As-salamu alaykum my brothers and sisters.
Normally when we live in a certain home or a house,
we are affected by our neighbors.
And these neighbors,
the Prophet peace be upon him says,
that there are rights that we need to fulfill of our neighbors.
And the neighbors need to fulfill our rights.
So if we have a neighbor who is easy going,
it becomes easier to fulfill their rights.
But the test is for the neighbor who is not easy going.
It becomes very difficult sometimes and some people are really tough.
We need to be considerate of our neighbors because
when we cook food or when we are doing something,
we should ensure that we bear them in mind.
Now when we are cooking food,
the Prophet peace be upon him says,
we must make sure that we have a small
portion for them as and when possible.
It would be good to give them a little bit
so they can pray for you so that you know,
they would probably send you some as well,
a little bit of food.
But there is an Arabic saying,
Al-jaaru qabla al-dar.
What that means is,
when you are purchasing a home or when you are
going to a home in order to rent it for yourself.
So either you are renting or purchasing,
make sure you look at who the neighbors are before
you actually purchase the house or live in the house.
Because of the great impact that those neighbors will have upon you,
your family members,
your children and the surroundings.
When you have decent neighbors,
disciplined,
well-mannered,
high morals,
values,
no matter what faith they are,
they would definitely be an asset to you in some ways.
And if they belong to the same faith,
then Alhamdulillah,
it's going to be even easier.
But the minute they have low morals, low values,
you know,
they are screaming,
shouting,
yelling at each other,
it's going to affect you.
Sometimes they might even harm you as neighbors.
And this is why the Prophet peace be upon him says,
whoever believes in Allah in the last day,
Falayu lijaara,
should never harm his or her neighbor.
Now,
the strange thing is,
I was asked a question from India a few days ago.
That you know,
we have a house or an apartment that we'd like to rent.
And right next to it,
when we open the back windows,
we can actually see a graveyard.
So,
is that okay?
You know, we're neighbors of a graveyard.
And I said, by all means, it is fine.
There is nothing wrong.
It's only superstitious where people say that,
you know what,
oh,
there's a graveyard there,
it's a bad omen.
As Muslimin, look at Madina Munawwara Baqiya.
I'm sure those of us who've been to the blessed city
of the Prophet peace be upon him have seen Baqiya.
That Baqiya,
it's a graveyard where thousands are buried from the Sahaba,
from you know,
the Tabi'een,
the Saints,
the Muslims,
whoever has passed away.
The Prophet peace be upon him says that,
you know,
Baqiya is actually blessed.
So,
there are houses all around Baqiya,
there are residential places,
there is a Masjid in fact right there.
It does not affect you negatively.
The negativity is when you are distanced
from Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala.
That is making your own home into a grave.
That's the Prophet peace be upon him says,
لا تجعلوا بيوتكم قبوراً.
Don't make your houses into graves.
Graves meaning dead,
void of the remembrance of Allah.
No one reads Salah there,
no one fulfills the Quran there.
There's nothing spiritual and religious that happens in your home.
Your house becomes a grave or a graveyard.
That is what is wrong.
But if it is next to you,
adjacent to you,
near you,
there's nothing wrong with that.
It's actually superstitious and unacceptable in Islam to say,
Oh, you know what, it's a bad thing.
It's not a bad thing.
Like I said,
look at the Prophet peace be upon him where he lived.
And look at the Sahaba where they lived.
They used to walk through the graveyards
in order to get to another place.
So the graveyard, there was a thoroughfare.
And up to now,
the people who live in the surroundings,
they are surrounded by this graveyard.
Look at
the graveyard of Makkah al-Mukarramah,
known as Mu'alla or Ma'la.
And what happens there is the same thing.
There are houses all around and everyone lives by and mashallah,
they're blessed and it's just like anything else.
In fact, in a way,
sometimes to have dead people around you might be
less burdensome than to have people who are real,
you know,
real life people who are going to harass you and trouble you.
If they're going to harass you and trouble you,
it's much more difficult to live with such people.
So I thought of this and I said,
let me make a message to say,
it's a strange question.
But really,
we do benefit from it because there's nothing
wrong in having a neighbor as a graveyard.
You open your window, you see that.
In fact, when I was in Madinah Munawwara,
if you go back a few posts on my Instagram and even on Facebook,
I did a live session from the hotel room
where I could see the whole graveyard.
And for me, it was such a blessing.
We're supposed to be reminded of the reality and
that is going back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So a graveyard would actually remind you of your duty unto Allah.
If you're not a sinful person and
you're a person who is conscious of it,
you won't mind to be reminded so often.
May Allah make it easy for all of us.
That's a quick message.
Today is the 6th of April 2018. I'm on my way to Manila,
inshallah.
On the 9th of April 2018,
we'll be having a beautiful event at the Mall of Asia Arena,
inshallah,
known as Building Bridges.
And the Building Bridges event,
inshallah,
it's open for Muslims and non-Muslims.
I pray that those who've heard this in
time would actually benefit from it,
inshallah.
I'll post this on YouTube for the benefit of
those who are going to listen to it later.
One more point before I leave.
Let's come to my mind.
Ask yourself, are you a good neighbor?
Ask yourself, are you a good neighbor?
Or do you trouble your neighbors with foul smells,
with burning fires,
with noise,
with so much of pollution,
with anything else?
If you're not a good neighbor,
it's time to change that.
Because that's a sign of your iman,
a sign of your closeness to Allah,
a sign that you are really bothered about your hereafter.
May Allah bless you guys and take care.
As-salamu alaykum.