Dua Before Eating and After Eating: 5 Authentic Duas

The dua before eating is one of the first things many Muslim children learn, and it is only one word: Bismillah. The Sunnah adds a little more around it: what to say if you forget, two ways to praise Allah after a meal, and a dua for the people who fed you. Here are five, each with the Arabic, the meaning and its source.

1. The dua before eating: Bismillah

Umar ibn Abi Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) grew up in the care of the Prophet ﷺ. As a boy, his hand would wander all over the dish, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him:

Umar said that he kept eating this way for the rest of his life. The HadeethEnc explanation draws out three manners from it: saying Bismillah, eating with the right hand, and eating from the side nearest to you. It also notes how gently the Prophet ﷺ taught a child. In Sahih Muslim 2017, he ﷺ warned that Shaytan seeks to share food over which the name of Allah is not mentioned.

Try this: at your next family meal, say “Bismillah” out loud so the children at the table hear it.

2. If you forget to say Bismillah

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

A parallel with similar words is in Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 1858 (Sahih, Darussalam). So forgetting at the start is not the end of it: say these words as soon as you remember, even halfway through the meal.

Try this: learn the four words Bismillahi awwalahu wa akhirahu today, so they are ready the next time you forget.

3. The dua after eating that brings forgiveness

Mu‘adh ibn Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

The words are: Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi at‘amani hadha wa razaqanihi min ghayri hawlin minni wa la quwwah. The same hadith is in Sunan Ibn Majah 3285 (Hasan, Darussalam). Sunan Abi Dawud 4023 has a longer version that adds “and his later sins”; al-Albani graded it Hasan without that addition, so we use the wording above.

Try this: say it after lunch today, and think for a moment about how little of that meal you made happen on your own.

4. Praising Allah when the meal is over

Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that whenever the Prophet ﷺ finished his meal and the dining sheet was taken away, he would say:

In the next hadith, Sahih al-Bukhari 5459, Abu Umamah reports another wording: “Praise be to Allah Who has sufficed us and quenched our thirst.” Either can be said after a meal.

Try this: keep this dua on your phone and read it after dinner until you know it by heart.

5. A dua for your host

Abdullah ibn Busr (may Allah be pleased with him) said the Messenger of Allah ﷺ visited his father, who served him food. When the Prophet ﷺ was leaving, his father asked him to make dua for them, and he said:

It is a short way to thank a host: ask Allah to bless their provision, forgive them and show them mercy.

Try this: the next time you eat at someone’s home, say this dua to them before you leave.

Bringing it together

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

The HadeethEnc explanation points out how small the act is and how great its reward: Allah’s pleasure, for thanking Him over food He already gave.

Reflection: we eat several times a day without thinking about it. A word before and a word after turn each of those meals into a moment of remembering Allah.

Questions people ask

Key lessons

• Say “Bismillah” before you eat, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is near you.
• If you forget, say “Bismillahi awwalahu wa akhirahu.”
• After eating, praise Allah Who fed you without any power of your own.
• Praise Allah with abundant, blessed praise when the meal ends.
• At someone’s home, ask Allah to bless what He gave them.

Part of our Dua series: see all our dua articles in one place.

May Allah bless the food on your table and the hands that prepared it.

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