Act Like A Guest! (Hadith No. 416)

Salam,
Bismillah.

We love to be invited to places as guests. We love to be served and treated nicely. We know what rights we have over our hosts. But we forget the rights hosts have over us – the guests. There are some minute things we need to take care of when in the ‘guest mode’. Today’s Hadith will help explain my point inshaAllah.

Volume 1, Book 8, Number 416:

Narrated ‘Itban bin Malik:

The Prophet came to my house and said, “Where do you like me to pray?” I pointed to a place. The Prophet then said, “Allahu Akbar”, and we aligned behind him and he offered a two-Rak’at prayer.

Note that the Prophet (SAW) asked his host where he could pray.  And when the host pointed to the place, he didn’t say whether he liked it or not. Just said ‘Allahu Akbar’ and led the prayer.

There’s an important lesson here. Always ASK your host before touching their belongings and moving around in their house. And remember all those manners they taught you in kindergarten. They’re still worth practicing!

P.S. The above depends on your host as well, e.g. if you’re visiting your mother/sister, you might not need to ‘act’ like a guest.

Wassalam.