Guests are a gift and blessings from Almighty Allah. Islam teaches us to be generous towards guests and advises us on how to entertain them. Indeed, the hospitality of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) knew no boundaries. His house was often full of people, who were always treated generously. The Prophet did not discriminate between those who came to his house for hospitality. He would even serve them personally. The Messenger of Allah (s) further guides us by saying: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should be hospitable with his or her guests.” Our great Prophet (s) teaches us to be generous and how to entertain guests. He wants a Muslim to show gratitude and be kind and happy when receiving guests. One should respect and welcome his guests, in particular when they are strangers, or have no family or friends in that country. It may even happen that a guest comes while relatives or friends are being entertained, or other travellers are staying and there is lack of space; or you are unprepared and have few provisions or are even short of money. In any eventuality, guests who come to your home should be made welcome, shown respect and be provided with whatever food and drink are available. One should sit with them in order to make them feel comfortable and happy, and take care to pay great attention to them. Surely, our glorious Prophet (s) guides us towards respecting guests and being generous towards them. In this respect, he says: “Indeed whoever believes that Allah is All-Generous, Who provides for His creation and rewards those who are hospitable towards their guests, should look after his guest.” Surely, Allah will increase our provision if we welcome our guests and give them food and drink, and will reward us on the Resurrection Day. Allah is All-Generous, who loves the generous ones and dislikes those who are mean. In daily lives, we talk about the Islamic way; the Islamic way to dress, the Islamic way to eat, and the Islamic way to wash. This is because Islam is a holistic way of life. It is not separated into physical, emotional and spiritual areas; rather Islam teaches that all aspects of life combine to fulfill one purpose; the worship of Allah. Allah reminds us, “If you are invited, enter, and when your meal has ended, then disperse (and do not linger)”. An overnight guest should avoid staying longer than three days at someone’s home. Any longer than that is considered, by Islamic teachings, to be a charity on the part of the host. If you are having a guest overnight, be hospitable and generous. But do not exaggerate when providing food and drink to your guest. Moderation without excess is the Sunnah. You should try your best to make your guest’s stay pleasant and comfortable during wake and sleep. Inform your guest of the direction of Qibla and show them the way to the bath. Guest need to use towels after showers, ablution or washing hands before and after meals. Make sure that they are fresh and clean. Before leading your guest to the bathroom, inspect it and remove anything that you don’t want your guest to see. Remove intimate clothing from their view. If the guest is a man, remove all women’s clothing and belongings. This is a desirable, decent practice that will leave you both feeling comfortable. When meeting your guests, serve them with tact and respect. Dress properly and look your best but do not overdo it. The close relationship between you is no excuse for negligence or indecency in your manner or look. Imam Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad reported that our forefathers used to look their best when visiting each other. Be kind and generous to your guests. As a rule do not ask them to help you with house chores. Imam Shafie’ said ‘Gentlemen do not employ their visiting guests.’ If you visit a relative or a friend, you should be considerate of your host’s circumstances and work commitments. Shorten, as much as possible, the length of your visit, since every person has various duties, obligations and responsibilities. Be considerate of your hosts and help them with their business , house chores and obligations. While at your hosts’ house, do not inspect and examine every corner, especially when you are invited beyond the guest room, lest you see something you’re not supposed to notice. In addition, do not bother your hosts by asking too many questions. Express Joy and Love on the arrival of Guest. Show him every mark of Respect and Honour. When the guests arrival, Convey Salaam to them and enquire them about their health. Show generous hospitality and offer them the best that is readily available. Protect the Honour and Dignity of your guest just like how you would protect yours. Show selflessness and sacrifice, even at the cost of your inconvenience Observe all etiquettes of hospitality with eagerness and enthusiasm till 3 days, from the fourth day whatever you offer to the guest is charity on your part. You can be more relaxed and need not take extra efforts. Do not delegate the responsibility of serving you guests to your servants or children. It’s your moral duty. If the guest treats you in a bad manner or gives you a cold shoulder, Be patient and still treat him with generosity and humility. Request the guest to make dua for you and your family There are also a few obligations on the guest. Take gifts along, which suits the taste of the host. Exchanging gifts strengthens the bond between people. Do not stay for more than 3 days, unless there is a strong reason for you to stay. Or if the host insists a lot, you can extend the stay. Do not be always a Guest, be a host too. Take proper clothing, stuff that you may require during the stay Eg. Warm clothes during winter, so that it should not be a burden on the host. Make sure that your presence does not affect the daily activities and duties of the host. Do not make extra ordinary demands on the host, be content with whats been given. Maintain the laws of Purdah all the time. If you do not wish to eat with your host for some reason, excuse yourself politely and invoke blessings on the host. At the end of your stay or meal, Pray to Allah to provide the host with extensive grace, favour and mercy. In early arabs the most respectable in the society was the one who was most hospitable to his guests. Arabs still treat hospitality as a noble trait, which is very evident when one goes to perform hajj or umrah. They treat pilgrims as the guests of Allah and place them over their own family. May Allah maintain this spirit in Arabs forever. The visit of Guests adds to our honour and dignity, lets not think they are a menace. Remember, Angels do not visit the house that is not visited by guests. “And I (God) created not the jinn and humankind except to worship Me (Alone) ” (Quran 51:56). All actions performed daily and all actions carried out during the course of life can be raised to the status of worship simply by doing them as taught by Prophet Muhammad (SAW), may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, and to seek the pleasure of God.
