Syed Ahmer

 TREATING ONE’S NEIGHBOURS WELL   Through this Hadith, Hazrat Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) has taught us that the teaching of treating one’s neighbours well that the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  has given us is irrespective of their religion. Even if the neighbour is a non-Muslim, even then we have to treat them well in their capacity as our neighbour. We may not agree with their disbelief, but we must treat them well. This behaviour on our part may eventually become a source of  Dawah (preaching) for them. When you treat them well, and are polite with them, then Allah Ta’ala may grant them with  Iman (faith) as a  Barakah  (blessing) of your good behaviour. If someone is a non-believer we have to stay away from their  Kufr , but we still have to fulfil all their rights which are due towards us as a result of them being our neighbours. May Allah Ta’ala grant us the  Taufeeq  (motivation) to put these teachings of the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  into practice. Aameen.   و آخر دعوانا ان ال

 PROTECTING ONESELF FROM SATAN’S TRICKS   Dr Abdul Hai (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) used to say that when the Satan was condemned for all eternity, he said to Allah Ta’ala;   “…Now that You have led me astray, I will certainly sit for them (in ambush) on Your straight path. Then I will come upon them from their front side and from their behind, and from their right and from their left. You will not find most of them grateful.” (7:16-17)   Hazrat Dr sahib RE used to say that this verse tells us that the Satan knew that those people who keeping doing Allah’s  Shukr  will not be tricked by him. This means that the person who wants to keep himself safe from being misguided by the Satan should keep saying thank you to Allah Ta’ala.

 TREATING ONE’S NON-MUSLIM NEIGHBOURS WELL   Hazrat Mujahid (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him), who was a special pupil of Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him), narrates that once he was sitting with him. His servant was taking the skin off a slaughtered goat. Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA said to him, “When you have taken the skin off, first send the meat to our Jewish neighbour.” A person who was sitting beside them exclaimed, “Sending meant to a Jew! May Allah show you the right path.”    Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA replied, “I have heard the Holy Prophet  ﷺ   emphasize about treating one’s neighbours well so much that we started thinking that neighbours will be given a share in inheritance.”

 APPRECIATE A NEIGHBOUR’S GIFT In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  said, “O Muslim women! You should not consider your neighbours inferior, and if one of your neighbours sends you a gift, do not consider it worthless even if it is the burnt foot of a goat.” Do not say that my neighbour has sent me something useless. Do not look at the price of what your neighbour has sent. What is much more important to note is the love and affection with which they have sent that gift, therefore, appreciate it and reciprocate their gesture. 

  In another Hadith the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  said;   “Keep the space in front of your home clean.” We should all keep the area around our houses clean and should not dump rubbish there so that it does not hurt the neighbours or passersby. Some people, after cleaning their own homes, dump all the rubbish at someone’s else’s home’s door. This is included in the meaning of the Hadith above which means such a person will not enter paradise. 

 DO NOT HURT YOUR NEIGHBOURS In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  said;   “That person will not enter paradise whose neighbour is not safe from being hurt by him.”   It means that one of the fundamental conditions for entering paradise is not to hurt one’s neighbours.

  Shukr  is performed when a person does more than what was strictly due towards him. For example, if the person returning the loan returns 1,200 rather than 1,000 rupees, not as a pre-condition because then it would become  Riba  (interest), but just as an acknowledgment of the favour the lender did to him, then that is the occasion to say thank you as he has done more than was due towards him. Similarly, when a person says  Shukr  to Allah Ta’ala, he is acknowledging that it was not incumbent upon Allah Ta’ala to grant him that favour, he was not entitled to that favour in any way, rather Allah Ta’ala granted him that blessing purely out of His kindness.  Shukr  embodies the thought that I wasn’t deserving of this blessing, and acknowledges Allah Ta’ala’s favour. Can a person who clearly knows and acknowledges that he was not entitled to the blessings bestowed upon him engage in  Takabbur  (arrogance, grandiosity)? It is not possible. Therefore, whenever you are granted with a blessi

  These days we can’t even imagine the value of that roti that Hazrat Aisha (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with her) had cooked. We live in such affluence that if we lose one roti, it doesn’t make any difference to us. But if we think back of those days, Hazrat Aisha RAA had only a little bit of barley with which she could barely make one roti, and the goat takes away even that roti. In spite of that, the Holy Prophet  ﷺ   advised her with emphasis not to say anything harsh to the neighbour.

