Is it haram to eat with your left hand?

Explanation

The hadith on this are clear and direct. The Prophet ﷺ told a boy at his table to say bismillah and eat with his right hand, and taught that Satan eats and drinks with his left. When a man refused to eat with his right hand out of pride, the Prophet ﷺ spoke against him. Because of these hadith, some scholars of other schools held that eating with the left without need is sinful.

In practice:

• Bring the food to your mouth with your right hand, and drink with your right hand.
• With a knife and fork, many scholars suggest holding the fork in the right hand when bringing food to the mouth. If that is hard, switch hands for each bite.
• Using the left hand to hold a plate, a cup while pouring, or bread while tearing it is fine.
• An injured, weak or missing right hand is a valid excuse.

Being left-handed is not in itself an excuse for eating, since eating with the right is easy to learn, but take it step by step. Children are taught gently from an early age.

The other table manners of the sunnah go with this: say bismillah, eat from what is in front of you, and thank Allah after. See the dua before eating, the dua after eating and sunnahs of daily life.

The evidence

Where the ruling is recorded

• al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on eating. Eating and drinking with the left hand without an excuse is disliked.
• Sharh Sahih Muslim (Nawawi), Kitab al-Ashriba, chapter on the etiquette of food and drink. The Shafi'i view that it is disliked, and the views of others.

This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.