☕ Neighbors 🌙

Assalamu Alaikum,

You can choose your house. You can choose your furniture.

You generally cannot choose the guy next door who starts mowing his lawn at 7:03 AM on Saturday.

Neighbors are part of life. And Islam has quite a bit to say about how we treat them.

Islam takes neighbors seriously.

Allah tells us to show kindness to “the neighbor who is near and the neighbor who is farther away.”

— Qur’an 4:36

That means being a good neighbor isn't limited to the Muslim family down the street.

The person next door may have a different religion, background, culture, or an impressive ability to leave their garbage cans out for four days.

They're still your neighbor. And they still have rights.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Jibril continued to advise me to treat neighbors well until I thought he would make them heirs.”

— Sahih al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim

Read that again.

The Prophet ﷺ received so much advice about neighbors that he thought they might eventually get inheritance rights.

That's slightly more serious than occasionally waving from the driveway.

Being a good neighbor doesn't require anything dramatic.

Don't harm them. Keep noise reasonable. Help when they're struggling. Share food when you can. Check in occasionally.

And maybe learn their name after living beside them for six years.

Small things count.

The Prophet ﷺ even encouraged sharing food with neighbors.

We sometimes think good Islamic character shows itself in big moments.

Often, it's much less exciting. Returning something you borrowed. Moving your car so you're not blocking someone's driveway. Taking their package inside when they're away. Being patient when their kids are loud.

Your neighbor may never see you pray or read Qur’an.

But they will experience your character.

And sometimes that's the first thing they'll learn about Islam.

“Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”

— Qur’an 2:201

Good in this world includes peaceful homes, healthy communities, and people who look out for one another.

You don't have to become best friends with everyone on your block. But Islam asks us to be the kind of neighbor people are glad to have.

Be kind. Don't cause harm. Help when you can. And maybe bring over some food once in a while.

Worst case? You did a good deed.

Best case? They stop mowing at 7:03 AM.

Until tomorrow,
Stay steadfast on the Straight Path.

— Islam Brew 🌙

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