her mother’s womb. Even though, his life history is written in details in various publishing, unfortunately, there is limited number of publishing or research that in particular discussing the foods of the prophet and his eating habits.　Most of the details about the foods of the prophet and his eating habits only can be known by going through in details the Hadith that compiled in scriptures. So, the idea of this research is to organize the prophet’s recommended foods in one research in attempt to increase the number of research related to food of the Prophet.

Other than that, despite the rich information that included in Hadith and Quran about healthy foods and diet, modern Muslims also prefer to follow the recommendation in television and magazines on what foods that will make them healthy rather than referring to the recommendations by religion. It also seems like the recommended foods by the Prophet are more appreciated by the non-Muslim and westerners that realize on the benefit of the foods, for example milk and honey. Many Muslim also didn’t have many knowledge about the food and etiquette of eating by their Prophet So, this research is done with aim to uncover the habit of eating and food practiced by the Prophet, so that people both Muslim and non-Muslim can take then chance to know about them and later practice it in their daily life and enjoy the benefit.

1.3 Objectives of research

To identify food that was practiced and recommended by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

To discover the habits and manners of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) regarding foods and eating.

To develop new recipe that will incorporate the ingredients practiced by the prophets

1.4 Research Questions

What kind of foods were practiced and recommended by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?

What are the benefits of the foods consumed by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from spiritual, health, nutritional, and psychological aspect?

What were the eating habits and manners that practiced by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?

What new dishes or food products can be produced by using the ingredients recommended by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh)?

1.5 Significant of study

The idea of this research is to organize the prophet’s recommended foods in one research along with the commentary, remark, proof and elaboration with the help of past study and experienced scholar. On the other part, recipe development utilizing the ingredients recommended by prophet will explore new ideas on incorporating prophetic ingredients in dishes.

Nowadays, people are becoming more health conscious, and they seek a lot of guidance about healthy diet and nutritious foods from health magazine, television shows and also from professional. Aside from taking nutrient supplement, people are also starting to take traditional herbs to boost their health. With the completion of this research, it can be another alternative for people who are health conscious to get guidance of what food to eat and what food to avoid according to the religion.

As a Muslim, it is also recommended to follow the saying of the Prophet in everything from prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and even eating. So, this research will provide information for Muslims and also non-Muslim who are interested in knowing more about the eating habit and eating lifestyle of a Prophet.

Besides that, the recipe that will be developed from this research can be used as an idea for individual and even commercial people to produce cuisine and food product from the ingredients recommended by The Prophet. The significant benefit of the recommended ingredient that will be uncovered by this research may also be an idea for a researcher to start a research on the suggested properties

Chapter two

Literature review

2.1 Muhammad s.a.w the Prophet

Muhammad is the central figure in Islam. Chosen by God to receive the Quran, he has been taken by all Muslims to be the ideal man, the perfect image of what it means to be a Muslim. All the sayings and the practice of him are also being followed by the Muslim all over the world.

2.1.1 Life history

Islam’s historical origin lie in the life of a man named Muhammad who was born in the city of Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia on the17th of Rabi” al-awwal, in around 570 C.E ( Elias, 1999). According to Rippin (2001), Muhammad was born into a family named Banu Hashim from Quraysh tribe that can be considered as one of the famous tribe but not a leading group of family at the time. Kirk (1999) reported in his book that Quraysh tribe was a main merchant tribe with large power in Mecca and surrounding area at that time.

Muhammad’s father, Abdullah, died shortly before he was born and when Muhammad was 6 years old his mother Amina died, leaving him an orphan. He was cared for by his grandfather, Abd Muttalib until he died and gave the guardianship of Muhammad to his uncle, Abu Talib (Brown, 2009). According to M.Al Husseini ( 2004), Abu Taleb was not very rich like Mohammed’s other uncles, but he took the good care of Muhammad, until he grew up to be a young man. Even though, as a small child Mohammad had been through many tragedy and hard ship but from his childhood he was famous with his honest and trustworthy behavior.

