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AL-JAAR (NEIGHBOUR)
At
that night, he was listening to the words of his mother standing in the
direction towards Ka’aba in a corner of the room.He was observing his
mother praying to Allah prostrating,bowing,standing and sitting at that
night, a Friday night.He was still a child;he was watching and hearing
his mother praying for all Muslims,men and women remembering them by
names and asking the Almighty for their prosperity,felicity and
favours;he was carefully listening to her whether she would mention
mention and demand something from Allah for herself or not?
That night Imam Hassan (as) kept awake till
morning, not losing the sight of her mother ,Fatima (as).The dawn
succeeded after the night passed with prayer and supplication for
others,but Imam Hassan (as) did not hear her saying even a single word
in favour of herself.In the morning, he(as) asked,
“Mother! Tonight I listened to your prayers,
throughout you prayed for others and you did not pray even a single word
for yourself?”
The affectionate mother said in reply,
“My
beloved son! First neighbours then our house”.
Allah (SWT)
says,
“….and be good to the parents and to the near of kin and the orphans and
the needy and the neighbour of (your) kin and the alien neighbour…..”
(4:36)
This
verse teaches us to be always good to our neighbours, be they our
relatives or not.Islam has declared great respect for the mutual rights
andduties of neighbours.The following sayings of the Holy Prophet (saw)
shows importance of good neighbourliness in Islam.
“Jibrael (the angel) always used to advise me to be generous with the
neighbours till I thought that Allah was going to include the neighbours
among the heirs of a Muslim”
“That
man is not from me who sleeps contented while his neighbour sleeps
hungry”
“He
is not a believer if his neighbours are not able to live in peace and
security.Whoever has faith in Allah and the day of judgement does not
molest his neighbours”
Stipulating the rights of neighbours, The Holy Prophet (saw) has said,
“You
should visit your neighbour when he is sick, you should loan him money
when he requests for it, you should congratulate him on his good
occasion and console when afflicted, do not extend your house in such a
wayso as to block the flow of air to his house and you should go along
with his coffin when he dies”.
Imam
Zaynul-Aabideen (as) has said,
“These are your duties towards your neighbour; protect his interest
when he is absent; show him respect when he is present; help him
when he is afflicted with any injustice. Do not be on look out to detect
his faults; and if,by any chance,you happen to know any undesirable
thing about him,hide it from others;and at the same time,try to desist
him from improper habits, if there is any chance that he will listen to
you. Never leave him alone in any calamity. Forgive him, if he
has done any wrong. In short, live with him a noble life based
on the highest Islamic ethical code”.
Describing the number of houses which comes under the limit of
neighbourhood, the Holy Prophet (saw) said,
“Every fourty houses in front, at the back, on the right and on the left
are to be considered as neighbours”.
Thus we
see that no other religion but Islam has emphasised and guided on good
treatment of neighbours.
Released by:
Mulla Mujaheedali Sheriff
mulla@almahdi.org.uk |