Previously, I briefly discussed what it means to welcome the stranger from the Christian perspective and from the Jewish perspective. Here I intend to discuss the same topic but from the Islamic perspective,.
Just like Christianity and Judaism, Islam is an Abrahamic Religion. Islam, like the other two monotheistic religions, shares a similar perspective when it comes to welcoming the stranger most of which is theologically ethical rules or laws that flourished from verses in the Qur’an.
Ethics in Islam
In Islam, treating a guest or a stranger well is a duty for God. Being treated well as a foreigner is a right, not a gift. It is a sin if one does not welcome his guest. When one treats a stranger in the virtuous way according to Islam, one is following two beliefs which are:
- Being obedient to God and by doing so the host is proving his belief in the One God.
- Proving the belief in the Day of Judgement.
The Prophet Mohammad states:
“Let The Believer in Allah and Day Of Judgment Honour His Guest”
(Hadiths 7), http://islamicbooks.info/H-7-Ethics/7–Ethics-7.htm
Hospitality is regarded as a three way relationship in Islam. It is a relationship between the host, the visitor and God because,
when the host welcomes the visitor he or she does it in the name of Allah.
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/10662/treating-guests-islamic-way/
Both the guest and the host have ethical rules to follow. According to Prophet Muhammad,
“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.”
http://sunnah.com/bukhari/78/162
So the guest has to keep in mind the needs of the host as well. Although the obligations may seem obvious because these things are not always written down, (e.g. when you are invited over for dinner there is a limit of how long you should stay), in case of Islam, this is part of the ‘code of ethics’ which is somewhat interesting that it can be found written down and thus, made obvious.
Qur’anic Verses
Some Qur’anic verses regarding welcoming someone that is new or a stranger to oneself are the following:
“…be kind to parents, kinsmen, orphans and the poor; speak kindly to people; perform the prayer and give alms.’ Then you turned away, all but a few among you, rechanting.”
(Q2:83)
Muslims are asked to be kind with the ones in need no matter what their belief is, to aid and give charity (i.e. also refers to the charity tax, the zakat).
“Conduct yourself with forbearance, command to virtue and forsake the ignorant.”
(Q7:199)
In Islam, believers are asked to remain patient, be self-controlled and tolerate others. One should abide by the things that are ethically and morally good and simultaneously eliminate anything that is vice and evil.
“There is no compulsion in religion. Right guidance has been distinguished from error. He who repudiates idols and believes in God has grasped a handle most firm, unbreakable. God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”
(Q2:256)
In religion there is nothing that is constraint. The things that are good (i.e. Islam itself) and those that are evil can be discerned from one another in Islam. So whoever chooses the wrong (i.e. another religion or belief) it is up to God to decide and judge. And this so happens because God hears everything and He knows everything. Muslims still accept others of different beliefs but they will not judge them. They will leave God to do so.
All three monotheistic religions have commonalities, this idea of welcoming strangers is one of them. They all have their own perspectives but at the end of the day, they all agree that welcoming strangers is ultimately for humanity, and thus, for God and for our salvation. Some may say that these three religions honour the same God, others say that they do not. At the end of the day, all these three religions offer a philosophy, a way of life that is a positive one when not taken into extremities but when it practiced in the correct dose.
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