“Entertaining a guest is important – it signifies the respect and concern of a host towards his guest and towards Allah. Hospitality in Islam is a triangle that links Allah, the guest and the host.”
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) reminded us of the high status of one who treats his guest well when he said, “…Let the believer in God and the Day of Judgment honor his guest.” Honoring, or treating a guest well is coupled with two of the most important beliefs in Islam, belief in God and belief in the Day of Judgment. In Islam, the hospitality relationship is triangular; it consists of host, guest, and God. Hospitality is a right rather than a gift, and the duty to supply it is a duty to God. When a guest arrives at your home, whether he or she is expected or not, if you remember a few simple things it is easy to provide your guest with a pleasurable experience and to reap the rewards attained by pleasing God. Greet the guests warmly, welcome them to your home and show them into a comfortable and appropriate room. Hasten to provide them with food and drink so that they do not have to ask for these things. Prophet Muhammad showed respect to his guests by offering them the choicest food and delivering it in a timely manner. The guest also has responsibilities. One of them is to announce his or her visit in advance whenever possible. Another is to hasten to taste the refreshments and to pray for and ask blessings upon the host. After seeing to the initial needs of his guest the Muslim should take interest in his or her conversation. However, if the guest should speak about or engage in unlawful activity, the Muslim has every right to ask him to refrain from doing so. It is the host’s duty to make the guest feel comfortable. One way of doing this is by identifying his or her possible needs in advance. It is better to offer a guest something before he or she has the chance to ask for it because a courteous guest may hesitate to mention any need. Out of his or her thoughtfulness, such a guest would even try to prevent the host from offering anything. The Quran offers the example of Prophet Abraham anticipating the guest’s needs and hastening to fulfill them. Has the story reached you of the honored guests of Abraham? Behold, they entered his presence and said: “Peace!” He said: “Peace!” (and thought: “They seem) unusual people.” Then he turned quickly to his household, brought out a roasted fattened calf, and placed it before them. He said: “Will you not eat?” (Quran 51: 24-27). In another tradition Prophet Muhammad said, “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him honor his neighbor; whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him honor his guest as he is entitled.” It was said, “What is his entitlement, O Messenger of God?” He said, “(The best treatment) for one day and one night; and hospitality is for three days, and anything after that is charity bestowed upon him. And whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him, speak good words or else remain silent.” Prophet Muhammad also said, “…And it is not lawful for a guest to stay with his host for such a long period as to put him in a critical position.” Again the responsibility of the guest is to bear in mind the conditions of his host and not burden him with what he cannot afford. Everybody has various duties and obligations that must be attended to, many of which may not be obvious or visible to the guest. By prolonging one’s stay one might inadvertently put his or her host under unbearable pressure. One of the great Islamic scholars of Islam, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (1058–1111 CE) wrote a beautiful paragraph in one of his books about the generosity of Prophet Muhammad to his guests. “(He) used to honor his guests; he even spread his garment for a non-relative guest to sit on it. He used to offer his guest his own cushion and insist on him to accept it until the latter accepts (sic) it from him. No one came to him as a guest but thought that he was the most generous of people. He gave each one of his companions sitting with him his due portion of his attention, so he directed his listening, talking, looks and attention to all his companions. His meeting (sic) were characterized by modesty, humbleness and honesty. He used to call his companions by their favorite nickname to honor them…” The companions were eager to emulate the ways of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). A verse in the Quran was revealed highlighting the hospitality shown to a guest by the companions Abu Talha and his wife Umm Sulaim. Abu Talha welcomed a hungry traveler into his home even though they had very little to eat. Thus he asked his wife to bring whatever provisions they had and give it to the guest. As the guest ate his fill, they pretended to eat in the dim candlelight. The following day Prophet Muhammad (SAW) gave them the great news that God had revealed a verse about them and their generosity. “…but give them preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his covetousness such are they who will be successful.” (Quran 59: 9). In brief, a guest enjoys a special place in Islam. Honoring the guest is tied to the faith of a true believer. Our righteous predecessors understood that and toiled hard to implement it, even the poorest of them, sometimes causing their own personal deprivation. Across the world you will find Muslims doing their best to offer hospitality to the guest in their home or their community. Entertaining a guest is important – it signifies the respect and concern of a host towards his guest and towards Allah. Hospitality in Islam is a triangle that links Allah, the guest and the host.
(The authors write regularly on “Islamic Topics” exclusively for the opinion pages of “Kashmir Horizon” . The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
Dr. Bilal A. Bhat
Intizar Ahmad
