Follow up: Accepting dinner invitations from non-Muslims

Question:
Does this, therefore, mean that there is no harm for a Muslim in accepting, say, a dinner invitation from a person belonging to any faith if the food falls under the halal category.

Response:
Absolutely. The general principle is that if there is a negative injunction, it should be stated explicitly. For the food of the Hindus, Buddhists, etc. to be prohibited even if it is otherwise halal, it should explicitly be mentioned somewhere. Some people might argue that 'Innamal Mushrikuna Najasun' is the 'dalil' for that; but the verse is talking about spiritual 'najasat' not physical one. Moreover, to stop Muslims from eating with others, this amounts to a very vague and inappropriate way of laying the restriction. Also, the word al-Mushrikun in the verse is referring to the polytheists of the time when the Qur'an was getting revealed. Do also try to imagine that if this is really an injunction then it would mean that we cannot use any 'masala', rice, fruit, sweets, etc. prepared by the Hindus. That would create a huge problem for everyone, and I have never heard that any of the most pious Muslims living in India ever created that kind of difficulty for themselves.

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