Very little is known about Muhammad’s childhood or about the period of his life before his career as a prophet begin. But, according to Elias (1999) and M.Al Husseini (2004), Muhammad spent most of his youth taking care of the sheep and cattle he was heading in the valleys and mountains around Makkah. His life as a merchant only began when he accompanied his uncle, a merchant who frequently traveled throughout Arabia. In the expeditions, he learned not only about business trade but also came in contact with a wide variety of people.

Upon reaching adulthood, Muhammad became a merchant himself and quickly gained a reputation for honesty and trustworthiness. Considering his good image and reputation at that time Khadija, a wealthy widow that is also one of influential business women at that time noticed him and then proposes Muhammad to be her husband, which Muhammad accepted. At the time of their wedding Muhammad was 25-years old and Khadija was 40-years old (Elias, 1999).

During his adulthood, Muhammad regularly will retire in a cave outside Mecca to meditate secretively (Elias, 1999). Then, that was when at one occasion he was approached by Angel Gabriel and received his first revelation which marked as the beginning of his prophet hood. Elias (1999) declares this event occurred when Muhammad was 40-years old, and for the remainder of his life he continued to receive revelations and is known as the Quran.

Even though, at the early days of his prophet hood he was worried on the first experience of revelation, later by the help of his wife, Muhammad was convinced that he had been chosen as a prophet of God. Along his prophet hood, until he took his last breath in 632 AD at 63 years old, he continued to bring the heavenly message to humankind about the existence of almighty Allah, a warning of an awaiting day of judgement, and lesson on how to have an honorable live. His practice and sayings that are recorded in Hadith and Sunnah had also become the great guidance for whole mankind throughout the era.

2.1.2 Hadith and Sunnah

From the very beginning up to the present day, the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad have served as the ideal model for all Muslims believers to follow. In other words, the actions, decisions, and practices that Muhammad approved, allowed, as well as those he refrained from or disapproved of, are used by Muslims as examples for guidance in all aspects of life. As a result, the body of transmitted actions and sayings attributed to Muhammad and his direct companions soon became a material source that is known as Hadith. The Hadith are second in authority to the Quran (Wood, 1998) and has as much influence as the Quran in shaping the Muslim communities throughout the world.

According to Elias (1999) the word Hadith in general means “a communication or a narrative” where in Islamic terms it has the particular meaning of “a record of actions and sayings of the Prophet and his companions”. Whereas, Ramadan (2006), define Hadith as the “report of what Muhammad said, that is, an actual verbal expression or opinion on subject”. So, as a conclusion it can be said that Hadith is a report on the sayings of Prophet Muhammad.

Another word that is often used interchangeably with Hadith when quoting about practices and sayings of the Prophet is Sunnah. In fact there is actually difference in their meaning. According to Ramadan (2006), “Sunnah implies the mode of life he lived, the example he set through his actions, sayings, judgments, and attitudes-his practices or tradition”. In this sense, then, Hadith is count under his Sunnah because his sayings were one of the things that he did, and reflected his tradition in verbal form. However, the formal, collected hadiths of Muhammas and reports of his Sunnah came to be called the Hadith, Al-Hadith, or Ahadith (Ramadan, 2006). Consequently, both Hadith and Sunnah terms will usually be used interchangeably by author in writing up about Prophet Muhammad’s life and tradition.

The literature of the Hadith includes the earliest biography of the Prophet Muhammad, an account of the founding of the community, a portrait of Muhammad as founder and leader of the community, and of Muhammad as the model and guide for Muslims. According to Wood (1998), all kind of topic in life can be said covered by Hadith including prayer, fasting, economic, politic, and law. To put as an example, Wood (1998) chose one of the Muslim traditions that are based on the Hadith, which is how Muslims are eating with the right hand as told by the Messenger of God.

