Chapter: Honoring the Guest

Allah the Exalted says, “Has the story reached you of Abraham’s honored guests? When they entered upon him and said, ‘Peace,’ he replied, ‘Peace; you are a people unknown.’ Then he slipped away to his family and brought a plump calf, placed it before them, and said, ‘Will you not eat?’” (51:24–27).

He also says, “And his people came rushing toward him, while before that they had been committing evil deeds. He said, ‘O my people, these are my daughters; they are purer for you. So fear Allah and do not disgrace me concerning my guests. Is there not among you a single right-minded man?’” (11:78).

The compiler—may Allah have mercy on him—writes: “Chapter on Honoring the Guest.” A guest is someone who stops with you while traveling, and your responsibility is to provide lodging, food, drink, and anything else he may need. Hospitality is a venerable trait, known since the time of Abraham, the Close Friend (Khalīl) of the Most Merciful, if not earlier. Allah willing, the author will later cite several hadiths on honoring the guest, demonstrating that doing so is part of faith in Allah and the Last Day. As is his custom, however, he begins with the noble verses, for the Quran takes precedence over the Sunnah: it is the speech of Allah, whereas a hadith is the speech of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and both are true.