Short answer
No. Talking during a meal is allowed, and the Prophet ﷺ himself spoke while eating, praising the food and talking with those at his table. Hanafi scholars even say that eating in complete silence is disliked. Speak good words, avoid talking with your mouth full, and avoid backbiting at the table.
Pleasant conversation while eating is permissible and part of good manners. Staying completely silent throughout the meal is makruh in the Hanafi books, because it resembles a practice of the Magians.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Jabir said that the Prophet ﷺ took him by the hand to his home and asked his family whether they had anything to eat with the bread. They had only vinegar. He ate with it, saying: what an excellent condiment vinegar is. Jabir said he loved vinegar from that day on. So the Prophet talked during the meal, praised the food and taught a lesson while eating.
Conversation at a meal is part of the Sunnah's warmth: thanking the host, welcoming guests, asking after family, and teaching children their manners, as when he told a young boy at his table to say bismillah and eat with his right hand. Some people believe that silence is the Islamic way to eat; the Hanafi books say the opposite, and call total silence while eating disliked.
Good manners for talking at the table:
- do not speak with your mouth full;
- do not criticise the food: the Prophet ﷺ never found fault with food; if he liked it he ate it, and if not he left it;
- avoid backbiting, arguments and topics that spoil others' appetite;
- include everyone at the table in the conversation.
For the other manners of eating, see sunnahs of eating and if you forget bismillah.
The evidence
Sahih Muslim 2052
Sahih... فإن الخل نعم الأدم ...
"Vinegar is an excellent condiment."
The Prophet spoke and praised food during a meal.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3563
Sahih... ما عاب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم طعاما قط ...
"The Prophet never found fault with any food."
Speech at meals should not include criticising the food.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5376
Sahih... يا غلام سم الله وكل بيمينك ...
"Young man, say Allah's name and eat with your right hand."
Teaching good manners while eating.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on eating and drinking. Total silence while eating is disliked; good conversation at meals is part of the manners of eating.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.