Be Kind to Your Neighbour or a Stranger Dr Shabir Ally 30 Days to a Better You

- Peace be with you on the mercy and blessings of God. begin in the name of God The Beneficent, The Merciful one. Today, we're continuing our series on 30 Days To Better You. We look at 30 traits that we should try to cultivate during this month so that by the end of Ramadan, we are better persons than we were when we started. So today we begin new subtopic, "Being Part of Your Community." After we have been somewhat isolated for long time due to the pandemic, it is time for us now to go out, and be part of the community again, or even for the first time. And you will know best your own circumstances, and the level of precaution that you still need to maintain. For the most part it is time to get out there, and be part of the wider community. And under that subtopic wanna look more specifically today, at "Being Kind to Your Neighbors and even to Strangers." So why is this important? Well, in our religion, we are taught that we have two main duties, one to God and the other to God's creatures. And among God's creatures humans are the most noble, and of the human beings some who are closest to us, are our neighbors. And of course if mention in the Quran in Surah four verse number 36 among the people that God says that we need to show kindness towards is. (speaking in foreign language) "So we have to be kind to the neighbor who is close to us, the neighbor who is little more distant from us, the one who happens to be beside us." It could be that we're not in our home setting we're somewhere else, but somebody is there beside us, in whatever the circumstance, we need to be kind to that person as well. What needs to be and the person who is on journey? We need to be kind to that person as well. Because somebody may have been rich while they were at home, but while they were on journey they could be stranded, they could be without their credit cards or whatever, and they need some help. We have to be kind to all of these persons. In general the Quran tells us in the second chapter in the 83rd verse. (speaking in foreign language) "And speak to people with kindness." So our kindness and generosity should be the basic presupposition, and we should be kind and generous to all of the people around us. The Quran describes believers as "Marcinin," those who do good, those who are kind, and we should be kind to people. And of course our religion teaches us even to be kind to animals. So you can much well imagine how much more we should be kind to people, and especially our neighbors. When we look into the reported sayings of our Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, we find many, in some of the most authentic sources depicting the great position of the neighbors in God's esteem. Of course, every person is neighbor to somebody else. But from our perspective, we have to esteem our neighbors. It is mentioned that the Prophet peace be upon him said that "Such person is not Muslim, if he goes to bed full from having eaten, while his neighbors remain hungry." So this is very strong statement. We have to think about whether or not, we are really paying attention to our neighbors. Of course in modern times, especially in modern cosmopolitan societies, the basic stance of people is mind your own business, and leave the neighbors alone. And we don't want people probing into our affairs, and likewise we're not gonna prob into the affairs of other people. And so certain lifestyle has developed where people think, okay, good fences make good neighbors. You have nice fence, and that marks off your space, and you're not gonna encroach on the other side. Well all of these are good. This is the developed and evolved experience of people as to what makes life happy and comfortable for everyone. As for the material needs of persons, if somebody is without food, we know that there is welfare system, and we are paying into that welfare system through our taxes, and those who are in need will get the help there rather than need from nosy neighbor who comes in and says, "Okay do you have anything to eat tonight?" And so on. But let's balance things and let's recognize that some people fall through the cracks. Some people may not have been finding the help that they need, and we by paying some attention within reasonable bounds without being too nosy and too much in your face, we should inquire about our neighbors, know their wellbeing only from the point of view of trying to help them not to be nosy, not to pry into their affairs. So in this case, how can we develop that kind of relationship? Well one is by talking and giving greetings. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, has instructed us, (speaking foreign language) "You should spread peace among you." And greeting of peace to fellow human being doesn't mean that you are regarding them as Muslims, it means just that you wish well for them, or give common greetings like good morning and good afternoon, good evening. That will be way of solidifying your communication with them. You can give small gifts. It doesn't have to cost you much, and it doesn't have to be something that you buy, it could be some delicacy that you cook and you share it with the neighbor. If you share lawn with neighbor. Well when you go mow your lawn, don't mow just your own part, but do the whole thing. And that will be nice gesture showing your neighbor that you care, and that you wanna be good neighbor. And of course, let it not be limited only to the neighbors, wherever we are, be kind to the persons around you, be kind to the traveler, be kind even to stranger. So that brings me to the conclusion of this important topic on being part of your community, with respect to being kind to your neighbors and even to strangers. Tomorrow, we will look at another trait under this broader topic "Of Being Part of Your Community," we'll look at "Volunteering Time." Join me for that and for the rest of this series, on 30 Days To Better You. If you enjoy this video, then please support us this Ramadan. Here are three ways Thank you. And may God bless you and your loved ones today and always.