What was the favorite food of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

The manners of the Prophet in eating were the best. He never rejected what was available and used not to request what was not at hand. If he was offered something lawful he ate it, if he disliked it he would set it aside without making it forbidden for others. He never expressed his dislike for a food.

The kinds of food the Prophet used to love are many. It is proved that he used to love sweets and honey, as 'Aa'ishah said: "Allaah's Messenger used to love sweets and honey." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Imaam An-Nawawi said: '(Sweet) in the narration refers to both kinds of sweets, natural and prepared, as reported from Ibn Battaal.'

It is also reported in a sound narration that he used to like butter and dates. [Abu Daawood]

Anas said: "The Prophet used to like pumpkin." [Ahmad and At-Tirmithi]

It is also reported that he was fond of the meat from the arm of a sheep. [Ahmad, Abu Daawood and others]

Al-'Atheem Abaadi said: 'The reason for this fondness is that this meat can be well cooked easily, more delicious and far from any nuisance.'

In short, the Prophet was pleasant and used to like only nice matters. Imaam Al-Khattaabi and others said: 'The fondness of the Prophet does not mean that he used to crave for that or yearn for it, but he used to eat from that part whenever meat was presented, so they knew that he liked it.'

Allaah Knows best.