 WHEN IS  SHUKR  (THANKS) PERFORMED?  When do we say thank you to someone? If a person returns their loan, is it incumbent upon the lender to thank the borrower? For example, if a person borrows a thousand rupees from me promising that he will return it after two months, he should be grateful to me for having given him that loan, he should thank me. When he returns that loan to after two months, the lender has still done a favour to the borrower for having lent him that money for that long. When he is returning that loan, he is not doing the lender a favour, he is just doing his duty, therefore, it is not necessary for the lender to thank him.

  When the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  saw her distressed, he asked what the matter was. Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) told him the whole story that she had made that roti for him with such love and affection, and the goat had run away with it. That was why she was very sad. The Holy Prophet  ﷺ  said, “bring if any part of the roti is left. But do not hurt your neighbour because of that goat, and do not say anything harsh to them that your goat ate my roti.    It is worth noting that the first thing the Holy Prophet  ﷺ   said was not to say anything hurtful to the neighbour, because it was not their fault that the goat ate the roti. And even if it was, maintaining relations with one’s neighbours is much more important that one roti. 

  SHUKR  - A TREATMENT FOR MANY SPIRITUAL ILLS   Hazrat Dr Abdul Hai (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) used to say that  Shukr  (thanking Allah Ta’ala) is a treatment for many spiritual ills. A person who regularly performs  Shukr  will Insha’Allah (God willing) never be afflicted with  Takabbur . It is because when a person says  Shukr  for the blessings he has, what he is really saying is that I would not have been able to get all these blessings that I have by myself, it is Allah Ta’ala’s benevolence towards me that He has granted me with all these blessings, and that is why I thank Allah Ta’ala for these. This belief removes arrogance from a person’s heart.

  In the meanwhile, the neighbour’s goat came to their house and took the roti that Hazrat Aisha (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with her) had cooked with such love and affection. Hazrat Aisha RAA was watching the goat take the roti, but because the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  was sleeping, she did not stop the goat from taking the roti even when it took the roti out of her home. She felt very sad. As soon as the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  woke up she ran towards the door to see if she could find that goat.

‘A SLIPPERY SLOPE’ The Act clearly says that it is meant for people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and not for people with mental illness alone. However, the risk is that, as is evident from the experience in other countries, these legislations start with fairly narrow criteria. In a few years, there are some members from other groups who start campaigning that their circumstances should also be included within the criteria of this legislation, for example, people with long-term severe mental illness, people with chronic physical disabilities, and who argue that living with their condition is as ‘painful’ and ‘distressing’ as living with terminal cancer. Before we know it, the legislation is being applied to wider and wider groups of people.  Health professionals have no right to decide how people should live their lives, or end it. Giving recommendations on leading healthier lives is a completely separate matter. However, we do need to realize that once we embark on

 Being blessed with something is not a reason for feeling proud and arrogant about it, or thinking that we have become better than others. It is a reason for doing  Shukr  (thanking Allah Ta’ala) that, “O Allah! Thank you for granting me with this blessing just because of Your kindness. I did nothing to deserve it. It was beyond my power to get it. You just blessed me with it out of your kindness. O Allah, I thank you for it.”   الّٰلھم لک الحمد و لک الشکر

 NOT HURTING ONE’S NEIGHBOURS Hazrat Aisha (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with her) has narrated that one night it was her turn for the Holy Prophet  ﷺ to spend the night in her home. Hazrat Aisha RAA wanted to prepare some special food for him out of her exceptional love for him. But how to cook special food as she spent in the way of Allah Ta’ala whatever came to her house? She cooked a roti from whatever flour was in the house. When the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  came, it was very cold. He said to Hazrat Aisha RAA that he was feeling cold. She arranged a warm bed for him. He lied down in it and fell asleep. Hazrat Aisha RAA was waiting for him to wake up so that she could serve him the roti she had cooked with such love.

 THE INFLUENCE OF MENTAL ILLNESS   The Act clearly says that it is meant for people with terminal physical illness, and excludes people with severe mental illness. It is not clear whether there is any requirement to have a psychiatric evaluation for people making an application under this Act, or whether there is a ‘presumption of Capacity (to consent)’. It is not uncommon for people to suffer from both physical and mental illness at the same time, and it is not clear whether there is any safeguard in place to protect terminally ill people from the influence of any acute mental illness on their decision-making capacity. It is a very dangerous presumption to make that everyone suffering from a terminal physical illness just wants their life to end as soon as possible!

