Hazrat Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) saw some half-eaten fruits that had been thrown out of a house. He said,
“What have you done? If your bellies are full there are many people as yet unsatiated. So you should give it to those needy people.”15
Whatever is left after eating must never be thrown away. Very many traditions have emphasised on the giving away of leftovers to animals, especially leftover bread.
During the time of Prophet Daniyal wastage of bread was rampant. The people used to throw away the leftover bread and it could be seen lying everywhere on the streets. Prophet Daniyal invoked Divine punishment for these people and hence they were inflicted with such a severe famine, that they were prepared to eat each other.
The book Wasa’il ul-Shia has mentioned that once Imam Baqir (a.s.) entered the toilet and saw a piece of bread lying on the floor. He picked it up and handed it over to his slave. When he had finished, he called the slave to produce that piece of bread. The slave said that he had cleaned it properly and then ate it. Imam (a.s.) said,
“I emancipate you in the way of Allah.”
The Imam (a.s.) was told, “The slave had not performed any such deed that he deserved to be freed?”
Imam (a.s.) said,
“It was because he had respected a great bounty, like bread and ate it; hence Paradise became incumbent upon him. I do not like to enslave a person for whom Allah has ordained Paradise.”