Anas ibn Malik was a young lad when the Prophet (peace be upon him) arrived in Madinah. His stepfather, Abu Talhah, a most devoted companion of the Prophet took him to the Prophet and said: “Messenger of God, Anas is a bright young lad. He will serve you.” Anas stayed in the Prophet’s service until the Prophet passed away ten years later, during which he was treated as if he belonged to the Prophet’s family. Visitors to Madinah remarked that they thought that Anas and his mother, Umm Sulaym, were members of the Prophet’s household. This explains that most of the Hadiths describing how the Prophet behaved in his private life were reported either by Anas, or by the Prophet’s wives. On the question of the food the Prophet ate, we have several Hadiths reported by Anas ibn Malik.

Anas reports: “We scared a hare at Marr Al-Dhahran where people were watering their mounts and talking. I caught the hare and took it to Abu Talhah. He slaughtered it and sent to the Prophet its hip and two thighs.” The transmitter of this Hadith asked Anas whether the Prophet ate of it. Anas said: “Yes, he accepted the gift and ate of it.” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Nassaie, Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.)

Most probably this incident took place toward the end of year 7, when the Prophet and his companions went to Makkah for their compensatory Umrah. They tried to do the Umrah the year before, but the Quraysh strived hard to prevent them. Ultimately the Al-Hudaybiyah peace agreement was signed between the two sides, stipulating that the Muslims would do their Umrah the following year and that no war between the two sides would be fought for 10 years. As the incident involved hunting, which is not permissible for people in consecration, it must have taken place on their way back after the Muslims had completed their Umrah. Marr Al-Dhahran is a place close to Makkah.

The incident clearly shows that hares and rabbits are permissible to eat. The Hadith transmitter questioned Anas on this point, asking specifically whether the Prophet ate of the meat of the hare. This is confirmed by Anas.

Anas reports: “A tailor invited the Prophet, having cooked a meal for him. I went with the Prophet. The man served him with barley bread and a stew which contained pumpkin and dried meat. I saw the Prophet choosing the pumpkin from the plate. Since then I like to eat pumpkin.” (Related by Malik, Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood and al-Tirmidhi.)

Anas gives us another Hadith highlighting the same point: “The Prophet used to like pumpkin. He was brought some food and invited to eat. I picked up the pumpkin in the plate and put it before him because I knew he liked it.” (Related by Ahmad and Al-Tirmidhi.)

Together the two Hadiths tell us that the Prophet liked pumpkin and that his companions knew of this and invited him when they had it at home. In the first Hadith, the tailor invited the Prophet to his own home, while in the second the food was brought to the Prophet. Observing the Prophet’s every action, Anas tells us in the first Hadith that the Prophet chose the pumpkin in the first case, while in the second it was Anas who chose it for him, putting it before him, thus allowing him to eat what was next to him while ensuring that it was his favourite food. Furthermore, the first Hadith tells us that Anas liked pumpkin when he saw that the Prophet liked it. This is a great aspect of love that is unknown in any other situation. People did not only imitate what the Prophet did, but they also liked it so much that it became their favourite, even though it is a matter of taste in which people greatly and inexplicably differ.

This is confirmed in another Hadith also reported by Anas: “God’s Messenger used to like pumpkin. If a dish of bread, meat and broth was put before him, and it contained pumpkin, he would pick up the pumpkin. I do like to eat pumpkin because the Prophet loved it.”(Related by Ahmad, Al-Nassaie, Ibn Majah and Al-Darimi.)

However, reports indicate that pumpkin was not considered a particularly tasty food. Anas’ reports may suggest that he might not have liked it as a food had he not been certain that the Prophet liked it. This was the Prophet’s companions’ attitude: if the Prophet did or preferred something, it must be good. If it is food, then it must be healthy. They wanted to be like him, even in their taste.

We may also see a subtle act of education in what the Prophet did. Normally, the Prophet ate of what was next to him. He would not particularly pick anything that was nearer to someone else eating with him. However, in the case we are looking at, we are told that he picked up the pumpkin in the plate. By doing so, he implied that it was good food, which should be taken with gratitude to God. This point becomes clearer when we read the following Hadith. Jabir is quoted by his son, Hakeem, as saying: “I entered the Prophet’s home and I saw pumpkin being cut into pieces. I asked what was that for. He said: ‘Something we put in our food to increase it.’” (Related by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.)

From this Hadith we conclude that pumpkin was not particularly familiar to the Arabs. Otherwise, Jabir would not have asked what was it or why it was being cut. The Prophet merely said to him that it was added to the food to increase its quantity.