According to Ramadan (2006), there are four types of hadith that were reported and recorded: (1) Muhammad’s own words; (2) Muhammad’s actions; (3) Muhammad’s unspoken approval of actions preformed in his presence, and (4) descriptions of his physical attributes, personality, manner, and character. All four types are regarded as the primary sources of Islamic law.

Unfortunately, not all Hadith can be considered as accurate. Therefore, to differentiate between the authenticity and accuracy of the massive collection of Hadith with one another, scholars divide Hadith into three main categories according to their reliability: “Sahih (sound), or those hadiths which have flawless chains of transmission and reinforce something that is widely accepted in the Islamic community; Hasan (beautiful), which are considered reliable but whose authencity is not totally beyond doubt; and weak hadiths (daif), which are suspect in terms of either their content or the chain of transmitters”. (Elias, 1999)

Nigosian (2004), had point up six collections that are accepted as authentic by Sunni Muslims (the majority group), namely, the compilations of al-Bukhari, Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Ibn Maja, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Nasa’i. Nevertheless, no matter how doubtful the authenticity of some material may be the collection of narrative materials in the Hadith conserve important information about the beginning of Islam and the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, as a Muslim it had been a responsibility to appreciate the Hadith and at the same time applied it in daily life.

2.2 Eating etiquette of the Prophet

Food plays a significant role in everyday lives. As a matter of fact, eating is one of the routine in our everyday lives, from breakfast to lunch, from lunch to dinner and also supper. Performed as our one of our daily routine, there is a need for every Muslim especially to seek for the etiquette in eating according to religion that can be beneficial and rewarding. Actually, eating, like any other etiquette in Islam, is a matter of respect when performed according to the religion guidelines and eating etiquette of the Prophet Muhammad picture the best example of what should be done by all Muslim when facing with food.

2.2.1 Eating manners

When seeking for the etiquette of eating in the Hadith, Prophet Muhammad had taught and set up several guideline and ethic that will make eating blessed by Allah (Stacey, 2008).

One of the important reminders by the Prophet Muhammad about eating is set on cleanliness and hygiene. It is very important aspect in Islam and Ibn Hayyan also reported that Messenger of God once said

“Cleanse yourself, because Islam is cleanliness.”

In another Hadith reported by Al-Tabarani, Prophet Muhammad also accounted to have said how cleanliness will bring someone to faith and faith itself will be one of the guarantees that will bring to the Heaven. Both Hadith when applied in case of eating and food may conclude that, cleanliness in food preparation, food handling, processing and even the food handler and also the area is highly recommended besides an overall cleanliness like mentioned in the Hadith.

Eating like another act is Islam begin with mentioning the name of Allah (Hussaini & Sakr, 1984). Prophet Muhammad reported to have said:

“When one of you eats, he should mention God’s name; if he forgets to mention God’s name at the beginning, he should say: “I begin with the name of God at the beginning and at the end of it”

(At Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood & Ibn Majah.)

Apart from making a supplication before eating, Stacey (2009) mentioned in her article it is obligatory for Muslims to eat with the right hand unless there is an excuse that can be tolerated such as illness or injury.  Left hand is undesired because it is the one that is used for cleaning the body of filth and impurities while the right hand is for eating, shaking hands and giving things to one another.  Eating with left hand also resembles Satan like being said by Prophet Muhammad and he advised his companions and exclaims his believers to dissociate themselves from anything that similar to Satan (Stacey, 2009).

Omar ibn Abi Salamah, as one of the friends of Prophet Muhammad also quoted a story on Prophet’s eating manner. He said,

“When I was a young boy in the care of the Messenger of God, my hand used to wander all over the platter (of food).  The Messenger of God said to me, ‘O young boy, say Bismillah (I begin with the name of God), eat with your right hand, and eat from what is directly in front of you’.”

(Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)

There are many other guidelines pertaining to the etiquette of eating that is being taught by Al-Quran and Hadith. By paying attention to the manner of eating a Muslim will be able to show a good image to others religion especially and at the same time allows the believers to earn blessings and rewards from God.

