29. DUTY TOWARDS NEIGHBOUR

God says:

….and do good to your parents, and near of kin, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbour from among your own people, and the neighbor who is a stranger*… Q.4: 36
*i.e., “whether he belongs to your own or to another community.” That the expression “your own people” (dhu‘l - qurba) refers to the community and not to one’s actual relatives is obvious from the fact that “the near of kin” has already been mentioned earlier in this sentence. The Prophet often stressed a believer’s moral obligation towards his neighbours whatever their faith.

As for such [of the unbelievers] as do not fight against you on account of [your] faith, and neither drive you forth from your homelands, God does not forbid you to show them kindness and to behave towards them with full equity : for, verily, God loves those who act equitably.-- Q.60: 8

Woe, then, unto those praying ones whose hearts from their prayer are remote -- those who want only to be seen and praised, and, with all that, deny all assistance (to their fellow-men)! * -- Q.107: 4 -7
*The term al - ma -un (in the Arabic text) comprises many small items needed for one’s daily use, as well as the occasional acts of kindness consisting in helping out one’s fellow men (specially neighbours) with such items.

Making most of your Friday Post? It becomes just your ‘information’ when you read it. Apply mind to it and it becomes your ‘knowledge’. Knowledge strengthens faith!



Prophet said:

1. “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him do good to his neighbour” *--H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Abu Hurairah.
*This Tradition sums up a believer’s moral obligation towards his neighbours, whatever their faith.

2. “Gibraiel did not stop to advise me about neighbour till I thought he would soon be (declared) an heir” – H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Bibi Ayesha and Ibn Omar.

3. “One whose neighbour is not safe from being troubled by him shall not enter paradise” – H: Muslim. N: Anas

4. “(While cooking) when you prepare broth increase its water content in order to share with your neighbours” --- H: Muslim. N: Abu Zarr.

5. Bibi Ayesha asked: O Messenger of God! I have two neighbors. Which of the two should I send a present? He replied, “To one whose door is nearer to you” – H: Bukhari. N: Bibi Ayesha.
Islamic law of Pre-emption for non- Muslims: (law of the neighbourhood applied to immovable property.) Generally speaking, a Muslim neighbour who is also related has greater right than a Muslim neighbour who is not related; and a Muslim neighbour has a greater right than a non Muslim neighbour. However, in matter of purchasing land or property in the neighbourhood, Islamic law of Pre-emption gives a non-Muslim neighbour greater right than a Muslim who is not a neighbour. (Al-Hadis: ref: notes 190 in vol. 1, and 870 in vol. 2)

28. DUTY TOWARDS ATTENDANT & ASSISTANT

God says:

(The God - conscious) who spend (in His way) in time of plenty and in time of hardship, and hold in check their anger, and pardon their fellow - men, because God loves the doer of good. -- Q.3: 134

For, He it is who has made you inherit the earth, and has raised some of you by degrees above others, so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed upon you….* -- Q.6: 165
*i.e., by way of character, strength, knowledge, social position, wealth etc.

All the believers are but brethren…. * Q.49: 10
*The plural noun ikhwah (brethren or brotherhood) has here, of course, a purely ideological connotation, comprising men and women alike.

O men (and women)! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a Female…. * Q.49: 13
*i.e., “We have created everyone of you out of a father and a mother” (Zamakhshari, Razi, Baydawi)- implying that this equality of biological origin is reflected in the equality of human dignity common to all.

..…Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him…. * Q.49: 13
*Hence, an attendant could well be nearer to God due to piety than is his or her boss.



Prophet said:

1. “He who is pleased* to see people standing in his honour should seek his seat in hellfire’ – H: Tirmizi. N: Mu`ayiya.
*This being a sign of pride.

2. A man asked: O Messenger of God! How many times should we pardon an attendant? He remained silent. The man repeated the question, but he remained silent. When asked the third time, Prophet said, “Seventy times a day!” * -- H: Abu Daud. N: Abdullah b Omer. Also, H: Tirmizi. N: Abdullah bin Amr.
*Number “seventy” being used here metonymically, as often done in classic Arabic, in the sense of “very many” (Zamakhshari).

3. “One who treats those under his authority badly shall not enter paradise” *– H: Tirmizi and Ibn Majah. N: Abu Bakr Siddiq.
*(Muslims) will enter after making amends for expiation of their sins. – Mazhar-e-Haq.

4. “You are given assistance and provision with the help of weak among you “ – H: Bukhari. N: Mus’ab -b-Sohail.

5. “(One should not address an attendant as servant but as) ‘my young man’ or ‘my young woman’, or ‘my boy’ “ – H: Bukhari. N: Abu Hurairah.

27. DUTY TOWARDS RELATIVES (concluded).

God says:

God commands justice, and the doing of good and generosity towards One’s kith and kin.-- Q.16: 90

Hence, (even if they have been wronged by slander,) let not those of you who have been graced with (God`s) favour and ease of life even become negligent in helping (the erring ones among) their near of kin, and the needy. -- Q.24: 22

And warn [whomever you can reach (O Muhammad) beginning with] your kinfolk.* -- Q.26: 214
*A believer is morally obliged to preach the truth to all whom he can reach, but obviously he must begin with those who are nearest to him, and especially those who recognize his authority.


Prophet said

1. “The perfect man is not the one who (simply) maintains (blood connection), but the one who joins it when it has been torn apart ” – H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Ibn Omar.

