What Types of Food Can Be Given to the Needy?
ما هي أنواع الإطعام؟
What are the types of food that could be given to the needy?
The answer counts as feeding anything that is eaten and benefits the one who eats it, from a full meal to bread or dates, and it counts water as food, citing the river of Talut: whoever does not taste it (Al-Baqarah 2:249); quenching the thirst of a person or an animal is among the most beloved charities.
1. Edible and Nutritious
Any food that is edible and nutritious qualifies for the reward of feeding the needy. Whether it is a full meal, a piece of bread, dates, fruits, or basic staples, as long as it benefits the hungry person and provides them with nourishment, it is highly rewarded.
2. Water is Considered Food
Therefore water is considered food in Islamic terminology. Quenching the thirst of a person or an animal is one of the highest and most beloved forms of charity.
Allah Almighty says: (When Saul marched forth with his army, he cautioned: "Allah will test you with a river. So whoever drinks his fill from it is not with me, and whoever does not taste it except a sip from the hollow of his hands is definitely with me.") Surah Al Baqara 2: 249.
ما هي أنواع الإطعام؟
يعد الجواب من الإطعام كل ما يؤكل وينتفع به، من الوجبة الكاملة إلى الخبز أو التمر، ويعد الماء طعاما مستدلا بنهر طالوت: ومن لم يطعمه (البقرة 2:249)، وإرواء عطش إنسان أو حيوان من أحب الصدقات.
كل ما يؤكل وينتفع به
كل ما يؤكل وينتفع به يستحق به المسلم أجر إطعام المحتاجين. سواء كان وجبة كاملة، أو قطعة خبز، أو تمرا، أو فواكه، أو مواد أساسية، فما دام ينفع الجائع ويمده بالغذاء، فهو عمل مأجور عند الله.
الماء يعتبر طعاما
فالماء طعام في المفهوم الإسلامي. وإرواء عطش إنسان أو حيوان من أعلى وأحب أشكال الصدقات.
لقول الله تعالى: (فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ طَالُوتُ بِالْجُنُودِ قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُبْتَلِيكُم بِنَهَرٍ فَمَن شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَمَن لَّمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي إِلَّا مَنِ اغْتَرَفَ غُرْفَةً بِيَدِهِ) البقرة 2: 249.
1. Whoever Does Not Taste It | ومن لم يطعمه
Al-Qurtubi comments on the answer's verse: when Allah said and whoever does not taste it (lam yat'amhu), this shows that water is food, and being food, it is sustenance by which bodies live; he also notes that the verb of eating is used for water in Arabic (Al-Baqarah 2:249).
قال القرطبي في آية الجواب: "لما قال تعالى: ومن لم يطعمه دل على أن الماء طعام وإذا كان طعاما كان قوتا لبقائه واقتيات الأبدان به" (البقرة 2:249).
2. Zamzam: Food That Nourishes | إنها طعام طعم
Abu Dharr stayed in Makkah for thirty days and nights with no food but Zamzam water, and he grew fat and felt no hunger. The Prophet said of it: It is blessed; it is food that nourishes (Sahih Muslim 2473). Water itself can be food, as the answer says.
مكث أبو ذر بمكة ثلاثين بين ليلة ويوم ما كان له طعام إلا ماء زمزم، فسمن وما وجد على كبده سخفة جوع، فقال النبي ﷺ: "إنها مباركة إنها طعام طعم" (صحيح مسلم 2473). فالماء نفسه قد يكون طعاما كما قال الجواب.
3. A Dog Given Water | فسقى الكلب فشكر الله له
The Prophet told of a man who, overcome by thirst, went down a well and drank, then saw a dog panting and eating moist earth from thirst; he filled his leather sock with water and gave the dog a drink, and Allah thanked him and forgave him. The Companions asked: is there a reward for us in animals? He said: In every moist liver there is a reward (Sahih al-Bukhari 2363). This is the answer's point that quenching the thirst of a person or an animal is among the most beloved charities.
قال النبي ﷺ: "بينا رجل يمشي فاشتد عليه العطش، فنزل بئرا فشرب منها، ثم خرج فإذا هو بكلب يلهث، يأكل الثرى من العطش... فملأ خفه ثم أمسكه بفيه، ثم رقي، فسقى الكلب فشكر الله له، فغفر له"، قالوا: يا رسول الله، وإن لنا في البهائم أجرا؟ قال: "في كل كبد رطبة أجر" (صحيح البخاري 2363).
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What food counts as feeding the needy?
The answer counts anything that is eaten and benefits the one who eats it, whether a full meal, bread, dates, fruit, or basic staples.
Is giving water a form of feeding?
Yes. The answer counts water as food, and al-Qurtubi notes that the words whoever does not taste it (Al-Baqarah 2:249) show that water is food.
Did the Prophet call any water food?
Yes. He said of Zamzam: it is blessed; it is food that nourishes (Sahih Muslim 2473).
Is there reward for giving water to animals?
Yes. A man who gave water to a thirsty dog was forgiven, and the Prophet said: in every moist liver there is a reward (Sahih al-Bukhari 2363).