Da'eef (weak) hadeeths, Dought & clear, - * Ahaadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which criticize extravagance with regard to food

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How authentic are the two following ahadeeth:
Narrated by A’esha, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said: “the first calamity for this nation after the prophet’s death is fullness of their stomachs; when their stomachs became full, they became obese and their hearts weakened and their desires became wild” Bukhari.
The prophet advised us not to eat everything we desire to eat. Narrated by Anas ben Malik, may Allah be pleased with him that the prophet said: “it is extravagance that one eats whatever he desire” Ibn majah.
Is there anything that forbids one to eat a lot, or not to be able to control how much he eats? Any hadeeth, verse, or a book about prohibiting extravagance in foods, or about the prophet’s way regarding foods and eating.
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Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Gluttony is one of the greatest sins that lead to doom and it causes many diseases and sicknesses, both spiritual and physical, because it leads to sexual desire, then the desire for status and wealth in order to fulfil the first two desires. Then that generates spiritual diseases such as showing off, destructive envy (hasad), boastfulness and arrogance because of being focused on worldly matters. In most cases that leads to evil and immorality, all of it because of this desire. The Arabs of old said: The stomach is the home of disease and restraint is the basis of the remedy.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allaah) likes not Al‑Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)”
[al-A’raaf 7:31]
The Sunnah encourages moderation in eating, and strongly criticizes extravagance.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat a few mouthfuls, to keep him going. If he must do that (fill his stomach), then let him fill one third with food, one third with drink and one third with air.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2380); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inal-Silsilah al-Saheehah(2265).
It was narrated that Naafi’ said: Ibn ‘Umar used not to eat until a poor man was brought to eat with him. I brought a man in to eat with him and he ate a great deal. He said: O Naafi’, do not let this man enter upon me, for I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The kaafir eats in seven intestines.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5393) and Muslim (2060).
Al-Nawawi said, commenting on this hadeeth (14/25):
The scholars said: What the hadeeth means is to be content wit little in this world and encouraging asceticism and contentment, in addition to the fact that eating little is a good characteristic, and eating a great deal is the opposite. As for the words of Ibn ‘Umar concerning the poor man who ate a great deal in his presence, “Do not let him enter upon me,” he only said that because he was behaving like a kaafir, and if a person is behaves like a kaafir it is makrooh to mix with him unnecessarily; moreover, the amount that this man ate could had fed a number of people. End quote.
We have quoted other ahaadeeth on this topic elsewhere on our site; please see question no. 71173.
Secondly:
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) has summed up for us the teaching of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with regard to food and drink, which he derived from the saheeh ahaadeeth. He says inZaad al-Ma’aad(1/147):
Similarly the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not to reject what was available, and not to go out of his way to seek that which was not available. No good food was brought to him but he ate it, unless he had no appetite for it, in which case he left it but did not forbid it. He never criticized any food. If he wanted it he ate it, otherwise he would leave it, as he refrained from eating lizard meat because he was not used to it, but he did not forbid it to the ummah. He ate sweets and honey, which he liked. He ate camel meat, mutton, chicken, bustard, onager, rabbit and seafood. He ate grilled meat and both fresh and dry dates. … He did not refuse good food, and he did not go out of his way to seek it, rather he would eat what was available, but if it was not available he would be patient, and he would tie a stone to his stomach because of hunger. Three new moons in a row would be sighted, and no cooking fire would be lit in his house. End quote.
Thirdly:
The scholars have mentioned the benefits of moderation in food and not being extravagant. These include:
1 – Purity of heart, mental alertness and deep insight. Satiety generates stupidity and blinds the heart. Hence the proverb says “The one whose stomach is hungry will become able to think deeply and his intelligence will honed.”
2 – Humility and the loss of pride, joy and insolence, which are the foundation of tyranny and neglect of Allaah.
3 – One does not forget the wrath and punishment of Allaah, or the people who are afflicted by calamity. For the one who has his fill forgets the one who is hungry and he forgets hunger, but the one who is smart does not see someone else afflicted by a calamity but he is reminded of calamity in the Hereafter.
