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HOSPITALITY & GUESTS
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PART 4
ETHICAL
RULES FOR HOSTS:
1.
Hospitality should be
extended within one's means.
The Holy Prophet (saw) has
said:
"One should not trouble himself on account of his guest (by doing) what
is not possible for himself".
(Kanz al-Ummaal)
Harith al-A'war once said to Imam Ali bin Abi Talib
(as),
"O Ameer al-Mumineen! May my
life be sacrificed for your sake. I wish you to honour me by eating at
my place".
Imam (as) said,
"With a condition
that you will not trouble yourself"
and accepted the invitation. Harith presented the Imam (as) with pieces
of bread (and its crumbs) which he (as) ate happily. Seeing this, Harith
felt guilty and said,
"I have some dirhams with me".
Showing them to Imam (as), he added,
"If you allow me, I will go out and buy
something else (for you to eat)".
Imam (as) said:
"But this (i.e.pieces of
bread) is already in your house"
implying not to trouble himself.
(Bihar
al-Anwaar)
Similarly, another person
also invited Imam Ali (as) to his house. Imam (as) said:
"I will accept
your invitation if you guarantee me three things: You will not go out to
buy anything. You will not hoard from me what is at home. And you will
not be unfair to your family on my account".
(Bihar al-Anwaar)
Here, it
should be borne that guests are of two kinds: Those who are specifically
invited by way of notification and those who just show up for a visit by
themselves. According to Islam, one must offer his best to the former
and present whatever is at home before the later. Imam as-Sadiq (as) has
said:
"If your brother comes to you (on his own) then provide him with
whatever you have and if you had invited him, then take some trouble for
him".
(Bihar al-Anwaar)
The
trouble in this tradition implies to proper preparation within one's
means.
2.
The host should offer the
guest something to eat.
Imam
Ja'ffar ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (as) has said:
"When your brother comes to you, offer him something to eat. If he
refuses it, offer him water to drink. And if he refuses that too, then
present him with water to perform ablution".
(Bihar
al-Anwaar)
It is also highly recommended
and considered as a polite act to eat with one's guest. The Holy Prophet
(saw) has said,
"Whoever wishes
Allah and His messenger to love him, then he should eat with his
guest". (Tanbeeh
al-Khawatir)
He (saw) has also said:
"Whoever eats his
food with his guest, there will be no barrier between him and his
Lord". (Tanbeeh
al-Khawatir)
3.
The host should not make
his guest work in his house.
A host
should not take advantage of his guest in any of the household works.
Rather, he should attend to them by himself and ensure the comfort of
his guest at all times.
Ibn Abi Ya'foor reports that,
I saw a guest in the house of
Imam Abu Abdillah as-Sadiq (as). One day as the guest stood up to do
some important work, Imam (as) stopped him and personally performed the
work. Then he (as) said: "The Holy Prophet
(saw) has prohibited taking any kind of assistance from the guest". (Bihar
al-Anwaar)
To be
continued......................
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Mulla
Mujaheedali Sheriff
mulla@almahdi.org.uk |