Chapter: What a fasting person should say when he is invited to a meal but does not break his fast

738 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When any one of you is invited, let him respond. If he is fasting, let him supplicate; and if he is not fasting, let him eat.” Recorded by Muslim. The scholars explain that “let him supplicate” means “let him pray for the host,” while “let him eat” means “let him partake of the food.”

[Explanation]
The author, may Allah have mercy on him, entitles this section “What a fasting person should say when he is invited to a meal but does not break his fast.” He then cites the hadith of Abu Hurayrah in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding someone who is invited to food while fasting: “If he is fasting, let him supplicate, and if he is not fasting, let him eat.”

The phrase “let him supplicate” means: let him pray for the host, because the term ṣalāh here carries the lexical sense of “supplication.” In Islamic law, however, ṣalāh ordinarily refers to the well-known ritual prayer, unless contextual evidence shows that what is meant is supplication, in which case it is interpreted accordingly.