The ruling on inviting a Christian to one’s home to eat
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Question:
Another person asks, saying: I deal with some of my Christian colleagues, and they attend my gatherings for work and trade. Is it permissible for me to invite them to visit my home to eat with me, or is that not permissible?
Answer:
Merely attending and merely eating is permissible. If this is also for a commercial purpose and commercial dealing, that is permissible; this falls under or follows from dealing with them. However, you must distance yourself from their morals and behavior, and take pride in your religion. Consider them disbelievers while you are a Muslim. Deal with them within the limits of what is permissible, and let them enter your home for a valid purpose or a valid benefit, not in order to take them as a friend, a beloved, or a close companion, or the like. Rather, deal with them only, while they are disbelievers and you are a Muslim. However, this is not valid except if it is done for good.
This is the ruling of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the companionship of the believer. Yes, it is not permissible for a Muslim to love a disbeliever or to take a disbeliever as a close companion. Rather, he takes the believer as a close companion and a beloved. But this does not mean that he does not deal with the disbeliever or that he does not exchange permissible benefits with the disbeliever; that is not the meaning. Yes. Likewise, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) encourages that no one should eat your food except a believer. This is a good thing, because the nearness of the believer is good, and his eating of your food strengthens him in obedience to Allah, and you gain thereby his love and his nearness. But this does not mean that it is not permissible for a disbeliever to eat from your food if the benefit requires it. As for bringing in disbelievers and feeding them out of love, friendship, and close companionship, that is not permissible. Rather, if they eat from your food motivated only by dealing with them, as an exchange of benefit only, with no love or companionship, that is permissible.
Another person asks, saying: I deal with some of my Christian colleagues, and they attend my gatherings for work and trade. Is it permissible for me to invite them to visit my home to eat with me, or is that not permissible?
Answer:
Merely attending and merely eating is permissible. If this is also for a commercial purpose and commercial dealing, that is permissible; this falls under or follows from dealing with them. However, you must distance yourself from their morals and behavior, and take pride in your religion. Consider them disbelievers while you are a Muslim. Deal with them within the limits of what is permissible, and let them enter your home for a valid purpose or a valid benefit, not in order to take them as a friend, a beloved, or a close companion, or the like. Rather, deal with them only, while they are disbelievers and you are a Muslim. However, this is not valid except if it is done for good.
This is the ruling of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the companionship of the believer. Yes, it is not permissible for a Muslim to love a disbeliever or to take a disbeliever as a close companion. Rather, he takes the believer as a close companion and a beloved. But this does not mean that he does not deal with the disbeliever or that he does not exchange permissible benefits with the disbeliever; that is not the meaning. Yes. Likewise, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) encourages that no one should eat your food except a believer. This is a good thing, because the nearness of the believer is good, and his eating of your food strengthens him in obedience to Allah, and you gain thereby his love and his nearness. But this does not mean that it is not permissible for a disbeliever to eat from your food if the benefit requires it. As for bringing in disbelievers and feeding them out of love, friendship, and close companionship, that is not permissible. Rather, if they eat from your food motivated only by dealing with them, as an exchange of benefit only, with no love or companionship, that is permissible.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-057-حكم الموالاة في الله|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:00:18)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.