Such Pretence Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Posted by Administrator 2 in Etiquettes Of Social Life.trackback
by Badr ul Islam
“It is unfortunate that these days there is much pretence in our lives and thus we have made our lives so difficult.
If we study the lives of our pious predecessors we will see that they led lives of great simplicity. For example whilst travelling if they happened to stop at the home of someone there would be no superficial demonstration of politeness.
The host would ask the guest whether he would like to eat without the least pretence and the guest would reply with a similar degree of openness.
Thus if the guest felt hungry, he would say so. If not, he would thank his host and politely decline.
Such was the love and informality present that if the guest replied in the affirmative, the host would then ask whether the guest would prefer something cooked fresh or whether he would mind having the food that was left over from the previous day.
Nowadays, when one visits another, the host asks the guest whether he would like to eat. The guest has got to say “No”. This charade is understood by both sides.
The host knows that he has got to decline even though he may desire to eat, and the host knows that his guest’s declining is not genuine, therefore, he must be asked several times.”
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