When I was younger, I used to visit the home of my Muslim friend. And I noticed how his mum would cook large portions of food even if there were only, say, five people at home for lunch or dinner. So I'd ask her why she cooked so much.

She said, "You never know, somebody might come along and say he's hungry. And we want to have enough food for people who want to eat, you know. Our house can be small and congested, and our things may be simple; but we must always make sure that anyone who comes has their basic needs met. So always have food on the table."

At that time, I had never seen something like that before. As long as there was enough food for everyone present and no one had to go hungry, I didn't see why there was a need for us to cook extra food. I mean, what if no one actually ate the food and it went to waste? Or what if it caused everyone to eat more than they should, and people in the house began to put on weight? Didn't seem like a very clever idea to me.

One day, I saw an old lady walk into the house when the gate was wide open. She was dirty-looking and rather frail. She had nothing on her except a plastic bag that had what looked like pieces of rags in it. She walked right into the kitchen, greeted my friend's mother, and sat down at the table and started treating herself to the food on the table. After eating, she smiled at my friend's mother, and left.

When she'd left, I asked my friend's mother who this old lady was. Her answer was, "I dunno. She comes by once in a while to eat though."

Then I understood. Always have food on the table. Your home can be small and congested, and your things may be simple, but always have food on the table.