Shah Naqshband was, may Allah sanctify his soul, in the highest states of the denial of desire for this world. He followed the way of piety, especially in the act of eating. He took all kinds of precautions in regard to his food. He would only eat from the barley he had grown himself. He would harvest it, grind it, make the dough, knead it and bake it himself. All the scholars and seekers of his time made their way to his house, in order to eat from his table and to partake the blessings of his food.

He reached such a perfection of austerity that in winter, he only put old and worn carpets on the floor of his house, which gave no protection from the bitter cold. In summer he put very thin woven mats on the ground. He loved the poor and the needy. He urged his followers to earn money through lawful means, that is, by the sweat of their brows. He urged them to spend that money on the poor. He cooked for the poor and invited them to his table. He served them with his own holy hands and urged them to remain always in the Presence of Allah, Almighty and Exalted. If anyone of them put a bite of food in his mouth in a heedless way, he would inform them, through his state of vision, what they had done and urge them to keep remembrance of Allah while eating.

He taught that,

"One of the most important doors to the Presence of Allah is to eat with Awareness. The food gives the body strength, and to eat with consciousness gives the body purity."

One time he was invited to a city by the name of Ghaziat where one of his followers had prepared a dinner for him. When they sat for dinner he didn't eat. His host was surprised. Shah Naqshband said, "O my son, I am wondering how you prepared this food. From the time you kneaded the dough and cooked it, until you served it, you were in a state of anger. The food is mixed with that anger. If we eat that food, shaytan will find a way to enter through it and to spread his evil throughout our bodies."

One time he was invited to the city of Herat by its king, King Hussain. King Hussain was very happy at the visit of Shah Naqshband and threw a great feast for him. He invited all his ministers, the shaikhs of his kingdom and all his noblemen. He said, "Eat from this food. It is pure food, which I made from the pure earnings which I inherited from my father." Everyone ate except Shah Naqshband, prompting the Shaikh ul-Islam of that time, Qutb ad-din, to ask, "O our Shaikh, why are you not eating?" Shah Naqshband said, "I have a judge to whom I go for counsel. I asked him and that judge told me, 'O my son, about this food there are two possibilities. If this food is not halal (lawful) and you do not eat, when you are questioned you may say I came to the table of the king but I did not eat. Then you are safe because you did not eat. But if you eat and you are asked, then what are you going to say? Then you are not safe.' At that time, Qutb ad-Din was so overcome by these words that he began to shake. He had to ask the King's permission to stop eating. Then the King was very confused and asked, "What shall we do with all this food?" Shah Naqshband said, "If there is any doubt about the purity of the food it is better to send it to the poor. Their need will make it halal for them. If as you say, it is halal, then there is more blessing in giving it as charity to those who need than in feasting those who do not."

He used to fast most of his days. If a guest came to him and he had something to offer him, he would sit with him, break his fast and eat. He told his followers that the Companions of the Prophet used to do the same. Shaikh Abul Hasan al-Kharqani (q) said in his book, The Principles of the Way and the Principles of Reaching Reality, "Keep harmony with friends, but not in sinning. This means that if you were fasting and someone came to you as a friend, you must sit with him and eat with him in order to keep proper company with him. One of the principles of fasting, or of any worship, is to conceal what one is doing. If one reveals it, for example by saying to the guest, 'I am fasting,' then pride may enter and ruin the fast. This is the reason behind the principle."

One day he was given a cooked fish as a gift. There were in his presence many poor people, among them a very pious boy who was fasting. Shah Naqshband gave the fish to the poor and told them, "Sit and eat," and he told the boy who was fasting, "Sit and eat." The boy refused. He told him again, "Break your fast and eat," but he refused. He asked him, "What if I give you one of my days of Ramadan? Will you sit and eat?" Again he refused. He told him, "What if I give you my whole Ramadan?" Still he refused. He said, "Bayazid al-Bistami was once burdened with a person similar to you." After that the boy was seen running after the worldly life, never fasting and never worshipping.

The incident to which Shah Naqshband (q) was referring occurred one day when Shaikh Abu Turab an-Naqshabi (q) visited Bayazid al-Bistami (q). His servant offered him food. Abu Turab said to the servant, "Come and sit with me and eat." The servant said, "No. I am fasting." He said, "Eat, and Allah will give you the reward of fasting for one year." He refused. He said, "Come and eat, I will pray to Allah that he give you the reward of two years of fasting." Then Hadrat Bayazid said, "Leave him. He has been dropped from Allah's care." Later his life degenerated and he became a thief.