Sunan Abi Dawud 3848
سنن أبي داود#3848Sahihحَدَّثَنَا النُّفَيْلِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ كَعْبِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ يَأْكُلُ بِثَلاَثِ أَصَابِعَ وَلاَ يَمْسَحُ يَدَهُ حَتَّى يَلْعَقَهَا .
Ka’b b. Malik said:The Prophet (ﷺ) used to eat with three fingers and not wipe his before licking it
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Al-AlbaniSahih
Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul HamidSahih
Shuaib Al ArnautSahih
Zubair Ali ZaiSahih Muslim (2032)
In-book reference: 28:113