Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterIs it permissible to overeat if one is underweight?
Question
Assalamu alaykum the problem is that I am underweight and I don't know how to deal with this . Currently I am 42 kg and if you use the body mass/height formula to know your average weight I come 64 so 64 kg is my normal weight range . My parents advised me that i should eat 5 to 6 meals per day . My normal diet consist of few mouth falls 2 or 3 times a day which doesn't help me gain weight at all but gives me enough energy to do acts of worship such as prayer , fasting , etc . On the other hand my parents tell me to eat so much in every meal and if I do that I am overeating which allah has forbidden in the quran . My body looks very thin and bruises show up on them naturally and they don't repair soon at all I am worried too .? Am I harming my body if I continue to follow sunnah or should I listen to my parents ? My khusho in prayer is different too when I eat to my fill ? Eating 6 times a day sometimes causes indigestion , heaviness for me but my parents tell me that I need to eat as much as I can and should eat to my fill . Isn't prayer , obeying the prophet more important ? I don't what to do sheikh I fear being extravagant , harming my body , disobeying allah and the prophet , my prayers , my parents concern for me ? Please this is important . Please advise me as soon as possible .Jazakallah khairan
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu`alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.
As far as food and drink are concerned, the Muslim should take a moderate course without excess or extravagance. Ibn Al-Qayyim 
on his part, divided food into three divisions. In his Zaad Al-Maʿaad, he said, “Food is of three ranks: first, the rank of need; second, the rank of sufficiency; and third, the rank of excess. The Prophet 
instructed that it is sufficient for the person to eat a few mouthfuls to keep his spine straight, and thus he would not lose strength or become weak. But, if the person is to eat more than these few mouthfuls, he should eat up to one-third of his stomach, leaving the second one-third for water and the third one-third for breathing. This is actually the most beneficial act for both the body and the heart. However, this (Prophetic) division should be applied in case the supply of food is always or even usually available to the person; otherwise, he can violate this rule. This is evidenced by the fact that Abu Hurayrah 
drank milk to the full, to the extent that he said to the Prophet ‘By the One Who sent you with the truth! I find no more space for it.’ Besides, the companions frequently ate to the full in his presence. In truth, eating to the full gets the person weak, even if it makes the body look good. That is because the body becomes strong as per the amount of food it accepts, not by the much food presented to it.”
Your point that much food and drink may turn the person lazy as to observing acts of obedience is correct. But, you should also notice that having food and drink less than what the body needs might weaken the body, to the extent that it is unable to offer acts of worship. As such, you should take a moderate course as shown in the Saying of Allah, the Exalted (what means) {… and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.} [Quran, 7:31] For more information, kindly see the two Fatawa 349342 and 287614 since they state clearly that eating to the full is not prohibited unless there is a possibility that harm would occur.
As far as obedience to the parent is considered, it is obligatory only in matters that bring about benefit for their children, not in matters that cause him harm. So, in case having a few quantities of food won’t cause you any harm, you should not obey them in having many quantities of food. However, if eating many quantities would make them happy, do it by the kind of being dutifulness to them. As far as the limits of showing obedience to the parent are concerned, kindly refer to Fatwa 84942 for more information.
Allah knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
