اللبن
A staple drink praised as both food and drink, with a specific supplication recommended after drinking it.
مَنْ أَطْعَمَهُ اللَّهُ طَعَامًا فَلْيَقُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِيهِ وَأَطْعِمْنَا خَيْرًا مِنْهُ، وَمَنْ سَقَاهُ اللَّهُ لَبَنًا فَلْيَقُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِيهِ وَزِدْنَا مِنْهُ
“Whoever is fed food by Allah should say, 'O Allah, bless it for us and feed us better than it'; and whoever is given milk to drink should say, 'O Allah, bless it for us and increase us from it.'” (meaning, not a literal translation)
The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said nothing suffices as both food and drink except milk (Sunan Abi Dawud 3730). Notably, milk gets its own distinct supplication rather than sharing the general food one — the only common food singled out this way in the hadith corpus — which commentators read as reflecting its unique completeness as a single-item meal.
Ibn al-Qayyim classifies milk as uniquely complete nourishment, gentle on digestion when fresh, and recommends warming it slightly for those with a weak stomach. He distinguishes between milk from different animals (cow, goat, camel) as having somewhat different properties within the classical framework, and discusses milk paired with dates as a particularly balanced combination — echoed in several hadith describing the Prophet's ﷺ own diet.
Milk is well established in modern nutrition as a source of complete protein, calcium, and vitamin D (when fortified), though modern dietary guidance also varies by individual tolerance and current research on optimal dairy intake continues to evolve. Noted here as separate modern nutritional context.