Sūrah Adh-Dhāriyāt The Winnowing Winds

الذاريات

Al-Qurṭubī derives the ḥukm on ḍiyāfah (hospitality to guests) from the story of Ibrāhīm's guests in this surah, mapping school positions on whether hosting a guest for one night is obligatory or recommended.

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahAdh-DhāriyātMeccanDivine signs and the hospitality of Ibrāhīm

Key Fiqh IssueḌiyāfah hosting a guest: obligatory or sunnah?Sunnah (majority) / Wājib for one night (Ḥanbalī rural)Determines moral and legal accountability for refusing guests

School ComparisonḤanafī: sunnah muʾakkadah; Mālikī: majority sunnah, minority wājib in rural areas; Shāfiʿī: sunnah; Ḥanbalī: wājib for one night for travelersSunnah / Wājib (disputed)Rural vs. urban distinction matters for Ḥanbalī and Mālikī

Uṣūl PrincipleMafhūm al-muwāfaqah Ibrāhīm's example as normative modelSunnah confirmationProphetic model creates strong sunnah recommendation

Al-Qurṭubī derives from verse 26 Ibrāhīm immediately offering a roasted calf to his guests that hospitality is a prophetic virtue with legal implications. The Ḥanbalī school's position (following some authentic ḥadīth texts) that ḍiyāfah is wājib for one night in rural areas when a traveler is in need is the strongest legal position on obligation; the majority of scholars in the other three schools treat it as sunnah muʾakkadah strongly encouraged but not obligatory in the technical sense.

Al-Qurṭubī notes that the prophetic statement "whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should honor his guest" and the specification that the guest's right is three days creates a complex legal framework: three days of hosting is ḥaqq al-ḍayf (the guest's right), but only the first night/day is potentially wājib by Ḥanbalī reckoning. Beyond three days, any additional hosting is voluntary sadaqah. The uṣūl principle of mafhūm al-muwāfaqah derives from Ibrāhīm's model that immediate, generous hosting is the prophetic standard.

فَرَاغَ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ فَجَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ سَمِينٍ Fa-rāgha ilā ahlihi fa-jāʾa bi-ʿijlin samīn Meaning: "So he turned quietly to his family and brought a fat calf" Al-Qurṭubī: "rāgha" (turned quietly) implies Ibrāhīm went without fanfare or delay modeling the ideal of discreet, prompt hospitality without making the guest feel burdensome; the fat calf indicates generosity, not minimum compliance.

هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ ضَيْفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ Hal atāka ḥadīthu ḍayfi Ibrāhīma l-mukramīn Meaning: "Has there reached you the story of the honored guests of Ibrāhīm?" Al-Qurṭubī: "mukramīn" (honored) describes both the angels' status and the manner in which Ibrāhīm treated them al-Qurṭubī derives that guests are to be treated with ikrām (honor), not merely minimum provision.

Ḍiyāfah is sunnah muʾakkadah by Ḥanafī, Mālikī, and Shāfiʿī consensus; wājib for one night for needy travelers in rural areas per Ḥanbalī school.
The guest's right is three days of hospitality this is the maximum obligatory or highly recommended period; beyond three days is voluntary charity.
Ibrāhīm's model of discreet, generous hospitality establishes the character of ideal ḍiyāfah not minimal compliance but generous ikrām.
Refusing a needy traveler shelter in rural areas is morally blameworthy (makrūh at minimum; ḥarām by Ḥanbalī when wājib is triggered).
Urban settings reduce the obligation threshold alternative accommodations available in cities mean the individual's wājib is lighter or absent.

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