بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The Exalted says:
و كلوا و اشْرَبوا و لا تُسرِفوا إنه لا يحبُّ المُسْرِفين
“And eat and drink and do not be extravagant surely He does not love the extravagant.” [Al-A’raf: 31]
And He says:
و لا تُبذِّر تبذيراً إنَّ المبذِّرين كانوا إخوانَ الشياطين و كان الشيطانُ لِربِّه كَفوراً
“…and do not spend wastefully. Indeed the spendthrifts are brothers of the devils, and surely the devil is ungrateful to his Lord.” [Al-Isra: 26-27]
Wastefulness is offering an excessive amount (of food and drink) that goes beyond what is good with regards to being generous with the guests, whereas its consumption or being given in charity is better. As for it eventually being thrown away (due to excess) this is to show contempt for Allah’s blessings and it is distributing it in a way that is not pleasing to Him. This issue, especially considering the fact that people are suffering from hunger, is feared to be a means for the befalling of punishments. Amr ibn Shuaib narrated from his father, who narrated from his grandfather that the Messenger -sallahu alayhi wa salaam- said, “Eat, drink, and wear that which is not mixed with neither extravagance nor arrogance.” Collected by Ahmad, An-Nisaa’ee, Ibn Majah, and others with a good chain of transmission.
Translated by Najeeb Al Anjelesi
Source: المنظار في بيان كثير من الأخطاء الشائعة