What is the meaning of: “Do not keep company with anyone but a believer, and let no one eat your food but one who is mindful of Allah”?

We return at the beginning of this episode to the letter of our sister Umm Mujahid, a Sudanese resident in the United Arab Emirates. We presented part of her questions in a previous episode, and in this episode she asks and says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Is this hadith authentic? And if it is authentic, how do I know the believer and the one who is mindful of Allah? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: pointing to his heart. The place of taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) and iman (faith) is the heart, and Allah is the One who sees into the hearts. If a disbelieving, hungry disbeliever enters my house, what do I do with him? Please advise us, may Allah reward you with good?
Answer: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance.
As for what follows: The wording of the hadith established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is: and its meaning is: Do not take the open sinners as companions, but rather take the righteous, those who possess good characteristics... those who are careful to maintain the prayers, who guard their tongues and limbs from the prohibitions of Allah. This is the meaning of that: And the believer is the one who displays the doing of good. The hearts are not known except by Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and people have only the outward appearance. So whoever displays uprightness in the religion of Allah by maintaining the prayers, fulfilling the rights of Allah, and leaving the prohibitions of Allah, he is called a believer, and he is called a Muslim, and he is also called one who is mindful of Allah, according to what appears of his deeds. As for the hearts, they are with Allah (Mighty and Majestic); no one knows what is in them except Allah. People are only held accountable for what they display of deeds. And the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): When the heart is sound, the limbs are sound, and when the heart is corrupt, the limbs are corrupt. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is indicating that it is necessary for the believer to care for his heart, and to strive for the soundness and purity of his heart, so that his deeds and words become sound.
As in the other hadith, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And in the other wording, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is agreed upon that it is authentic. So the heart is the foundation. When it is filled with the taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) of Allah, His love, His fear, and His awe, and with sincere advice for Him and His servants, the limbs become upright in the religion of Allah, in doing what Allah has made obligatory, and in leaving what Allah has forbidden.
And his saying: Do not invite the open sinners and disbelievers. The scholars said: This is regarding what one chooses, what a person selects and makes his custom. As for guests, they have a different status. There is no harm in serving food to guests, even if they are not the most mindful of Allah, even if they are sinners, even if they are disbelievers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to receive guests from disbelievers and others, and he would feed them and honor them (peace and blessings be upon him), to reconcile them to Islam. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So honoring the guest is commanded by the Shari'ah, even if the guest is not a Muslim. And in honoring him is a call to Islam, and directing him to good; so that he may know the excellences of Islam and the noble morals.
As for taking as companions those who are not Muslims, who eat your food and keep you company, that is not allowed. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in another authentic hadith: And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the believer looks at his companions and friends and chooses the righteous, the good, the people of prayer... the people of uprightness... the people of good reputation; so that they may help him in the obedience of Allah, and so that he may consult them in what is difficult for him, and so that he may cooperate with them in good. And he does not take the people of open sin and disbelief as companions and close friends; because they harm him and drag him to their falsehoods. For this reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning: according to ability and in the matter of choice.
As for when a guest arrives unexpectedly, a person honors the guest in a manner befitting his status. And if he is a sinner or a disbeliever, he invites him to good, advises him, invites him to the obedience of Allah and uprightness in his religion if he is a sinner, and invites him to Islam if he is a disbeliever. And the delegation of Thaqif came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah while they were disbelievers, so he honored them and invited them to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) until they became Muslims. So the guest has a different status.
Likewise, a person may be invited to a feast and gather with people in whom there is no good, and that does not harm him; because he did not intend to keep their company, but rather the food gathered him with them, just as the market and the mosques and the like gather him with them, and they are open sinners.
So the conclusion is that the thing that is prohibited is taking the sinner or the disbeliever as a companion and friend, eating his food, visiting him, and visiting with him, and the like of that. As for what may happen to a person, such as a guest coming to him, or his contact with a non-Muslim to call him to Allah, or to buy a need from him, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) bought from disbelievers and bought from the Jews his needs (peace and blessings be upon him). And the Jews invited him and he ate their food, and Allah has made their food lawful for us. So these are matters that the believer should know, and he should be clear about them, so that he does not prohibit what Allah has permitted, and so that he does not forbid what Allah has made lawful (Glorified and Exalted is He), and Allah is the One to be asked for help. Yes.