KINDNESS TO NEIGHBOUR 2

Some Rights of the Neighbour

There is no doubt that neighbour has many rights of which we will mention some, the most important of which, are;

1.       Returning his greetings and accepting his invitations:

This a general right for all Muslims, but it is even more important with regards to neighbours, as it has a good effect in spreading amiability and affection.

2.       Refraining from harming him:

Infact, this is one of the greatest rights of neighbours. Harming anyone, in general, is unlawful; however, this ruling is intensified if the harm befalls the neighbor. The Prophet (peace nd blessings of Allaah be upon him) strictly warned in various way, about harming the neighbor. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “By Allah, he is not a believer! By Allah, he is not a beliver! By Allah, he is not a believer!” it was asked, “who, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “ One whose neighbor is not free safe from his evil.” (Bukhari)

When it was said to him: “O Messenger of Allah, a woman performs voluntary prayers at night, and fasts during the day, but she offends her neighbor with her tongue.” He said: “There is no good in her, she is in hell, she is in hell.” (Tirmidhi). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), also said: “He will not enter paradise, whose neighbor is not secure from his evil.” (Bukhari)

A man came to the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), complaining about the harm of his neighbor. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: “put your belonging in the road.” The man did so, and whenever people passed by him and ask him why he had done so, and came to know about how is neighbor was harming him, they cursed this neighbor. Then, the bad neighbour came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), complaining about the people cursing him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has cursed you before the people did.”

3.       Bearing the harm of the neighbor:

This is a trait of noble, chilvrous people and those of igh aspiration. This is because many people can refrain from harming others, but bearing theoir harm with patience while seeking the reward of Allah is of a higher degree, as Allah The Almighty says: “Repel, by (means of) what is best, (their) evil.” (Q23: 96). Also Allah says: “And whoever is patient and forgives, indeed, that is of the matters (requiring) determination.” (Q42:43). Al-Hasan (RA) said: “Being a good neighbor is not by refraining from harming; rather, being a good neighbor is to bear harm.”

4.       Pursuing and accomplishing his needs:

The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “He who spends the night satiated while knowing that is next door neighbor is hungry does not truly believe in him.” The Righteous predeccessors would check upon their neighbours and make efforts to fulfil their needs. Sometimes, a Companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , would receive a gift and then send it to his neighbor, who would send it to another neighbor, and it would circulate around more than ten houses until it finally reached the first one again. When ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) slaughtered a sheep, he said to his servant, “when you skin it, begin (distributing it) by going to our Jewish neighbor.” ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked the Messener of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), “I have two neighbours, to which of them should I offer a gift?” He replied: “To the one whose door is closer to you.”

5.       Concealing his secrets and guiding his honour:

Tis is one of the most sacred of rights. Due to living in the same neighborhood,the neighbor may know some secret matters of his neighbor; he should accustom himself to concealing these secrets with the intention that if he does so Allah The Almighty would conceal his secrets in the worldly lfe and the hereafter. However, if he reveals such matters, then, he is subjecting himself to be repaid with the same kind of treatment. Allah The Almighty says: “And your Lord is not ever unjust to (His) servants.” (Q41:46). In the pre-Islamic era, the Arab would boast about guarding their neighbours’ honour. ‘Antarah said: “I lower my gaze if my (female) neighbor comes out until she returns into her dwelling. “there was a Muslim poet who said: “My (female) neighbor is not harmed if I am her neigbour and her house has no curtains, as I behave as if I am blind when she comes out until the shelter conceals her.”

6.       Finally, we should be aware that happiness, unity and spread of love among the members of a society cannot be accomplished without observing this rights and others which are brought by the Sharee’ah. The reality of many people proves that these rights are being neglected, to the extent that they may not know the name of their  next door neighbor. Some people usurp the rights of their neighbor and may even betray their neighours and trifle with their honor and the honor of their women. This is surely the gravest one of the great major sins. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked; “What is the greatest sin?” in his answered he mentioned: “To commit adultery with your neighbour’s wife.” (Bukhari)

We supplicate to Allah, The Almighty, to help us and all Muslims to observe the rights of our neighbous.

KINDNESS TO NEIGHOUR 1

The Virtue of Being Kind to one’s Neighbour In Islam

Islam considers the right of the neighbor to be extremely important. Jibreel continue to urge the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),to treat neighbours with kindness until he thought that the Sharee’ah will assign him a share of his neighbour’s inheritance. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Jibreel kept on reminding me to treat neighbours kindly and politely so much that I thought that Allah that would order (me) to make them( my) heirs.” (Bukhari). The Qur’an recommend treating neighbours kindly. Allah the Almighty says:

 “worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side…” (Q4: 36)

Look how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) exhorted Muslims to be good to their neighbours and to honour them when he said: “…and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, should server his neighbor generously.” (Bukhari). The narration of Muslim (may Allah have mercy upon him) states: “Should be good to his neighbor.”