CHOICE AND COERCION One concern that clinicians have about euthanasia becoming legal is the societal pressure that may be put on older people. The worry is whether physically unwell older people will feel that by NOT making this ‘choice’ they are continuing to be a burden on their families, as well as the society at large, in terms of resources being used in looking after them and providing treatment for them. What safeguards will be put in place to ensure that when a physically unwell person makes a choice to end their life, it is stemming from their own free will and independent choice, and is not a result of direct or indirect coercion due to perceived attitudes of those around them or society in general?

 WHAT ARE YOU PROUD OF? “What are you proud of? Are you proud of your health? Are you proud of your power? Are you proud of your wealth? Are you proud of your knowledge? Have you got a guarantee that any of these will stay with you forever? All of these blessings have been granted to us by Someone who can take these back whenever He wishes.” We should keep reminding ourselves of this fact.    Whenever we get a thought of being better than others, we must remind ourselves that whatever we have, has been granted to us by Someone. He did not grant it to us because we were ‘entitled’ to being rich, being wealthy or being knowledgeable. It was just a blessing on His part. There are so many people who covet what we have, but are unable to get it. And He can take it all from us, and give it to whoever He wishes to, whenever He wishes to.

 WHO IS A TRUE MUSLIM? It is a matter of having a great character that a person is mindful all the time that he does not hurt anyone with his words. In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet  ﷺ   said;   “A true Muslim is one whose tongue (words) and hands (actions) other Muslims are safe from.”    (Shariah has awarded the same rights of protection of life, honour and property to all non-warring non-Muslims too – translator)   This Hadith forms the core of all rules of  Ma’ashrat  (ways of living with other people)

 HOW LONG IS SOMEONE GOING TO LIVE FOR? Doctors are reasonably good at making predictions about groups of people, for example, what percent of patients are going to respond to a particular treatment, or what percentage of people with a specific cancer may be alive 5 years later. However, doctors are not always as accurate at predicting outcomes for individuals, for example, will this particular individual get well with this particular treatment. It is because there are so many other variables at play.   It was many years ago when a very close friend, whose father had been on a ventilator for 6 weeks, asked me to accompany him in a meeting with the treating consultant. The consultant suggested to turn the ventilator off as my friend’s father had not regained consciousness for 6 weeks. My friend asked him to wait for two more days for family reasons. Two days later his father opened eyes for the first time after 6 weeks. In the next few weeks and months, he came off the ventilator, went

  CHANGE IN RISK OVER TIME The primary reason behind going through all these details was to emphasize that every type of suicidality can respond to interventions, as well as undergo natural variation with a change in social circumstances. Clinicians see this all the time when, even after the most serious suicidal attempts, once people recover many are relieved that their attempt was unsuccessful. As one patient surviving a near-lethal suicide attempt said to me, she realized how lucky she was to have survived because otherwise she would have missed all the milestones of her 6-year-old daughter as she would have gone through all the different stages in her life. The patient I had mentioned in the first post had changed her mind also and said that she wanted to die naturally so that she could spend as much times as possible, with her family. That is why even in countries where assisted suicide has been legalized, there is a built-in time-lag or cooling-off period between making a reques

 Do you feel proud because of your wealth? Did you bring this wealth from your mother’s womb with you? Who granted you this wealth, and the One who granted it to you, can take it back whenever He wishes to. Are you proud of your health? How many people we see who used to be physically stronger than everyone else, and when disease or old age struck them, they became so weak that they couldn’t eat with their own hand? What does one possess that one can truly be proud of forever?

 NEVER CONTRADICT ANYONE PUBLICLY   Hazrat Mufti sahib had a habit that no matter how wrong what a person was saying in front of him was, he never said to them to their face that “you are wrong”. Obviously, if someone is wrong, one cannot say that they are right. Therefore, he will rephrase what the other person had said making it correct, and then say, “so you were saying…” This way he corrected the other person without saying that they were wrong. He was the Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband in undivided India at the time when it was the premier institute of religious education in the country. But he still took so much care in trying not to hurt other people’s feelings that he never contradicted them publicly.

