Is this statement a hadith: “Do not offer (food) to a non-religious person”?

- Is this statement a hadith? “Do not offer (food) to a person who is not pious”?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The Companion Abu Said al-Khudri narrates the following hadith from the Prophet (pbuh):

“‌لَا ‌تُصَاحِبْ إِلَّا مُؤْمِنًا وَلَا يَأْكُلْ طَعَامَكَ إِلَّا تَقِيٌّ”

“Do not keep anyone other than a believer as a close friend, and do not let your food be tasted by anyone other than the pious!” (Abu Dawud, Adab 16; Tirmidhi, Zuhd 56)

It is a hasan hadith with no problem in its chain of narrators. In other words, it is a hadith upon which one can act.

However, it is very important to know the purpose for and reason why something was said. It would be wrong to make a judgment without knowing them. “Who said it? To whom did he say it? Why did he say it? In what place did he say it?” It is necessary to know the answers to such questions in order to understand something correctly.

One aspect of human relations is related to friends and friendship. Every human being makes friends with those to whom he feels closer than others and establishes more sincere relationships with them. He confides to them his secrets, troubles and thoughts that he does not confide to others. He enjoys being with them and looks for opportunities to do so.

The hadith in question shows that the most obvious characteristic of the person or persons with whom one feels such closeness should be belief. It fits a Muslim to be close friends with mature believers.

We should state that friendship is an advanced level of normal human relations. It is a Muslim’s duty to get along well with everyone and, if possible, to be useful to everyone. It is recommended in the hadith that one should keep as his companion and friend, that is, the one to whom he gives his closest and warmest attention, a mature believer because there are many things that almost every person does “for the sake of a close friend”.

It is very important that the close friend be a mature believer so that the person will not deviate into wrong paths or will not take on responsibilities that he cannot handle. The verse “Our Lord! Give us (the grace) to lead the righteous” (al-Furqan, 25/74) attracts attention to this aspect.

Choosing friends to be together and to hang out is a matter of preference. The Muslim is obliged to give preference to the believers. The primary meaning of the first sentence of the hadith is “Do not be close friends with unbelievers and hypocrites, and do not desire to talk to them”.

That is probably the first step in making a believer a close friend. It does not mean that if you cannot find close friends among the believers, you can make close friends with others.

The literal meaning of the second part translated as “do not let your food be tasted by anyone other than the pious” is “let only the pious eat your food”. In one of the narrations of the hadith, the advice is as follows: “Eat only the food of the pious!”

Although the addressee of the second sentence of the hadith seems to be the pious, the real addressee is the one who will offer food, that is, the addressee of the first sentence of the hadith. That is why we have translated the sentence in a way that suits this situation.

Is it necessary to find good people to feed or, in a broad sense, to do them favors? In that case, how will it be possible to improve those who are bad or wrong?

As Khattabi (d.388/998) points out in his explanation of the hadith, the meal in question here is a special dinner/banquet. The verse, “And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive” (al-Insan, 76:8) shows it because many of the captives are not even Muslims, let alone being pious.

It means that inviting God-fearing pious people to meals that are not for the needy but that are special treats is a way of being together with the good people; otherwise, it is not necessary to seek out the good ones in order to do good deeds.

Accordingly:

- A Muslim should hang out with a Muslim because the true friend of a Muslim is a Muslim.

- Preferring pious people for special dinners/banquets means encouraging the increase of such people in society.

- Dinners and banquets are also occasions to be with those who are good and virtuous. In other words, dinners should be organized to be with good people when necessary. (see Riyazü’s-Sâlihin, Erkam Yayınları)

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