The matter reached the degree that loving goodness for one’s neighbor is considered a part of faith under the Sharee’ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “By the One in whose Hand my soul is,no slave of Allah has true faith unless he likes for his neighbour what he likes for himself.”  (Bukhari). A person who is good to his neighbor is the best of people in the sight of Allah the Almighty. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The bet companion in the sight of Allah is the one who is best to his companion, and the best neighbor in the sight of Allah is the one who is the best to his neighbor.”

Who is the Neigbour?

The neighbor is the person who lives near one, regardless of whether he is a Muslim or non- Muslim. Scholars have different opinions regarding the boundaries to which one is considered being a neighbor. The closest opinion to the truth is that they are determined according to what people are accustomed to regarding such a limit, and Allah Knows best. The degrees of neighbors vary: there is the Muslim neighbor who is a relative, the Muslim neighbor who is not, the disbeliever who is a relative and a disbelieving neighbor who is not.

All these types of neighbors share many rights while some of them are distinguished with additional rights according to their state and degree. Allaah says:  

“Worship Allah and join none with Him in worship, and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masakin (the poor), the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hand possess. Verily, Allaah does not like such as are proud and boastful.” (Q4: 36).

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Some Form of Neighbourliness

Some people think that the neighbor is only the ones who lives near your residence. Undoubtedly, this is one of the commonest forms; however, there are other forms that are included in the concept of neighbourliness. There is the neighbor at work, , in the market, on the farm, in the classroom, and many others.

                                                                            in shaa Allah, to be continued in our next episode......

HADEETH

“Let him who believe in Allah and the Last Day speak good, or keep silent…”

On the authority of Abu Hurairah (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day speak good, or keep silent; and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbor; and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest.” It was related by al- Bukhaaree and Muslim.

Explanation of Hadeeth

His statement  “Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day” means the one who believes with the complete Eemaan that will save him from the punishment of Allah, and will attain for him the Pleasure of Allah; then for such a person, “let him speak good, or keep silent”, because the one who believes in Allah and does not fulfill everything that his Eemaan entails (i.e. he falls into sin) then he fears His Threat (of punishment) and he hopes in His reward, and he strives in performing what he has been commanded with, and leaving that which he has been forbidden from. And the most important of what is upon him from this is being careful about his tongue and limbs, which are under his control, and which he would be asked about on the Day of Standing, as Allaah ta’aala says: “Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each you will be questioned (by Allah)” (Q17: 36). And Allah ta’aala says: “Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)” (Q50: 18).

And the sins of the tongue are numerous, and because of this the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “And what is it that throws the people into the Hellfire upon their noses, except what their tongue have harvested” and he said: “Everything that the son of Adam speaks will be a proof against him, except the dhikr of Allah and his ordering the good and forbidden the evil.” (Tirmidhi). So whosoever understands this, and protects the right of his Eemaan, then he will fear Allah and have taqwaa of Him with regards to his tongue, and he will not speak except with good. Or will remain silent.

Some of the ‘ulamaa (Scholars) have mentioned that all of the good manners can be derived from four Hadeeth, and they mentioned this Hadeeth (above Hadeeth) among them. And some of them have said regarding the meaning of this hadeeth that if a person wishes to say something, then if that speech is good, and will surely be rewarded for, then let him say it. And if not, then let him keep silent- whether it is apparent that the speech is Haraam (forbidden) or Makrooh (disliked) or even Mubaah (permissible). So from this it is said that the permissible speech is to be left and avoided, and rather it is preferred to keep silent in such situation, out of fear that it may turn into something which is Haraam or Makrooh; and it is seen that this happens a great deal, and thus Allaah says: “Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)” (Q50: 18).

However, the ‘ulamaa have differed over whether everything that a person says is written down by the Recording Angels, including that which is considered Mubaah (permissible), or if it is only those things for which he may be rewarded or punished. And Ibn ‘Abbaas (RA) and others have adopted this second opinion, and so in this case the ayah mentioned above would have its meaning restricted to those words or statements for which there is some kind of recompense-good or bad.

And the Rasul’s (peace and b blessings of Allah be upon him) statement “let him be generous to his neighbor” and “let him be generous to his guest” contains instruction on the rights of the neighbor and guests, and on doing good to them and encouragement upon protecting the limbs from doing harm to them, and also Allah ta’aala has advised us in His Noble Book with Ihsaan (good behavior, kindness, good treatment) towards the neighbors. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said: “Jibreel did not cease to advice me regarding the rights of the neighbor, until I began to think that they would also receive a part of the inheritance.” (Abu Daawuud).

And hospitality is from Islam, and from the character of the Prophets and the Pious. And some of the Scholars have made it obligatory, though the majority considers it to be from the noble, recommended traits of character. And the author of “al-Ifsaah” has said regarding this hadeeth: “it should be believed that hospitality to the guest is a means of attaining nearness to Allah, and that is a form of worship of the Lord, and that this worship is not decreased if the guest is a wealthy person (rather than a poor man), nor is it affected if one presents for ones guest simple things from what one posses. Rather, the correct hospitality is achieved by keeping a smiling countenance for ones guest, and beautifying ones conversation with him, and the Pillar of Hospitality is preparing a meal for the guest; and so one should be eager to prepare for him from what Allah has provided and made easy, without causing oneself undue difficulty.”

