A neighbour is one who lives near or next to another. Al-Hasan was asked about the neighbour and said, “The term ’neighbour’ includes the 40 houses in front a person, the 40 houses behind him, the 40 houses on his right and the 40 houses on his left.”
Subhanallah! How beautiful is our religion that it coaches us to be our best with our neighbours.
So let’s see how we can be productive neighbours and earn the pleasure of Allah (swt):
Be Kind: Abu Shuraih Al-Khuza`i (AS) reported: The Prophet ṣ (pbuh) said, “He who believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him be kind to his neighbour [Muslim].
Offer your neighbour a ride if you see them walking: make sure they know you are there for them.
Be Helpful: If you meet a new neighbour while they are moving in, greet them with a smile and bring them refreshments. Give them a quick run-through of the area in general, where things are located, and what they can expect from the community.
If a neighbour is moving out, help them with packing, cleaning, and bring them dinner or lunch. If a neighbour is pregnant then organize a “food list” and all neighbours can chose a day on which they can bring food or help out in the house during the last weeks and the early weeks after child birth. Offer a ride to the school if your children go to the same one.
Give Gifts: When you make something, send some over to your neighbour. Abu Hurairah (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah ṣ(pbuh) said, “O Muslim women! No one of you should consider insignificant (a gift) to give to her neighbour even if it is (a gift of) the trotters of a sheep” [Bukhari and Muslim].
Be a good Muslim neighbour: In addition to the above ideas, here some more ideas of what can you do with a good Muslim neighbour.
Organize halaqas (gathering or meeting for the study of Islam and the Quran) regularly. Each neighbour should get a chance to host one, or you could make use of the community halls to host them. Organize youth halaqas for the youth of the neighbourhood. If you have a mosque in the community, then make it a point to use it for the halaqas and ask someone who knows Arabic or tajweed to teach it to the rest. Invite the new neighbour to the halaqas held at the mosque or in the community.
Share Islamic knowledge – Get an extra pamphlet or free books that are given away with Islamic knowledge for your neighbour. Let them know about anything new that you learnt in the deen, maybe a new course that you started or a new website you checked or even a new article or book that you read.
Give gifts on festive occasions – Share the special delicacies that you make on Eid.
Having a good neighbour is a blessing from Allah (swt). “The best of companions in the sight of Allah Almighty is the best of them towards his companion, and the best of neighbours in the sight of Allah is the best of them towards his neighbour” [Al-Albani].
Gul writes for the blog islamiclifestyle4u.wordpress.com.
