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The Muslim treats his neighbor in the best way he can Posted by: "The Ideal Muslim" forthemuslim@yahoo.com forthemuslim Tue May 5, 2009 1:54 pm The Ideal Muslim: Characteristics of the Ideal Muslim According to the Qur'an and the Sunnah The IDEAL MUSLIM The True Islamic Personality of the Muslim Man as Defined in the Qur'an and Sunnah By Dr. Muhammad 'Ali Al-Hashimi Translated by Nasiruddin Al-Khattab and Revised by Ibrahim M. Kunna and Abu Aya Sulaiman Abdus-Sabur Copyright and published by the International Islamic
Publishing House (IIPH), The Ideal Muslim is a man of the highest moral character. In his relationship with his Rabb, himself, family, parents, relatives, friends and the community at large, he has a most excellent example in the prophet of Islam (pbuh). His idealism is further strengthened by the characters of the first generations of Muslims who excelled in all the various fields of human endeavor. He is reassured by the teachings of Islam that he also can reach these noble heights by working to improve his character daily.
Chapter 7: The Muslim and His Neighbors The Muslim treats his neighbor in the best way he can
The Muslim who understands the teachings of his religion hastens to treat his neighbor in the best way he can. Nothing is too insignificant when it comes to respecting his neighbor, as some ignorant people think they may think something is too small to be worth giving as a gift to a neighbor, so they refrain from giving it, thus depriving themselves and their neighbors of much goodness. This is something the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) pointed out to women in particular, as many of them may feel too shy to offer a small gift to a neighbor: "O Muslim women, do not think that any gift is too insignificant to give to a neighbor, even if it is only a sheep's foot." (Bukhari and Muslim)
A sheep's foot is a thing of little value, but it is better than nothing, and no woman should feel that any gift is not worth giving to a neighbor. Allah (S.W.T.) says: "Then shall anyone who has done an atom´s weight of good, see it! " (Qur´an 99:7)
And the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said:
"Save yourself from the Fire even by giving half a date in charity." (Bukhari)
But this hadith, which is general in application, may also be taken to mean that the recipient should not look down on the gift. The meaning then is: No (female) neighbor should scorn the gift given to her by another (female) neighbor, even if it is it is just a sheep´s foot. Rather, she should thank her for it, because gratitude engenders friendship among neighbors and encourages mutual support and help. This is in addition to the fact that thanking people for favors is a basic Islamic trait which the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) strongly encouraged: "The one who does not give thanks to people does not give thanks to Allah (S.W.T.)."� [5]
[5] Reported by Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad.
How to treat a
servant Posted by: "Mohammad Usman" musman@kindasa.com usmankkkk Tue May 5, 2009 2:19 pm B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m How to treat a servant Adil Salahi | Arab News Al-Maaroor ibn Suwayd(r) reports: "I met Abu Dharr(r) at Rabadhah when he was wearing half a suit and his servant half a suit. I questioned him on this and he said: 'I had a heated argument with someone and I abused his mother.' The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to me: 'Are you, Abu Dharr(r), speaking ill of his mother? You still have remnants of ignorance, or Jahiliyyah. Your servants are your brethren whom Allah has placed under you. Whoever has a brother of his under him should feed him of the food he eats and clothe him of the same clothes he wears. Never ask them to do what is too hard for them. Should you do, and then help them.'" (Related by Al-Bukhari). To start with, the suit worn by Arabs at the time consisted of a shirt and a jacket of the same material. In some cases, the term is used to refer to three matching pieces. What Abu Dharr(r) did in this case was to give his servant either the shirt or the jacket leaving the other piece for him. There are several reports of this Hadith. From these we learn that Abu Dharr(r)'s argument was with Bilal(r), who was a black man of Abyssinian origin. Apparently, in the heat of their argument Abu Dharr(r) said to him, 'You, son of an Abyssinian woman,' or, 'son of a black woman!' The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him that this was intolerable, smacking of the pre-Islamic days of Jahiliyyah. The term Jahiliyyah is derived from the root Jahl, which means ignorance, and refers to the state that prevailed in pre-Islamic days or to any state where people conduct their affairs in isolation of divine guidance. Abu Dharr(r) was very sorry and wanted to make amends. He put his head on the grounds, swearing that he would not lift it until Bilal(r) had stepped over it. From that point onward, Abu Dharr (r) was careful that his conduct must always be exemplary in the implementation of Islamic rules. We see this in the way he treated his servant, giving him half his suit to wear, while he himself wore the other half. He took the matter literally. This is not required. What is required is that a Muslim must treat his servant in a fair and reasonable manner, so as the servant is not made to feel inferior. The Prophet (peace be upon him) makes clear that we must feed our servants of the food we eat and give them clothes of the type we wear. This does not mean that servants should sit at table with the family employing them, but rather they should eat of the same type of food the family eats. When Abu Dharr(r) gave his servant half his suit, some of the Prophet (peace be upon him)'s companions mentioned to him that he should wear both parts himself and give his servant something else to wear. He preferred to take the Prophet (peace be upon him)'s remonstration literally. The other point the Hadith makes clear is that servants must not be asked to perform duties that are too hard for them. Unfortunately this is often the case. A maid or a servant is often asked to perform task after task all day long, giving her little time to rest. The Prophet (peace be upon him) makes clear that when such people are expected to perform such tiring tasks, help should be provided for them. Such help may be by providing tools that make the performance of the required duties easier, or by providing more manpower to perform the tasks in hand. We note also that the Prophet (peace be upon him) refers to servants as "your brethren." This emphasizes the fact that Islam considers all human beings equal. No distinction is permissible on account of race, color, nationality or social status. We are all equal in Allah's sight and we must always be aware of this equality when treating the weaker elements in society. Authored By: Adil Salahi |
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