4 – One of the greatest benefits is that it puts an end to all sinful desires, and brings control over the self that is inclined towards evil, because the source of all sins is desires and energy, and the fuel for energy and desires is food. Dhu’l-Noon said: I never ate my fill but I sinned or thought of sinning.
5 – Warding off sleep and being able to stay up. For the one who eats a lot will drink a lot, and the one who drinks a lot will sleep a lot. Sleeping a lot wastes one’s time and causes one to miss out on tahajjud; it makes one slow and hardens the heart. Time is the most precious gift and it is the person’s capital, but sleep is death and sleeping too much shortens one’s life.
6 – Physical health and warding off disease, which is caused by eating too much and mixing foods in the stomach. The doctors say that gluttony is the cause of disease and restraint leads to a cure.
Summarized fromIhya’ ‘Uloom al-Deen(3/103-104).
Fourthly:
With regard to the ahaadeeth mentioned in the question, none of them are saheeh.
The first hadeeth:
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The first calamity for this ummah after the death of its Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) will be satiety, for when people’s stomachs are full, their bodies will grow fat, and their hearts will become weakened and their desires will grow wild.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari inal-Du’afa’– as attributed to him by al-Dhahabi in Meezaan al-I’tidaal (3/335). Also narrated by Ibn Abi’l-Dunya inal-Joo’(no. 22).
Narrated via Ghassaan ibn ‘Ubayd al-Azdi al-Mawsili, who said: Hamzah al-Basri told us, from Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah, from his father, from ‘Aa’ishah.
I say: This isnaad is da’eef jiddan (very weak) because of Ghassaan ibn ‘Ubayd, in whose biography inLisaan al-Mizaan(4/418) it says: Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: We wrote from him, then he came to us here then I burned what I wrote from him. Ibn ‘Adiyy said: The weakness in his hadeeth is obvious. According to a report from Yahya ibn Ma’een, it is da’eef. … Then he counted the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah that we have as being munkar. End quote.
Hence Shaykh al-Albaani said inDa’eef al-Targheeb(1239): It is munkar mawqoof. End quote.
Note: In the question this hadeeth is attributed to al-Bukhaari, and this is a serious mistake, because saying that a report “was narrated by al-Bukhaari” usually means that it is from his Saheeh, but al-Bukhaari wrote many other books, in which he narrated ahaadeeth with their isnaads, but they are not necessarily saheeh, such as his book al-Du’afa’ al-Sagheer, which has been printed, andal-Du’afa’ al-Kabeer, which was mentioned by Ibn al-Nadeem and Brockelmann inTareekh al-Adab(p. 65), and which still exists in the library of Patna in India. If it so happened that al-Bukhaari narrated a hadeeth in any of his books apart fromal-Saheeh, which is the greatest book written by a scholar in Islam, then it should be stated when quoting the hadeeth: “narrated by al-Bukhaari inal-Taareekh” or “inal-Du’afa’” or “inal-Adab al-Mufrad” for example, then one should research the isnaad of the hadeeth: is it saheeh or not, as is done in other books.
This hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah may be inal-Du’afa’ al-Kabeer. We have looked for it inal-Sagheerbut I could not find it. al-Du’afa’ al-Sagheerrarely mentions ahaadeeth and isnaads. And Allaah knows best.
The second hadeeth: It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is extravagance to eat everything you want.” Narrated by Ibn Majaah (3352); Abu Ya’laa inal-Musnad(5/154); Abu Nu’aym inal-Hilyah(10/213); al-Bayhaqi inShu’ab al-Eemaan(5/46) and others, via Baqiyah ibn al-Waleed, Yoosuf ibn Abi Katheer told us, from Nooh ibn Dhakwaan from al-Hasan from Anas in a marfoo’ report (i.e., attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)).
This isnaad is da’eef jiddan (very weak) and has a number of faults, such as:
1 – Yoosuf ibn Abi Katheer, of whom Ibn Hajar said inTahdheeb al-Tahdheeb(11/421): One of the Shaykhs of Baqiyah who are not known. End quote.
2 – Nooh ibn Dhakwaan, whose hadeeth is munkar. It says in his biography inTahdheeb al-Tahdheeb:
Ibn ‘Adiyy said: His ahaadeeth are not sound. Ibn Hibbaan said: His hadeeth is munkar jiddan and his hadeeth should not be narrated. Abu Nu’aym said: he narrated problematic reports from al-Hasan, and he has a document from al-Hasan from Anas. End quote.
Hence the hadeeth was classed as da’eef (weak) by more than one of the scholars: Ibn Hibbaan inal-Majrooheen(3/47); Ibn ‘Adiyy inal-Kaamil(8/299); Ibn al-Jawzi inal-Mawdoo’aat(3/182); al-Busayri inMisbaah al-Zujaajah(2/188); al-Sakhkhaawi inal-Maqaasid al-Hasanah(515).Shaykh al-Albaani said inal-Silsilat al-Da’eefah(no. 241): It is mawdoo’ (fabricated).
The saheeh ahaadeeth quoted above are sufficient and we have no need of these two weak ahaadeeth. The one who wants to know more about this topic may refer toal-Joo’by Ibn Abi’l-Dunya;Mukhtasar Minhaaj al-Qaasideenby Ibn Qudaamah;Zaad al-Ma’aadby Ibn al-Qayyim andSharh Riyaadh al-Saaliheenby Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.
And Allaah knows best.