2. “The right of the eldest brother upon the youngest is (like) the right of a father upon his son” – H: Bailaqi. N: Saeed bin al ‘Aas.

3. “If a young man shows honour to an old man on account of his old age*, God will provide someone for him in his old age, who will show him honour” -- H: Tirmizi. N: Anas.
*Beginning with blood connection and members of the family. Obviously it is applicable to women as well.

27. DUTY TOWARDS RELATIVES

God says:

[Truly pious is he who also] spends his substance (or wealth) – however much he may cherish it – upon his near of kin…. Q.2: 177

….And remain conscious of God, in Whose name you demand (your rights) from one another, and of these ties of Kinship*. Verily, God is ever watchful over you! -- Q.4: 1
*i.e., relation of the womb

Men shall have a share in what parents and kinsfolk leave behind, and women shall have a share in what parents and kinsfolk leave behind, whether it be little or much. And when [other] near of kin and orphans and needy persons* are present at the distribution [of inheritance], give them something thereof for their sustenance, and speak unto them in a kindly way.-Q.4: 8
*having no legal claim to inheritance yet deserve to be considered.


Prophet said:

1. “One who severs (blood connection) will not enter paradise” – H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Zubair-b-Mut`em.

2. (When asked who among men is the best, the Prophet answered:) “He who is most dutiful to God among them, and the most dutiful towards blood connections”- H: Ahmed and Tibrani. N: Durrah-bin Abi Lahab.

3. “The Almighty said: whoever would keep connection with you, (O Blood tie) with him will I keep connection; and whoever cuts you asunder, him I will cut asunder” - H: Qudsi: Bukhari. N: Abu Hurairah.

26. DUTY TOWARDS FAMILY

God says

…It is these (righteous) that shall find fulfillment in the hereafter; gardens of perpetual bliss, which they shall enter together with the righteous from among their parents, their spouses, and their offspring;* and the angels will come unto them from every gate [and will say]: “Peace be upon you, because you have persevered!” How excellent, then, this fulfillment in the hereafter?-- Q.13: 22-24
*Do please refer to verses 20 to 22 which describe the qualities of these righteous for which the excellent reward is being promised. It will be great for the entire family to adopt those qualities in order to be together in paradise.

And bid thy people to pray, and persevere therein…. Q.20: 132

(True servants of God) pray: “O our Sustainer! Grant that our spouses and our offspring be a joy to our eyes,* and cause us to be foremost among those who are conscious of Thee.” -- Q.25: 74
*I.e., by living a righteous life.

O you who have attained to faith! Let not your worldly goods and your children make you heedless of the remembrance of God: for if any behave thus – it is they, they who are the losers! -- Q.63: 9

O you who have attained to faith! Ward off from yourselves and those who are close to you that fire (of the hereafter) whose fuel are human beings and stones: -- Q.66: 6


Prophet said

1. “The best of you is he who is best to his family, and I am the best of you to my family.”– H: Tirmizi and Ibn Majah. N: Bibi Ayesha

2. “Whenever a Muslim spends* something for his family hoping for it (a reward from God or pleasure of God), it is an act of charity for him.” -- H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Abu Masud.
*Spending for the family has to be purposeful and far from extravagance. Their material and also spiritual needs have to be met. Family members should be respected and consulted, their growth and development to be guided, and conduct to be guarded. ‘Rewards for everyone are high because the issues involved are most serious, and the consequences of the failure most terrible’.

3. “(As for) a dinar you have spent in the way of God, and one spent in emancipating a slave, and one given to poor in charity, and one spent for your family (needs), of those the highest in reward is the one you spent for your family.” – H: Muslim. N: Abu Hurairah.
Basically, family consists of parents, wife, husband, children and attendant (if any). If one is supporting a relative or an orphan those have to be treated same as other members.

25. DUTY TOWARDS HUSBAND

God says

“And if you have reason to fear that a breach might occur between a [married] couple, appoint an arbiter from among his people and an arbiter from among her people; if they both want to set things aright, God may bring about their reconciliation. Behold, God is all-knowing, aware. -- Q.4: 35

If a wife fears cruelty or desertion on her husband’s part, there is no blame on them if they arrange for an amicable settlement between them… Q.4: 128

It is He who has created you (all) out of one living entity,* and out of it brought into being its mate,** so that man might incline towards women.-- Q.7: 189
*Man and woman are from the same one source.
**The term zawj (“a pair”, “one of a pair” or “a mate”) applies to the male as well as the female component of a pair or couple.


Prophet said

1. “ The world, the whole of it, is a commodity, and the best of commodities of the world is a virtuous wife”– H: Muslim. N: Abdullah bin Amr.

25. DUTY TOWARDS HUSBAND

God says:

The righteous women are the truly devout ones, who guard their intimacy which God has (ordained to be) guarded. -- Q.4: 34

[God said,] “I shall not lose sight of labour of any of you who labours [in My way], be it man or woman: each of you is an issue of the other. -- Q.3: 195
i.e., “you all are members of same human race, and therefore equal to one another.”


Prophet said

1. “…woman is a queen over the members of the household of her husband and of his children, and she will be asked about them.” --- H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Abdullah bin Omar.

2. “The best of wealth is a tongue remembering God, a grateful heart, and a believing wife who helps (the husband) in his faith”– H: Ahmed, Tirmizi and Ibn Majah. N: Saoban.

3. “ Next to God-consciousness the believer finds nothing better for him than a virtuous wife…” – H: Ibn Majah. N: Abu Omamah.