The responder sees no reprehensible act and hears none. Ahmad said: "Responding is only obligatory when the source of income is lawful and he does not see any reprehensible act." According to this statement of his, it is not obligatory to respond to someone whose food is from an unlawful source, because his organizing it is a reprehensible act, and eating from it is a reprehensible act; thus, it is more appropriate to abstain. If he does attend, it is not permissible for him (57) to eat from it.
1220 - Issue: He said: "And the wedding feast (walimat al-khitan) is not known to the predecessors, nor is it upon the one invited to it to respond. The Sunnah has only come regarding responding to one who is invited to a marriage feast (walimat al-tazwij) (1)."
He means by the "predecessors" the companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) who are to be followed. This is due to what was narrated that Uthman ibn Abi al-As was invited to a circumcision (khitan) and refused to respond. It was said to him: [Why?] He replied: "We used not to attend a circumcision during the time of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), nor were we invited to it." Recorded by Imam Ahmad with his chain of narration (2). Once this is established, the ruling on an invitation to a circumcision and all other invitations besides the wedding feast is that they are recommended (mustahabb), because of the feeding of food involved in them, and responding to them is recommended, not obligatory. This is the view of Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Abu Hanifah and his companions. Al-Anbari said: "It is obligatory to respond to every invitation" due to the generality of the command for it. For Ibn Umar narrated from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said: "If one of you invites his brother, let him respond, whether it is a wedding or other than a wedding." Recorded by Abu Dawud (3). Our argument is that the authentic Sunnah has only come regarding responding to one who invites to a walimah, which is food at a wedding specifically. Thus said al-Khalil, Tha'lab, and others among the linguists. This has been explicitly stated in some narrations of Ibn Umar from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), that he said: "If one of you is invited to a wedding feast, let him respond." Recorded by Ibn Majah (4). And Uthman ibn
(57) Omitted from: The original. (1) In the original: "tazawwuj". (2) Al-Musnad 4/217. (3) In: The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding Responding to an Invitation, from the Book of Food. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/306. It was also recorded by Muslim in: The Chapter on the Command to Respond to One Who Invites to a Meal, from the Book of Marriage. Sahih Muslim 2/1053. (4) In: The Chapter on Responding to the One Who Invites, from the Book of Marriage. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/616. It was also recorded by Muslim in: The Chapter on the Command to Respond to One Who Invites to a Meal, from the Book of Marriage. Sahih Muslim 2/1053.