He then mentioned some other points on hospitality, before saying: And for his statement; “let him speak good or keep silent’’, then this indicates that the Good Speech is better than keeping silent, and that silence is better than evil speech, and this is because the form of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) statement contains a command. And from the Good Speech is conveying knowledge from Allah ‘azza wa jall and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and teaching the Muslims, and commanding the good, and forbidding the evil, and reconciling the differences between people, and speaking well to the people, and from amongst the best speech is the Statement of Truth, for the one who truly fears and hopes for the Recompense.”

Summary:

1.       That one should only speak what is good and true.

2.       That one must not under any circumstances speak evil or use filthy language.

3.       That one should be kind and generous to one’s neighbor.

4.       That one should treat one’s guest well.

5.       That if one is a true Muslim then one would do the above, else one’s (true) belief in Allah and the Last Day is in question.

MANNERS IN ISLAM

THE ETIQUETTE OF GREETING

It is Sunnah to extend the greeting of peace to the people of a gathering both when you arrive and when you intend to leave. Abu Hurairah (RA) related that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “if one of you ends up at a gathering let him extend the greeting of peace, then, let him sit if he deems it better to sit. Then if he stands, if he stands let him extend greetings of peace, for the first (greeting, which he gave upon arriving) is not more than the last (i.e. the greeting he gives when leaving).” (Abu Daawuud)

It Is Disliked To Ask A Person To Get Up From His Seat And Then Sit In His Place

After having sat down in the Masjid or any other place wherein it is permissible to sit, and after having left for some errand, upon returning, you have the greatest right to your seat or place of sitting, provided that you returned in a short period of time. Therefore, if you find someone in your seat or spot, you have the right to ask him to move. Abu Hurairah (RA) related that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “when one of you stands from his seat and then returns to it, he is more deserving of it.” (Muslim)

So long as it is islamically lawful for you to sit in a particular seat, no one has the right to take your seat when you get up for a while, and, while you are seated, no one has the right to ask you to move. Ibn ‘Umar (RA) related that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade a Muslim from asking a man to leave his seat so that someone else can take that seat, but instead ‘make space and spread out.’ (Q58: 11)

And Ibn ‘Umar would hate to sit in the place of a man who stood up (either to give up his place or leave momentarily),(Bukhari). The wisdom behind this ruling is obvious: no one should have the right to belittle his Muslim brother, because belittling others leads to resentment; and Muslims should be humble and kind to one another, because kindness leads to mutual love and compassion. Furthermore, in lawful matters people are equal; your right is your right, and my right is mine, so when someone tries to pry away that right without having just cause for doing so, he is perpetrating a prohibited deed.

                  Source: Book of Manners by Fu’ad bn ‘Abdul-Azeez Ash-Shulhoob                        

MONOTHEISM

 

“We Already Know Tawheed”

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him; seek His aid, and His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and the evils of our actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomsoever Allah allows to go astray, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, Alone and without any partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

It is well known among Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah (those who traverse the methodology of the Salaf- the first three generations of Islam) that Allah did not send the Messengers nor did He bring the creation into existence except to uphold Tawheed and to abandon committing Shirk with Allah and to have disavowal for shirk.

So when our greatest enemy- the accursed Shaytan- realized this, then he came by horse and by foot in other to turn the service away from the worship of Allah with all of their diverse levels and to turn them away from learning Tawheed and upholding it and carrying it out, whether they were the du’aat (those calling to it), or those called, whether they were the scholars of the ‘amma (or the generation population of the people), except those whom Allah has bestowed His Mercy upon.

So Shaytan made fair-seeming to the du’aat (callers) to abandon calling to Tawheed with the evidence that calling to it would divide the ranks, or break our union with one another, or that people already have an understanding of it. So how amazing is this, and how faulty are the evidences they bring. How can we abandon calling people to Tawheed, claiming we are adhering to the evidence the Messengers and Prophets (peace be upon them) did not give any weight to or authority for? And do you know why they did not? Because they knew through what Allah had taught them that the purpose of calling the people is the Tawheed of Allah. There is no way to salvation except upon their way. And their way is one, as Allah has stated: “And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path…” (Al-An’am 6:153)

And is the occupation of the truthful du’aat and the truthful callers to Islam, anything other than reviving the da’wah of the Messengers-that is the Tawheed of Allah.

And from the ways the Shaytan has utilized to deceive the people is making them believe that Tawheed is something already well known and already understood. So they say: “we are already Muwahiddun (monotheist), why do we need to call to it? So when the people say we are already Muwahiddun, it should be said to them: Subhanallah! How can this be the case when many of the Muslim countries and non-Muslim countries are enveloped in the darkness of clear Shirk al-Akbar?

Common errors in Tawheed is the audio transcript of the lecture of As-Sheik AbdulAzeez Rayis (Hafidhahullahu)