  2.       ACUTE SUICIDALITY This term generally refers to a person who was fine until a certain time and had no risk of suicide. They then suffer from acute mental illness, for example depression, and develop suicidal thoughts and are at risk of suicide. Once their acute mental illness is treated, their risk of suicide goes away.   3.       CHRONIC SUICIDALITY This type of suicidal risk is most commonly associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACE), which may range in severity from chronic invalidating experiences and unduly harsh or erratic parenting, to long-term childhood sexual abuse. As a result of such childhood trauma, the victims sometimes develop chronic low mood, chronic low self-esteem, and chronic suicidal thoughts, depending on some genetic risk and temperamental factors.    Medications and treatments modalities involving coercion and compulsion are almost completely useless in treating chronic suicidality. However, a number of people do respond, some very well, to

UNDERSTANDING SUICIDE Even though the Act itself is called End of Life Choice Act, in reality it is a law about Assisted Suicide, as in a person seeking help from a health professional to end their life. Therefore, before deciding how to vote on it, it is important to understand suicide. I will try to be very careful writing about it as I know some of my friends here have had a personal experience of losing someone very close to them through suicide. However, some understanding of suicide is necessary before one can fully understand the implications of this law. At the risk of over-simplification, in terms of timeline, risk of suicide aka suicidality, can be divided in three different categories. 1. IMPUSLIVE SUICIDALITY These are people who have no underlying mental illness, or even if they have an underlying mental illness, it does not present with an ongoing risk of suicide. Something happens, most often a social stressor like break-up of a relationship or loss of a job, and the per

  My eldest daughter recently asked me what my opinion was about the euthanasia referendum that is currently taking place in NZ, and also to specify whether I was giving this opinion as a Muslim or a doctor. I told her that since Muslims constitute only about 1 % of the population of NZ, and this Act does not 'force' Muslims to do anything they do not wish to do, I would rather give my opinion as a doctor. But even before that we need to consider a question of a more philosophical nature as a human being. The question is, “Do ‘human beings’ have a right to decide what other human beings can or cannot do with their lives?” Even as a general psychiatrist you occasionally see patients who are suffering from a terminal illness. I remember a patient from a few years ago who was younger than me, completely physically healthy, and doing a full-time job. She then developed some symptoms and, to her shock, the scanning showed advanced cancer which had spread so much that it was beyond t

GET RID OF THIS THOUGHT OF BEING SUPERIOR   These are the people who are truly  Waliullah  (friends of Allah) that someone is abusing them but as a result of that they are reflecting on their reality that this is who I am. Remove this thought of being superior to others from your mind. Say to your  Nafs  (inner self) that who knows who is better in Allah Ta’ala’s estimation. It is possible the other person’s inner self, who I have been thinking is inferior to me, is way better than mine, and I am worthless and valueless in Allah Ta’ala’s estimation. You think of yourself as superior because Allah Ta’ala has taught you a few words. Allah Ta’ala can take that knowledge back whenever He wishes to. Did you possess this knowledge when you were born? Someone granted you this knowledge, and He can take it back whenever He wants.

 BEING OF SERVICE TO OTHERS   Hazrat Maulana Mufti Azizur Rahman sahib (may Allah bless him) was the Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband in its olden days. Before starting work every morning, he used to visit the widows living in the neighbourhood of Darul Uloom Deoband and asked them if they needed any grocery shopping to be done. Different women told him to bring different items for them. He would then do their shopping and deliver it to their homes. Sometimes women said that he had brought the wrong item for them, or that he had brought more or less than they had asked him to bring. He never argued. He would just go back to the Bazar and bring the right item or the right amount. This was his routine before starting work every morning.

 Similarly, it is a great mistake to consider oneself superior to others on the basis of one’s wealth. On the day of  Qiyamah  many rich people will become the fodder of hell fire. When one cannot trust one’s wealth, knowledge, or power, to get us through on that day, then why should one consider oneself to be superior to others on the basis of these? WHO IS WORSE?   A person once said to a wise elder in anger, “You are worse than a dog”. He replied, “At this time I don’t know whether I am worse than a dog, or not. When I am presented before Allah Ta’ala, if I successfully get through the accountability for my actions (in this life), then I swear that I am better than a dog. If I don’t get through that accountability successfully and deserve Allah Ta’ala’s punishment, then you are right in saying that I am worse than a dog, because at least the dog won’t be held accountable before Allah Ta’ala for its actions, and it won’t run the risk of facing Allah Ta’ala’s punishment.”