PUBLISHERM.NajimudeeN. MD,IRI

Engagment, Dought & clear, - * Is it better to get engaged and do the marriage contract a year later, or to do the marriage contract straight away so that he will not fall into haraam?

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Which is better from a shar’i and practical point of view – for fear of disobeying Allaah –
1. To get engaged for one year then do the marriage contract and consummate the marriage on the wedding night
2. To get engaged for a while then do the marriage contract three months before consummation
3. To do the marriage contract and then consummate the marriage one year later, with no engagement period?
What is your opinion of these options? Please note that there may be some overstepping the limit before the marriage contract, such as looking at one’s fiancée with desire, speaking some words of love and holding hands sometimes.
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Praise be to Allaah.
The fiancé is a stranger (non-mahram) to his fiancée so it is not permissible for him to shake hands with her, look at her with desire, be alone with her or speak words of love to her, etc. Rather Islam only permits him to look at her when proposing marriage without desire or being alone with her, because that will lead to a lasting marriage, lest there be anything that he dislikes in her that he does not know about but that may be a cause of him being put off by her in the future.
What some people do, being lax with regard to their interactions with their fiancées and looking, being alone with them etc, is a great evil which should be avoided and warned against.
If the fiancée cannot control himself with regard to the things that we have mentioned, then it is better for him to do the marriage contract straightaway, or shortly after getting engaged, so that he will avoid falling into haraam. It is well known that the one who has done the marriage contract is a husband and everything that is permissible for husbands is permissible for him, but he should not have intercourse until his wife moves in with him, in accordance with custom and so as to avoid any negative consequences that may result if intercourse takes place before the consummation is announced.
There is nothing wrong with delaying consummation from the time of the contract, for a year or three months, depending on each partners’ circumstances. There is no specific rule in sharee’ah concerning this matter, rather it varies according to people’s circumstances. In the past the engagement, contract and consummation may all have taken place on one day, or it may have been done otherwise. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did the marriage contract with ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) when she was six years old and he consummated the marriage with her when she was nine.
What matters is that you should avoid falling into haraam. Hence the one who cannot control himself during the engagement period should hasten to do the marriage contract.
And Allaah knows best.

PUBLISHERM.NajimudeeN. MD,IRI

Engagment, Dought & clear, - * It is not permissible to offer an explicit proposal of marriage to a woman who is observing ‘iddah following the death of her husband or divorce

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My paternal aunt has been separated from her husband for four years and the official talaaq procedure is still not finished. A young man has come to propose marriage to her; is it permissible for her to recite al-Faatihah and sit with him without being alone with him during the months of ‘iddah?.
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Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
What we understand from your question is that your aunt’s divorce from her husband has not yet been completed, because you say “the official talaaq procedure is still not finished”. If that is the case, then your aunt is still married to her husband, so it is not permissible for anyone to propose marriage to her or to make an agreement with her to get married after her divorce, until the divorce has actually been completed.
Secondly:
If the divorce has been completed but it is a revocable divorce (first or second talaaq), then it is also not permissible during the ‘iddah period for anyone to propose marriage to her, either explicitly or implicitly, because the woman who has been divorced revocably still comes under the same rulings as a wife, and her husband has the right to take her back at any time he wants, so long as the ‘iddah has not ended.
Thirdly:
But if the divorce is not revocable (such as a third talaaq or talaaq in return for some compensation paid by the wife), then it is permissible to hint at a proposal during the ‘iddah, but it is not permissible to propose explicitly, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And there is no sin on you if you make a hint of betrothal or conceal it in yourself”
[al-Baqarah 2:235]
This verse speaks of a woman who is observing ‘iddah following the death of her husband, but by analogy the scholars applied it to everyone who is observing ‘iddah and has no way of going back to her husband.
The different between an explicit proposal and an implicit one is that an explicit proposal is worded in such a way that it cannot mean anything but marriage, such as “I want to marry you” or “I will propose to you” etc.
As for the implicit proposal, it is worded in such a way that it may mean marriage or something else, such as “I am looking for a wife” and so on.
It is well known that people use the expression “reciting al-Fatihah” to refer to an explicit proposal. Based on this it is not permissible for anyone to propose to your aunt and recite a-Faatihah or for her to sit with him until the 'iddah has ended.
It should also be noted that reciting al-Faatihah at the time of engagement or marriage is not mentioned in the Sunnah.
The standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked: Is reciting al-Faatihah when a man proposes marriage to a woman an innovation (bid’ah)?
They replied:
Reciting al-Faatihah when a man proposes marriage to a woman or when doing the marriage contract with her is an innovation. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah(19/146)
See:al-Sharh al-Mumti’(10/124-127);al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah(19/191).
And Allaah knows best.

PUBLISHERM.NajimudeeN. MD,IRI