The Human Cohesion Project — 6 March 2025
Rukmini Iyer
Leadership Facilitator & Coach | Peacebuilder | Board Member | Vital Voices Fellow | Rotary Peace Fellow | Ashoka Changemakers Awardee
In the early days of Ramadan, as fasting continues and evenings bring the rhythm of breaking bread, it is worth pausing to ask: With whom do we share our tables?
Islamic tradition holds hospitality in high regard. One of the most well-known stories is that of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and the Stranger. Ibrahim was known for his generosity. He never ate alone and always sought guests to share his meal. One evening, he welcomed an old traveller into his home, offering him food. But before eating, the man did not say Bismillah (in the name of God). Ibrahim, noticing this, asked why. The man replied that he was a fire-worshipper and did not follow Ibrahim’s faith.
Ibrahim, in an instinctive reaction, asked the man to leave. But soon after, he received a divine message:
“O Ibrahim, you refused to share your table with this man because of his belief, yet I have provided for him his entire life despite it.”
Realising his mistake, Ibrahim ran after the traveller, apologised, and invited him back to eat. Moved by such humility, the man returned, and as the story goes, he embraced faith, not because he was forced to, but because he experienced generosity beyond condition.
This story is not just about hospitality in the literal sense. It is an invitation to examine the way we share, not just food, but space, attention, and care.
Fasting during Ramadan is often framed as a personal act of discipline, self-restraint, deepened awareness. But it is also communal. Across cultures and traditions, breaking fast has long been a sacred ritual of connection. In Christianity, the act of breaking bread symbolises unity. In Sikhism, langar (the community meal) is an expression of radical equality, where all sit together regardless of caste or status.
And yet, in today’s world, borders are hardening, and divisions are deepening, not just between nations, but within societies, between ideologies, and even among those who once shared the same space. The question is no longer just who is invited to our table, but who is being turned away?
The lesson from Ibrahim’s story is clear: hospitality is not just about feeding another. It is about seeing them. Recognising their humanity beyond labels, beyond categories. In this moment, as families gather for iftaar, as Lent unfolds, as Baha’is wake for their pre-dawn meal, perhaps the real hunger we must address is not just for food, but for connection.
Who have you not yet invited to your table?
Ramadan Kareem. May this be a month of generosity beyond condition.
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