  NAFL  PRAYERS CAN’T SAVE ONE FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF SINS About the second person, when people told the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  that she doesn’t do much  Nafl  (supererogatory) prayers and does some  Nafl   Sadaqah , but performs the  Fard  (compulsory) prayers at their due times and does not hurt anyone, he replied, “she is among the people destined for  Jannah .”   The lesson to draw from this Hadith is that Allah Ta’ala likes his subjects performing  Nafl  prayers, and performing  Nafl performing is a practical manifestation of a person’s love for Allah Ta’ala. However, committing clear sins believing that one’s  Nafl  prayers alone will earn him  Maghfirah  (deliverance) or believing that because I perform a lot of  Nafl  prayers I am very pious and virtuous, and as a result of that belief, considering Allah Ta’ala’s subjects to be inferior to oneself, treating them with disdain, and treating them in a manner which hurts their feelings, is greatly disliked by Allah Ta’ala. In this situ

 THE BELIEF OF SUPERIORITY IS A FALLACY It is a fallacy to believe oneself to be superior to other people. Who knows what is going to happen to any of us in the  Aakhirah  (hereafter)? Who knows who is good in Allah Ta’ala’s estimation, and who is not? In the Hereafter, neither more knowledge, nor physical strength or excess of wealth, is any guarantee of a good outcome.    There is no guarantee that if a person is a great scholar in this world, he will be closer to Allah Ta’ala in the Hereafter. It has been narrated in a Hadith that the first item with which the fire of  Jahannam  (Hell) will be fueled, will be an  Alim (religious scholar). Therefore, believing that one is superior to other human beings, just because people hold him in high regard, or believe him to be a great scholar, is a grave misconception. On the Day of  Qiyamah  (Doomsday) when people will be held accountable for their actions, many great scholars may not make it through. How can one then consider oneself superi

 A PERSON’S TONGUE CAN LEAD HIM TO JAHANNAM There is a Hadith which carries a grave warning. The Holy Prophet  ﷺ  said;    “The thing which will make people fall face down in Jahannam (Hell) the most, is a person’s tongue.”   It means that a lot of people will go to Jahannam just because they misuse their tongues to hurt other people. May Allah Ta’ala protect us all from misusing our tongue. Aameen

 KEEP DOING ALLAH’S SHUKR As mentioned above, believing that one is more knowledgeable, stronger or wealthier than some others is not  Takabbur  in itself, but thinking too much about it can lead to  Takabbur . The easiest way to protect oneself from  Takabbur  is to keep doing Allah’s  Shukr  (thanking Allah Ta’ala). As soon as a thought comes into one’s mind that I have more of this or more of that, a person should thank Allah Ta’ala immediately and remember that what I have is not just because of my own efforts, it is a blessing from Allah Ta’ala. How many people make efforts to become wealthy or more knowledgeable, and who deliberately wants to become sick? But if I have been granted this wealth, knowledge or health, it is exclusively because of Allah Ta’ala’s blessing upon me.

  Why did the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  declare that the first person, who does a lot of  Ibadah  (acts of worship), who stays busy in praying  Nawafil , who gives a lot in charity, but who hurts people with her tongue, will go to  Jahannam ? It is because all of the  Ibadah  mentioned above are  Nawafil  (supererogatory), if someone performs these they bring great reward, and if someone does not perform these it is not a sin. On the other hand, hurting other people with one’s words is a clear sin and is absolutely forbidden, and making sure that a person does not hurt other people with his words is absolutely obligatory. Saying something which hurts other people’s feelings is a grave sin.

 In reply to this question Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah bless him) has said;   “It is not Takabbur to think of oneself as better at something than others, it is Takabbur to think of oneself as superior to others.”   It means that if a person thinks that Alhamdulillah (all praise be to Allah) I have more money, more knowledge, better health, or greater wealth than some other people by the grace of Allah Ta’ala, then it is not  Takabbur  in itself.  Takabbur  is, that one starts believing that because I have more knowledge or greater wealth than others, I am superior to other human beings. But because thinking too much about one’s greater wealth or knowledge can also lead to  Takabbur , Hazrat Thanvi RE has told us its treatment that we should keep reminding ourselves that even though I may have more wealth or knowledge than someone else, but it is quite possible that the other person is closer to and better in Allah Ta’ala’s estimation than I am.

