(Taken from: Fatāwā ʿUlamāʾ-e-Ḥadīth, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, vol. 1)
✿ Question:
Is it permissible to eat together with a disbeliever (polytheist)?
✿ Answer:
✔ Permissibility and Conditions of Eating with Disbelievers
It is permissible to eat with a disbeliever (polytheist) if there is a need or valid Sharʿī reason, provided that there is no prohibited (ḥarām) item on the dining table.
This is supported by the practice of the Prophet ﷺ, who would visit the homes of disbelievers and partake of their food.
✔ Hadith Evidence:
“أَنَّ يَهُودِيًّا دَعَا النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَى خُبْزِ شَعِيرٍ وَإِهَالَةٍ سَنِخَةٍ فَأَجَابَهُ”
“A Jew invited the Prophet ﷺ to barley bread and rancid fat, and he accepted the invitation.”
Similarly, during the expedition of Khaybar, a Jewish woman invited the Prophet ﷺ to eat food in which she had mixed poison with goat meat. The Jews were included among the disbelievers (mushrikīn) because they claimed that ʿUzayr (عليه السلام) was the son of Allah.
✔ Avoiding Eating with Disbelievers without Necessity
Although it is permitted to eat with disbelievers in cases of need and legitimate religious interest, it is advisable to avoid friendship and eating together with them without necessity.
In this regard, Allah ﷻ says in the Qur’an:
✔ Qur’anic Guidance:
“يـٰأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا بِطَانَةً مِّن دُونِكُمْ لَا يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالًا وَدُّوا مَا عَنِتُّمْ قَدْ بَدَتِ الْبَغْضَاءُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَمَا تُخْفِي صُدُورُهُمْ أَكْبَرُ…”
“O you who have believed, do not take as intimates those other than yourselves, for they will not spare you [any] ruin. They wish you would have hardship. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, and what their breasts conceal is greater…”
(Sūrah Āl ʿImrān: 118)
✿ Summary:
✔ Eating with disbelievers is permissible when needed and when the food itself is permissible.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ’s actions prove that he accepted the invitations of disbelievers.
✔ Without necessity, it is recommended to avoid friendship and eating with them.
✔ As per the Qur’anic guidance, one should remain cautious of the hatred and enmity of disbelievers.
✿ Question:
Is it permissible to eat together with a disbeliever (polytheist)?
✿ Answer:
✔ Permissibility and Conditions of Eating with Disbelievers
It is permissible to eat with a disbeliever (polytheist) if there is a need or valid Sharʿī reason, provided that there is no prohibited (ḥarām) item on the dining table.
This is supported by the practice of the Prophet ﷺ, who would visit the homes of disbelievers and partake of their food.
✔ Hadith Evidence:
“أَنَّ يَهُودِيًّا دَعَا النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَى خُبْزِ شَعِيرٍ وَإِهَالَةٍ سَنِخَةٍ فَأَجَابَهُ”
“A Jew invited the Prophet ﷺ to barley bread and rancid fat, and he accepted the invitation.”
Similarly, during the expedition of Khaybar, a Jewish woman invited the Prophet ﷺ to eat food in which she had mixed poison with goat meat. The Jews were included among the disbelievers (mushrikīn) because they claimed that ʿUzayr (عليه السلام) was the son of Allah.
✔ Avoiding Eating with Disbelievers without Necessity
Although it is permitted to eat with disbelievers in cases of need and legitimate religious interest, it is advisable to avoid friendship and eating together with them without necessity.
In this regard, Allah ﷻ says in the Qur’an:
✔ Qur’anic Guidance:
“يـٰأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا بِطَانَةً مِّن دُونِكُمْ لَا يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالًا وَدُّوا مَا عَنِتُّمْ قَدْ بَدَتِ الْبَغْضَاءُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَمَا تُخْفِي صُدُورُهُمْ أَكْبَرُ…”
“O you who have believed, do not take as intimates those other than yourselves, for they will not spare you [any] ruin. They wish you would have hardship. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, and what their breasts conceal is greater…”
(Sūrah Āl ʿImrān: 118)
✿ Summary:
✔ Eating with disbelievers is permissible when needed and when the food itself is permissible.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ’s actions prove that he accepted the invitations of disbelievers.
✔ Without necessity, it is recommended to avoid friendship and eating with them.
✔ As per the Qur’anic guidance, one should remain cautious of the hatred and enmity of disbelievers.
