Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
This is a question which may be about adab as much as fiqh. If one generally avoids eating meat in the UK, due to the sheer amount of non-halal meat passed off as halal and the widespread use of stunning, what is the correct behaviour when one is offered a meat dish as a guest at someone’s house?
Wa`alaykum Assalam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu,
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful & Compassionate
The guest is considered to have honored’ the host by merely attending, and then maintaining respectable behavior. With this, one is not obliged to eat everything served. [Nahlawi, al-Durar al-Mubaha]
However, one should refuse with tact, and in way that does not dishearten the host. If possible, contact them beforehand to explain that you do not eat meat.
And Allah knows best.
Faraz Rabbani.
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