Sayyiduna Nubaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “The one who eats from a utensil, then cleans it by using his fingers, the utensil seeks forgiveness from Allah Ta‘ala on his behalf.” (Sunan Ibni Maajah #3271)
When a person completes eating from a utensil, then in many cases, crumbs, gravy and small pieces of food still remain on the plate. Since these are also regarded as food, leaving them to be washed away in the sink or dishwasher will be regarded as wasting food. Although the amount wasted may seem insignificant, it should be remembered that the sin of wasting is indeed serious. When every morsel and every crumb is a bounty from Allah Ta‘ala, then we should take every care to clean the utensil by wiping it with our fingers and thereafter licking our fingers, thus expressing appreciation to Allah Ta‘ala.
In the hadeeth above, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) has taught us that if we clean the utensil, the utensil will actually make du‘aa for our forgiveness. Hence, through cleaning the utensil, we not only avoid becoming sinful, but further gain the forgiveness of Allah Ta‘ala.
Finally, while many people are particular regarding cleaning their plates after eating, they fail to clean the other utensils e.g. soup bowl, dessert bowl, spoon, mug, etc. Hence, special care should be taken to clean all utensils and to practically impart this important teaching to our household as well.