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I was so busy yesterday I don’t know how I managed. It was probably my most challenging day for feeling dry and thirsty.
Apparently it was 28 degrees with a feel of 32. My neighbour put out her thermometer in the shade in her garden and it read 28. MashaAllah nice hot sunny weather.
I was surprised to find my neighbour who is an old lady (I don’t know how old she is but I think she could be older than my grandmother who is 80) busying herself in herd front garden tackling with her overgrown hedge and other types of bushes and plants.
She’s a very active lady MashaAllah (just as God willed), but I was surprised how she was coping in all the heat. When I asked her she told me that the councilhad given her a deadline for 19th July to have her garden sorted out and that they would be coming to inspect it in the morning. They also wanted to impose on her that some men would come and cut down her front and back gardens at a cost of £90 per hour which would take 2 days to complete meaning that she would have to pay around £1500 altogether!
I can’t believe how.unreasonable they are being. I think it’s just a way of trying to force her out of the home she has lived in since she was 9 months old with her parent’s and into an old people’s home. God forbid!
Why is it that when people get to a certain age they are pressured to be put away as if they are unwanted furniture? I understand that she is getting on a bit and she did have a fall a while ago which put her in hospital for a while but she is a human being with rights and all her mental faculties very well in tact.
Together we managed to sort out her front garden without completely stripping it of its character. Alhamdolillah (praise be to God). I hope that the council won’t complain about it but I know they will persist in trying to make life difficult for her till they get what they want.
Some beneficial reminders on the treatment of neighbors in Islam:
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “He who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him not harm his neighbour; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him show hospitality to his guest; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him speak good or remain silent”.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “O Muslim women! No one of you should consider insignificant (a gift) to give to her neighbour even if it is (a gift of) the trotters of a sheep”.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Commentary: This Hadith means that neighbours should present gifts to each other. The rich men and the poor according to their means. One who is poor should not think that what he is presenting to his neighbour is not worthy of giving. Even his humble gift, provided it is presented with sincerity, will find acceptance with Allah. According to the Noble Qur’an: “So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an ant (or a small ant) shall see it.” (99:7)
It is, however, better for a rich person to present a gift which goes well with his means. He should not give anything to his neighbour which is stale or which he does not like for himself because apart from insincerity, such a thing shows his contempt for the neighbour while gift is, in fact, a token of sincerity and brotherhood.
Ibn `Umar and `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Jibril kept recommending treating neighbours with kindness until I thought he would assign a share of inheritance”.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Yezarck 