oneself with a spoon or a knife is disapproved of. On the contrary, the Holy Prophet is spoken of as helping himself with a knife to cut cooked meat.39 Feeding the hungry when one sits at a meal is also regarded as good manners in eating.40 Eating and drinking in vessels of silver and gold was prohibited,41 because it is a luxury which can be enjoyed by the rich at the expense of the poor, and is against the democratic spirit of Islām.

Entertainments

For fostering good relations it is recommended that a man should have no hesitation in eating at the house of his relatives or friends: “There is no blame … that you eat in your own houses, or your fathers’ houses, or your mothers’ houses, or your brothers’ houses, or your sisters’ houses, or your paternal uncles’ houses, or your paternal aunts’ houses, or your maternal uncles’ houses, or your maternal aunts’ houses, or houses whereof you possess the keys, or your friends’ houses” (24:61). Apparently, it is meant that among near relatives and close friends, one may eat at another’s house if the time has arrived for a meal, though he may not have been invited beforehand. Stress is laid on the acceptance of an invitation to a feast: “The Holy Prophet said, When a person is invited and he does not accept (or reply), he disobeys Allāh and His Messenger”.42 Entertainment of guests is also emphasized.43 It is stated that when the Holy Prophet came to Madīnah, he sacrificed a camel or a cow (to feast his friends);44 from this it is concluded that when a person comes home from a journey, he should entertain his friends at meals. Inviting the followers of other religions, and accepting their invitation, is expressly spoken of in the Holy Qur’ān: “And the food of those who have been given the Book is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them” (5:5). The Holy Qur’ān speaks of eating together or separately as one likes: “It is no sin in you that you eat together or separately” (24:61). Ḥadīth recommends social functions in which people should eat together: “Gather together at your meals, you will be blessed therein”.45 The levelling influence of Islām asserts itself even in eating, and it is recommended that a servant may be seated at the same table as his master, or at least he should be given a part of the food which the