2.2.3 Prohibited eating manners and habits

Prophet Muhammad condemned over-eating, Islam also advised the Muslims to avoid overeating and he himself was the best example of restraint. Islam encourages Muslim to enjoy life within certain limits (Hussaini & Sakr, 1984) and Prophet Muhammad himself reminded his people that having a light and healthy body is more advantageous than being overweight (Stacey, 2009). Islam itself recommended a moderate way of life, and this principle must be attempted in food consumption too. Anyone should never overindulge nor at the same time should deprive of the delicious food that God has provided in this world.

In drinking, Prophet Muhammad also forbid several habits, for example Sina( 2008), quoted in his book that the Prophet prohibit drinking water with a single gulp, As-Suyuti (1994) gives assertion in this matter proclaim that a disease called al-Kabar or pain in the liver is caused by drinking in this way. Hussaini and Sakr (1983) on the other way defense this way of drinking by explaining that it is important to have gap between gulps of drink to avoid choking, he added that it is because both food and air go through the same passageway that is pharynx and when the pathways for these substances cross that may cause choking. Anas has also transmitted the hadith that the Prophet, used to take three breaths, one after each sip, and used to say that it was because it was more satisfying, healthier, and more thirst-quenching ( As-Suyuti, 1994).

Other than the prohibited manner mentioned above Prophet Muhammad also list several other simple rule like recorded by Al-Bukhari that Messenger of God forbade eating while lying down, that later explained by Abu Ka’ab it is forbidden because it was the custom of tyrants ( As-Suyuti, 1994). Sina (2008) also mentioned it was not the practice of the Prophet, to blow on his food or his drink, or to breathe into container.

To sum up, all the manners that are prohibited by Prophet Muhammad have their own relevance. Many of them had been proven scientifically and these have established a more solid reason why people should follow the saying of the Prophet.

2.3 Diet of the Prophet

Out of love and devotion toward Prophet Muhammad many Muslim follow the Prophet’s personal practices. Some Muslim even avoids foods that Prophet avoided and prefers food that he preferred. Aside from searching for blessing and reward, Muslim nowadays try to follow and do research more on Prophet recommended food considering it highly beneficial value from nutritional and also psychological benefits.

2.3.1 Food practiced and recommended by the Prophet

The Hadith especially mentions many types of food that was preferred and recommended by Prophet Muhammad. Among the types of food that mentioned in the Hadith include fruits and vegetables, meat, condiments, herbs and spices and also milk. The diet of Prophet Muhammad, his likings and recommendations can be portrayed by several Hadith by Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and and many others.

For fruits there is some name that repeatedly mentioned in the Hadith including the widely valued fruit by the Muslim that is dates palm fruit. According to Hadith by Muslim, Prophet Muhammad said that three times for emphasis and then said “A family which has no dates, Aisha will be hungry” which mark on how it was recommended for consumption. There are also some types of dates that are specially preferred by Prophet Muhammad where the Prophet had been reported to said, “The most excellent of all your dates is that al-Burniy, which drives out diseases” (As-Suyuti, 1994). For dates fruit, it is also had been like a tradition for the Muslim to break his fast with this fruit. As-Suyuti (1994) mentioned in his book that An-Nasa’i transmitted a Hadith on which Prophet Muhammad had said that “Whoever can find dates should break his fast with them”.

Aside from dates palm fruit the other fruit that highly recommended and preferred by Prophet Muhammad is melon, and according to Burns (2001) in her articles, Bukhari recored that melon is the most recommended fruit for health by the Prophet. In fact, it is among the frequently eaten fruits by the Prophet. This is also stated by Abu Daw’ud that said, “Among the fruits that the Prophet liked, were grapes and melons.” Mentioning about fruits that is preferred by Prophet Muhammad, pomegranate and dried fruit like figs which is also beneficial according to the Quran and Hadith are also among them.

