The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is reported to have said, “He who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him show hospitality to his guest” (Al-Bukhari).
Hospitality has been noted to be one of the key traits of the Prophet (pbuh). His house could be seen filled with people, who he would generously tend to. The Prophet (pbuh) would not discriminate between his guests or unwelcome those he did not know. Rather, he would make sure he personally served all of them. The Prophet (pbuh) would make sure that he offered all he had in his home for the comfort of his guests.
Growing up, I was always told the story of the man who had a guest arrive at his home one night. He was a poor man, and did not have many provisions for himself or his family. One night, his wife and two kids gathered to eat their last meal of the day. They hadn’t had much to eat before that and each individual only had a meager few morsels to sustain them for the night. Just as they were about to start eating, they heard a knock on the door. The man went to check who it was and saw that an acquaintance had arrived and was to spend some time with them that night. The man told his wife to put the kids to bed, and close all the lights. He then took all the food his family was about to eat, and put it in one plate. The man called the guest into his home and apologized for the lack of light. He invited the guest to have dinner with him, and the guest happily obliged. The two men sat together to have their meal, and as the guest ate the man made the motions of eating with his hands and the sounds of chewing with his mouth so the guest would not know that there was no food on his plate. The guest was not able to see that there was no food on his plate nor did the man give him the opportunity to think that he was not eating with him. The man gave up all the food his family had for the evening, all for the comfort of the guest.
Insha’Allah we all strive to be as hospitable as our Prophet (SAW) was and the Muslim man in the story was. It is not necessary that we give away all the food we have for the day, or that we invite strangers into our house. However, we can all start with little steps to be hospitable to others. Hospitality asks for you to give to your guest, and kindness is something we are all capable of easily giving. Insha’Allah we are able to follow the footsteps of our Prophet (SAW) and be as giving and hospitable as we can.
Hospitality has been noted to be one of the key traits of the Prophet (pbuh). His house could be seen filled with people, who he would generously tend to. The Prophet (pbuh) would not discriminate between his guests or unwelcome those he did not know. Rather, he would make sure he personally served all of them. The Prophet (pbuh) would make sure that he offered all he had in his home for the comfort of his guests.
Growing up, I was always told the story of the man who had a guest arrive at his home one night. He was a poor man, and did not have many provisions for himself or his family. One night, his wife and two kids gathered to eat their last meal of the day. They hadn’t had much to eat before that and each individual only had a meager few morsels to sustain them for the night. Just as they were about to start eating, they heard a knock on the door. The man went to check who it was and saw that an acquaintance had arrived and was to spend some time with them that night. The man told his wife to put the kids to bed, and close all the lights. He then took all the food his family was about to eat, and put it in one plate. The man called the guest into his home and apologized for the lack of light. He invited the guest to have dinner with him, and the guest happily obliged. The two men sat together to have their meal, and as the guest ate the man made the motions of eating with his hands and the sounds of chewing with his mouth so the guest would not know that there was no food on his plate. The guest was not able to see that there was no food on his plate nor did the man give him the opportunity to think that he was not eating with him. The man gave up all the food his family had for the evening, all for the comfort of the guest.
Insha’Allah we all strive to be as hospitable as our Prophet (SAW) was and the Muslim man in the story was. It is not necessary that we give away all the food we have for the day, or that we invite strangers into our house. However, we can all start with little steps to be hospitable to others. Hospitality asks for you to give to your guest, and kindness is something we are all capable of easily giving. Insha’Allah we are able to follow the footsteps of our Prophet (SAW) and be as giving and hospitable as we can.