because he has invited his friends, or for some similar reason. In such cases you are free to choose: if you wish, accept, and if you wish, excuse yourself—though it is better to accept, and that is the position of the majority of scholars. A number of scholars even hold that attending a meal invitation, whether for a wedding or any other occasion, is obligatory unless one has a legitimate sharʿi excuse.
If you do attend, then if you are not fasting, eat. If you are fasting, supplicate for the host and inform him that you are fasting so that he will not harbor any misgivings. Should you feel that breaking your fast and eating would delight him more, then break your fast—unless the fast is an obligatory one, in which case you must not break it.
The matter therefore falls into three situations:
- If he invites you while you are not fasting, then eat.
- If he invites you while you are observing an obligatory fast, do not eat and do not break your fast.
- If he invites you while you are observing a voluntary fast, you may choose: if you wish, break your fast and eat, and if you wish, refrain and inform him that you are fasting. Follow whichever course is better; if you deem it advisable to break the fast, then break it and eat, otherwise remaining in the fast is preferable.
As for printed invitation cards, you are not obliged to respond to them unless you know that the sender issued the card as a genuine personal invitation, for many such cards are sent to