Arba'un 47 — no worse vessel than the belly

الأربعون 47 — ما ملأ آدمي وعاء شراً من بطن

The hadith of al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib that he heard the Messenger of God ﷺ say 'no human has filled a vessel worse than the belly; enough for the son of Adam are morsels that keep his back upright, and if he must, then a third for his food, a third for his drink and a third for his breath' — the fifth of Ibn Rajab's added hadiths, transmitted by Ahmad (4/132) and al-Tirmidhi (2380) through Yahya ibn Jabir al-Ta'i from al-Miqdam, al-Tirmidhi grading it hasan, al-Nasa'i in the Kubra through this route and through Salih ibn Yahya ibn al-Miqdam from his grandfather, Ibn Majah (3349) through another route, with further paths including Habib ibn Ubayd's in al-Tabarani; it was also narrated with its occasion in Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi's Mu'jam through Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Muraqqa': the Messenger of God conquered Khaybar while its fruit was green, the people gorged on the fruit and fever seized them, and when they complained he said 'fever is death's harbinger and God's prison on earth, and a piece of the Fire — when it takes you, cool water in the water-skins and pour it over you between the two prayers', meaning sunset and evening, which they did and it left them; then he said 'God created no vessel that when filled is worse than a belly — if it must be, make a third for food, a third for drink and a third for air' — transmitted by al-Tabarani, al-Bayhaqi in Dala'il al-nubuwwa and al-Qada'i in Musnad al-Shihab through al-Mukhabbar ibn Harun from Abu Yazid al-Muqri' from Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Muraqqa', the isnad containing criticism though some clauses have corroborants (Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam pp. 891–900).

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«ما ملأ آدمي وعاء شراً من بطن بحسب ابن آدم أكلات يقمن صلبه فإن كان لا محالة فثلث لطعامه وثلث لشرابه وثلث لنفسه»

A verbatim excerpt of the text, forty words at most; the full text is in the edition cited under sources

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al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib
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Eating little

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Renunciation (zuhd)· Eating little· al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib

Sources

  • Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali
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islam.museum contributors. “Arba'un 47 — no worse vessel than the belly”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/passage/arbaun-47/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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Renunciation (zuhd)

Zuhd of a thing means turning away from it out of contempt for it and rising above it; in Ibn Rajab's commentary on 'renounce the world and God will love you', renouncing the world is neither forbidding the lawful nor wasting wealth — as halted at Abu Muslim al-Khawlani in Ahmad's Kitab al-Zuhd, the reading he prefers — but being more confident in what is in God's hand than in what is in your own, and, when calamity strikes, more hopeful of its reward and store than of its survival; al-Zuhri defined the renunciant as one whom the unlawful does not overcome in patience nor the lawful distract from gratitude; Sufyan ibn Uyayna as one who gives thanks when blessed and is patient when tried; Sufyan al-Thawri and the Imam Ahmad as 'renouncing the world is shortening hopes, not eating coarse food nor wearing a rough cloak' — Ahmad once adding 'and despairing of what is in people's hands'; Ibrahim ibn Adham made it three kinds: obligatory, renunciation of the unlawful; meritorious, of the lawful; and safekeeping, of the doubtful — people disputing whether renouncing the unlawful alone earns the name, and Abu Sulayman al-Darani gathering all its meanings as 'renouncing whatever occupies you away from God', a saying Ibn Rajab calls comprehensive of all its senses, divisions and kinds; and its fullness includes that a believer who intends by lawful pleasures strength for obedience finds them counted worship, as Mu'adh said 'I reckon my sleep as I reckon my night vigil' (Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam pp. 643–655).