Food Resources and their Transformation - Food Culture and Health in Pre-Modern Islamic Societies - page 197

Tamīm al-Dārī is reported to have given
the Prophet some raisins, which he then
shared among his Companions; the
Prophet also had zabīb soaked in water
which he would drink the following day.
To the Prophet's attitude to raisins there
is added Ibn Abbās's caution that, while
the flesh contained a healing property, the
seeds were harmful and should be spat out.
Nonetheless, according to the traditionist
al-Zuhrī, their value in the religious life
was that anyone who wished to memorise
adī should eat raisins.

highest ethical standards of pre-Islamic
Arab society and especially included lav-
ish generosity and hospitality. The harsh-
ness of the desert environment and the
serious risk of bodily harm encountered
when traveling without the protection of
one's tribe were mitigated by the common
courtesy of offering any traveler hospitality
for at least three days. It is evident from
even a cursory reading of the Qurān
that stinginess, hoarding and ignoring
the needs of the poor were considered
major moral flaws (Q 69:34; 74:44; 89:18;
107:1-7). The Qurān speaks repeatedly
of the need to be generous and to give
charity (where the root is n-f-q or -d-q , Q
2:215, 274, 280; 13:22; 22:35; 35:29; 57:7;
58:12; 76:8; 90:14-6), preferably in secret
(Q 2:271; 4:38). Finally, in the Medinan
period the institution of almsgiving ( zakāt )
guaranteed some provision for the poor
and wayfarers (Q 2:273; 9:60). Feeding a
poor person is also offered as a means of
expiation for failing to observe religious
obligations (Q 2:184, 196; 5:89, 95; 58:4)
and providing food for the poor became
an integral part of the observance of the
major Muslim feast days, the breaking of
the Ramaān fast and the sacrifice during
the pilgrimage (Q 22:28).
The Qurān has little to say about the
broader practice of hospitality—inviting
and providing for the needs of guests—
or the elaborate practices of courtesy for
which Muslim societies are often famous.
This gap is largely filled by adīth and the
sayings of eminent early Muslims, who
extolled the offering of hospitality and the
practice of courtesy, making them integral
parts of the religion. When asked about
“the best part of Islam,” the Prophet is
said to have replied, “Offering food and
extending the greeting of peace (tuim
al-aām wa-taqra al-salām) to those you
know and those you do not know”. Asked
about the meaning of a “righteous pilgrim-

(D. Waines)

4. Food and Culture

Hospitality and Courtesy

Conventions of generosity, favor and
respect to be observed while receiving and
entertaining guests or in social relations
in general. Although the Qurān places
a great deal of stress on the need to be
charitable to the poor (see poverty and the
poor; almsgiving), the enormous emphasis
on hospitality in Islamic culture seems to
be derived from pre-Islamic Arab values
and draws its greatest validation in adīth,
where it is seen as an integral part of faith.
The practice of courtesy is enjoined in the
Qurān and has received full elaboration
in the ūfī tradition as a method of puri-
fication as well as a way of life.

Hospitality in the Qurqn
and ad{th
The offering of hospitality was deeply
rooted in the value structure of Arab
society before Islam and continues to be
important in Muslim society. The concept
of “manliness” (muruwwa) , as an emblem
of one's sense of honor was embodied in
a constellation of values that denoted the