Other than fruits, honey is also one of the overlooked miraculous foods that the Prophet recommended for consumption. According to As-Suyuti (1994), Aisha, once remarked, “How the Prophet, loved to eat honey”. Another time Aisha said, “God’s messenger did indeed love to eat sweetmeats and honey” (Hussaini & Sakr, 1983). Al-Bukhari has recorded this Hadith. It also stated by As-Suyuti (1994), The Messenger of Allah, used to drink a cup of honey and water on an empty stomach every day.

As for drink, his guidance in drink was said to be the most perfect for protecting health. He liked best a cold delicious drink and used to drink milk, whether pure or mixed with water (Othman Al-Mazyad, 2006). The Prophet said, “Let whoever is given milk by Allah say, O’ Allah, bless it and give us more of it, as nothing suffices as both food and drink except milk”. This Hadith has been transmitted by Abu Daw’ud and at-Tirmidhi, on the authority of Ibn Abbas.

There is much other food which is preferred by Prophet Muhammad, and many of them had been now acknowledge as healthy food for consumption and have many medicinal benefits like being proposed in the Hadith.

2.3.2 Benefits of the Food Practiced by Prophet

The Prophet taught his people about how to maintain their bodies, basing the principles of what he taught on the Quran. This includes his act in recommending what food to eat, avoid and take less. Even though, sometimes people might not understanding why some food is prohibited by his taught but at the end of the days it will be scientifically proven that the food certainly had some harm. The food that he practice and recommend on the other hand, had also scientifically proven containing the certain health, mental and physiological benefit declared.

Dates fruit that is one of the favorite foods of Prophet serve as the best example of what a beneficial food is all about. It provides a wide range of essential nutrients and many health benefits. According to Ensminger (1995) the key nutritional value of dates is their high sugar content, which varies from 60% to 70%, it also contain fiber, iron, potassium and niacin. Also, As-Suyuti (1994) mentioned that the Prophet said, “Your women-folk should eat dates, for whoever makes dates their food will produce children with ease. Omar-Muhammad (2003), provide good evidence for this statement showing that there is a stimulant that present in dates which can help support the muscles of uterus in pregnant women especially in the very last few months before labor.

Another given food by God which has miraculous benefit is honey. Quoted by As-Suyuti (1994), Ibn Maja recorded that the Prophet said, “You have two medicine: honey and Quran” which had marked honey as one of the best remedy in this world. There are also Hadith transmitted by al-Bukhari and by Muslim where Prophet Muhammas said, “If, out of all the remedies that you have, there is any one thing which is better than all the rest, then it is making use of scarification and eating honey.” In term of nutritional compound honey served about 86 Calories (kcal) energy per ounce-the remaining are traces of minerals and citamins, and 14 to 19% of water (Ensminger, 1995). The nutritional composition itself cannot picture how much health benefit honey has; Hussaini & Sakr (1984) state that, the use of honey as an internal and external remedial agent must be much older than the history of medicine itself.

Raw honey is believed to possess a number of health benefits. According to Sato and Miyata, The antimicrobial property of honey is the most recognized medical benefit of this condiment; Mercola & Pearsall (2007) added that honey can even be a useful medication against food borne pathogen namely Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Research had also shown that other than killing the pathogen in the bowels, it can also help the development of beneficial bacteria. Honey is also an effective topical treatment for wound healing, healing of burns, ulcers, infected wounds and other cases of wounds or abrasions (Campen, 2009).

One of the drinks that are recommended by Prophet, that is milk on the other hand had been widely known and practiced by people worldwide as it is known for its high calcium content that is good for the bone. Although there many type of milk that mentioned in the Hadith such as camel milk and goat milk, but Prophet Muhammad put a special emphasize on cow’s milk saying that “drink cow’s milk, for it is a healing and fattening remedy” And according to Ibn Mas’ud, he also said, “Allah did not create any disease without also creating a remedy for it-so drink cow’s milk, for cows feed all sorts of plants” (As-Suyuti, 1994). This is proven by scientific evidence as milk is indeed according to Rios (2008) milk and milk products contain medicinal properties that will help care for the gastrointestinal tract, bone, teeth, and also prevent disease such as cancers, hypertensions and coronary heart disease.

