Page 60 - The Religion Of The Ignorant

THE RELIGION OF THE IGNORANT

is of course very poor behavior to prevent someone from abiding by
this command or to turn one's back on good advice.

8- ATTITUDES TOWARDS GUESTS
When people lose their spiritual values, the gap is filled by the
Ignorantism, itself built upon irreligion. The Religion of the
Ignorant will inevitably be present wherever Islamic moral values
are absent. Wherever Ignorantism is found, behavior compatible
with proper moral values such as humanity, consideration and de-
votion will be lacking.
We can cite the attitude of adherents of the Religion of the
Ignorant towards guests. First, however, it will be useful to examine
the pleasing aspects of Islamic moral values on this subject.
Assume that you are a guest in the home of someone living by
the moral values of the Qur'an. Whoever receives you will be de-
lighted to have you as his guest, because welcoming a guest is re-
garded as a virtue in Islam, and guests are always treated with the
greatest respect. From the moment you enter his home, therefore,
you will experience smiling faces, and warm and sincere interest,
even from people you meet for the first time. Even if your host has
only limited means, he will muster them all to welcome you, be-
cause in the Qur'an, Allah teaches a custom of welcoming by offer-
ing things even before they are needed. The attitude towards guests
of the Prophet Abraham (as), as revealed in the Qur'an, reveals just
what the perspective on guests should be:
Has the story reached you of the honored guests of
Abraham? When they entered his dwelling and said,
"Peace!" he said, " Peace, to people we do not know."So he
slipped off to his household and brought a fattened calf.

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