Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once went out during the night or day and saw Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). He asked, "What has brought you out of your homes at this hour?" They replied, "O Messenger of Allah! Hunger has driven us out." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "By Him in Whose hand is my soul, I too have come out for the same reason. Come." Then they went along with him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the door of an Ansari man, but he was not at home. His wife saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and welcomed him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, "Where is so-and-so (referring to her husband)?" She replied, "He has gone to fetch sweet water for us." (From this hadith, it is understood that it is permissible to speak to a non-mahram woman out of necessity and to reply to her, and likewise, a woman may invite a man into the house whose coming would please her husband.) Meanwhile, the Ansari man arrived and, seeing the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his two companions, said, "Praise be to Allah! No one has such guests today as I have." Then he went and brought a bunch of dates containing unripe, dry, and fresh dates, and said, "Eat from this." Then he took a knife, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Do not slaughter a goat that gives milk." So he slaughtered another goat, and they all ate its meat, ate dates, and drank water. When they were satisfied, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), "By Him in Whose hand is my soul, on the Day of Resurrection you will be questioned about this blessing: you left your homes due to hunger, and did not return until you received this blessing."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had a neighbor who used to make excellent broth; he was Persian. Once, he made broth for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and came to invite him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, "Is Aisha also invited?" He replied, "No." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Then I will not come." He came again to invite him, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, "Is Aisha also invited?" He replied, "No." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Then I will not come." Then, for the third time, he came to invite the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked, "Is Aisha also invited?" He said, "Yes." Then both of them (i.e., the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa, may Allah be pleased with her) went together until they reached his house.

Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that among the Ansar there was a man named Abu Shu’aib, who had a slave that used to sell meat. This Ansari saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and noticed signs of hunger on his face, so he said to his slave,“Prepare food for five people, for I wish to invite the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he will be the fifth among them.”The narrator says that he prepared the food. Then he went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and invited him, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was the fifth among the five. Another man joined them, so when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reached the door, he said (to the host),“This man has come along with us; if you wish, you may permit him, otherwise he will return.”He said,“No, O Messenger of Allah! Rather, I give him permission.”

`Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said that he was in great distress (regarding food and drink). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a message to one of his noble wives, and she replied, "By the One Who has sent you with the truth, I have nothing except water." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent to another wife, and she replied the same, until all the noble wives (may Allah be pleased with them) gave the same answer: "We have nothing except water." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Who will host this person tonight? May Allah have mercy on him." Then an Ansari stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah! I will do it." He took the man to his place and said to his wife, "Do you have anything?" She replied, "Nothing, except the food for my children." The Ansari said, "Distract the children with something, and when our guest comes in and we begin to eat, extinguish the lamp." So when they began to eat, she got up and turned off the lamp. (The narrator says) They sat, and the guest ate. They did as planned, and the husband and wife remained hungry while the guest ate the food. In the morning, the Ansari came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Allah was amazed (i.e., pleased) at what you did with your guest last night."

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The food of two persons suffices for three, and the food of three suffices for four.

Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: The food of one is sufficient for two, the food of two is sufficient for four, and the food of four is sufficient for eight.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir and Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A believer eats in one intestine, and a disbeliever eats in seven intestines.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a guest came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was a disbeliever. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) hosted him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that the milk of a goat be milked, and he drank it. Then (the milk of) a second goat was milked, and he drank that too. Then (the milk of) a third goat was milked, and he drank that too, until he drank the milk of seven goats. Then, the next morning, he became a Muslim. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that the milk of a goat be milked, and he drank its milk, then (the milk of) a second goat was milked, but he could not finish it. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A believer drinks in one intestine, and a disbeliever in seven intestines."

Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a person invited the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so I also went with him. Soup was brought in which there was gourd (pumpkin). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) started eating the gourd with great relish. When I saw this, I began to put pieces of gourd towards the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and did not eat them myself. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that from that day I began to like gourd.

Talha bin Nafi narrates that he heard from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took my hand and took me to his house. Then a few pieces of bread were brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so he said, "Is there any condiment?" They said, "No, except a little vinegar." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Vinegar is a good condiment." Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "From that day I began to love vinegar, since I heard this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." And Talha (who narrates this hadith from Sayyiduna Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Since I heard this hadith from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), I also like vinegar."