2.3.4 Food avoided by the Prophet

Every religion in this world will have own prescription for intake of food, so as Islam. As prescript by the Holy Quran, Muslim will avoid eating swine, improperly slaughtered animal, alcoholic beverage, and other listed non-halal and mushbooh food item. But aside from avoiding mentioned item, there are other conditions that will make even Halal food to be avoided. Prophet Muhammad especially had showed several situations where he will avoid certain food. Among the condition is when the food is contaminated and also he will avoid eating improperly combined food.

The Prophet forbade eating the mixing the following food items together at the same meal: milk and fish, or vinegar and milk, or fruit and milk, or lettuce and fish. Abi Bakr (2003), also mention on how Prophet will avoid two types of food that have the same condition for example “two hot dishes, or two cold dishes, two sticky dishes, two constipating dishes, two laxative dishes, two heavy dishes, two liquid foods” also he will avoid eating two food that will result to two opposite effect, such as constipating and diarrhea, or easily digested with heavy foods.

Scientific research had proven this rule when it is detected that improper food combination will result to the interference of digestive process. Carlin (2002), reported that improper food combinations will weakens the digestive organ and interrupt the system if practiced over long period of time. It will also decrease the ability of creating digestive fluids by these organs. Chowdhary ( 2005), also made research in this rule and found that improper food combinations will take longer time to digest, that is about 8-14 hours, while food that is properly combined will only take about 3-4 hours. So in the long run, it is important to follow this rule in order to maintain good digestion system.

Other than avoiding food that combined improperly, cleanliness and hygiene of the food also one of the rule that used by the Prophet in deciding whether to avoid the food or not. According to As-Suyuti (1994), Prophet Muhammad forbade eating uncovered food or uncovered water, it is because in case something poisonous has fallen into it that might be fatal if one were to eat or drink it. Reported by Muslim, the Prophet commanded this when he said, ” Cover over your containers and stop up the mouths of water bottles, for truly there is a night in the year in which a pestilence comes down and does not settle on any uncovered container without falling into it”. Indeed all physicians are in agreement with this command of the Prophet.

Abi Bakr (2003) also added that Prophet Muhammad evade intake of food that is too hot or food that already old and heated for the next day. Pitchford (2003) who made research in this rule reported that food that is too hot, the heat will weaken the stomach and creates acidity while cold paralyzes the stomach. Additionally, Prophet Muhammad also avoids eating salty or rotten foods, for examples pickles (Abī Bakr, 2003). All these types of foods in large amount for a long time will cause health deterioration.

From all the evidence of what food Prophet Muhammad trying to avoid, it can be seen that the main reason behind it is to preserve the body from disease and harm. Although, the reason behind it is quite ambiguous at first, but nowadays with all the research that is done, it is proven that the entire thing he forbade have the reasoning behind it.

Chapter 3

Methodology

3.1 Research design

This research is purely qualitative and to answer the research questions and achieve the research objectives interviews will be conducted. Those individuals that will be interviewed will be someone who has vast knowledge on Islam, Prophet Muhammad, Al-Quran and Hadith so that valid and reliable information that is based on the right source will be obtained from the interview. The possible candidate for the interviewee will be Islamic academician, or academician in Islamic history and civilization studies.

The interviews questions were self- administered and designed to answer the objectives and research questions. There will be 1 set of question contained approximately 15 questions and will be divided into 3 categories in aim to answer the objective. The question’s categories will be i) Overview and background, ii) Foods Practiced by the Prophet, and iii) Prophet’s etiquette of eating. The interview questions will be open-ended to get as m