Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked his family for a dip (to eat with bread) and they replied: "We have nothing but vinegar." So he told them to bring it and began to eat, saying: "What an excellent dip vinegar is! What an excellent dip vinegar is!"
Reported by Muslim (No. 2052a, 2052b) and Ahmad (No. 13708).
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked his family to bring him some food to eat it with bread. They replied that they had nothing but vinegar. So he asked them to bring it and started eating while praising vinegar and saying: "What an excellent dip vinegar is! What an excellent dip vinegar is!" This is a praise of vinegar. Although it is a drink, it is referred to as food. It is acceptable in Arabic to refer to anything that has a taste to be savored as food, as in the Qur'anic verse: {"Indeed, Allah will be testing you with a river. So whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it is indeed of me.} [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 249]
Explanation in Arabic
سأل النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أهله طعاما يأكله بالخبز، فقالوا: ما عندنا شيء إلا الخل، فأمر بإحضاره فجيء به فجعل يأكل ويقول: نعم الأُدُمُ الخل، نعم الأُدُمُ الخل.
وهذا ثناء على الخل، وإن كان الخل شرابا يشرب لكن الشراب يسمى طعاما؛ قال الله تعالى : {فَمَن شَرِبَ مِنْهُ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَمَن لَّمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي}، وإنما سُمِيَ طعاما لأن له طعما يطعم.
استحباب مدح الطعام ولو كان بسيطا قليل الكلفة.
مدح الاقتصاد في الأكل، ومنع اعتياد النفس على الأطعمة الدسمة الكثيرة الكلفة.
تواضع النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم- في طعامه وامتداحه له.
مدح الخل سواء كان المدح لفضل الخل أو تطييبا لخاطر أهله.