 Then he was asked;  “there is another woman who prays Fard (compulsory), but not Nafl, (supererogatory) Salah, and if she does give Sadaqah she only gives some pieces of cheese (meaning she doesn’t give anything valuable in charity), but she does not cause harm to or hurt anyone.”    The Holy Prophet  ﷺ  was then asked about the status of such a woman. He replied;   “She will be one of the people in Jannah (paradise).”

RECONCILING THE TWO   It is important to understand here that a person cannot deny reality. If one person is educated and the other one is illiterate, how can the scholar say that he does not have knowledge? And clearly, knowledge is superior to ignorance. The Holy Qur’an says;   “ …Can those who know and those who do not know become equal?” (39:9)   It means that the person with knowledge is better than the one who does not possess knowledge. So, how can the person with knowledge deny its existence? Or, for example, a person is physically stronger than another person. It is natural for the healthier person to believe that he is healthier or stronger than the person who is sick or weak. Or, for example, if someone is richer than someone else, it is natural for him to believe that he has more wealth than the other person. But if these people now believe that they are more knowledgeable, healthier, stronger or wealthier than someone else, would that constitute  Takabbur ? How to reconcil

 THE CONSEQUENCES OF HOW WE TREAT NEIGHBOURS   Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) has narrated that someone asked the Holy Prophet  ﷺ ;    “O Prophet of Allah. There are two women. One of them prays Tahajjud all night, fasts during the day, does many other good deeds, and gives Sadaqah. However, she also hurts her neighbours with her tongue (words). What is the judgment for this woman?”    The Holy Prophet  ﷺ  replied,    “There is no Khair (good) in this woman. She is destined for (Hell) fire.”

 BEING PROUD OF ONE’S ‘ ILM’  (KNOWLEDGE) A person asked Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him);  “Hazrat! I often get this thought in my mind unintentionally that so and so is uneducated, I am a scholar, I am better than him.” If a person is a scholar, and the other person is not, then a scholar may get thoughts that he has knowledge which the other person doesn’t have, and knowledge is superior to ignorance. He may think that he is better than the uneducated person. Is this thought  Takabbur ? Hazrat Thanvi (RE) replied;   “Tell you Nafs (inner self) that ‘who knows who is better in Allah Ta’ala’s judgment? It is possible that his inner self is better than mine, and I am way inferior in Allah Ta’ala’s estimation. Just because Allah Ta’ala has taught you a few words, you act as if you are superior to others. If Allah Ta’ala takes it back, what would you do?’ Keep repeating these thoughts in your mind and also pray to Allah Ta’ala.”

 PROTECTION FROM A BAD NEIGHBOUR Among the prayers the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  used to make, one of the prayers was, “O Allah! I seek your protection from a bad neighbour.” But he also prayed for not having a bad neighbour where he was due to live for a long time. A person who becomes a companion during travel would be companion for a short while only and will then separate, but he prayed for protection from a neighbour with whom he would have to live for a long time. It means that we should also pray for protection from a bad neighbour. May Allah Ta’ala save us all from bad neighbours. Aameen.

  TAKABBUR  IS A HIDDEN ILLNESS Takabbur  is a very dangerous illness because most people who suffer from it do not even realize that they are harbouring it in their soul. It is like a cancer of the soul. Just like with some cancers people do not even know that they are suffering from it until it has spread far and wide and it is too late, similarly,  Takabbur  keeps growing inside a person and keeps corrupting his soul as well his behaviours, and he does not even realize it.    Following are some of Hazrat Thanvi’s (may Allah bless him) sayings about Takabbur, followed by their explanation.

  KIBR  AND  TAKABBUR ?   Kibr  ( کبر ) means believing oneself to be superior to other people. If someone is 30 years old and the other person is 20 years old, then it is obvious that the 30 years old will believe that he is older than the 20 years old. This is not  Kibr .  Kibr means that a person believes that he is superior to or better than someone else.   When a person believes himself to be superior, this belief is also reflected in their behaviour and content of their speech. This is  Takabbur  ( تکبّر ). This is the difference between  Kibr  and  Takabbur .  Kibr  means having a ‘belief ‘in one’s mind that they are superior to others, and  Takabbur  refers to the ‘behaviour’ resulting from that belief acting in a manner which is consistent with that belief of being superior to others, for example, talking to others in a way which belittles and humiliates them. This  Takabbur  stems from  Kibr  so it is important to get this belief treated.

 A PLEASANT RIDE The third thing which the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  has termed as being a sign of a Muslim being fortunate, is having a pleasant ride. It means a ride in which a person can ride with comfort.