Love thy neighbour
it’s always pleasant to look at babies. don’t know if that applies to everyone. maybe everyone female. but eversince i had tasneem, 99% of the time when we’re out and about, someone will come up and say…awwww baby…. and then the questions flood in. baby boy? how old? how heavy?
well this morn, she was feeling very heavy. was walking down the stairs, with 8 kg of baby draped over my right shoulder and the last piece of refridgerated chocolate cake in my left hand. ok, so its not ideal, but that’s what happens when you don’t sleep at night - a heavy baby and a rushed breakfast.
i came down to the second floor, and a nice lady says … awwww baby…. i gave a crooked smile, tried to lift my eyelids a little higher than my pupils, and contnued to dawdle off before the questions hit my temples instead of my ears.
so this lady was a neighbour. i have never seen her before, never spoken to her. and the first conversation coming my way, i can’t even respond to.
why does this happen? are we really so caught up with our hectic lives that we don’t even notice the important neighbour? In a Prophetic Sunnah, the Messanger of Allah (pbuh) says that 3 important things in life are a good ride (during his time would be strong camels and horses. i won’t start complaining about proton, but a better car would be nice); a spacious home (won’t start there!), and a righteous neighbour.
there are 20 families sharing the same staircase that i use daily. 80 more families in the same block. 8 more blocks surrounding mine. and about another 20 apartments like mine in the same area. how did you fare in your math courses?
an easier questions… how many neighbours do i know by name? how many have i spoken to?
we leave the house at 7.30 - 8am everyday and return 12 hrs later. weekends are filled with cleaning up the place, groceries, necessities, visiting parents, friends, spending time with family… nope no time at all for the friendly neighbour.
i hope you are not one of me. i hope you know your neighbours well, as you never when you might need them or when they might need you.
as for me, i’m all geared up to belt: "baby girl! 4.5 months! nearly 8kg!" to the next neighbour i meet.
salaam all - say hello to the person sitting next to you.
January 18th, 2006 at 6:38 pm
“love our neighbour”, you said?
it isnt as true-to-life as we’ve always hoped for. the condition of demographic neighborliness in KL (non-applicable to all parts) is, unfortunately, seclusive, or should i say, SEGREGATIVE (?)…
isn’t it obvious to our very own bare observation that urban residents tend it shut themselves off from their neighbors by, for instance, TUTUP semua pintu, langsir, tingkap, when there are actually ppl inside? in contrast to what there is in kampung areas, it’s all open and we can just jest away at ppl passing by or standing by the window.. kat bandar nak buat macam tu ke? dont even count on it!
one of the most redundant excuses for such a thing is, “kalau tak tutup, nanti SALESMAN datang… perompak pun boleh masuk gitu ajee.. “. there you have it!
“say hello to the person next to you”? last time i did that, they spit back in my face with “tak reti bagi salam ke?!”
January 18th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
ah, i thought as much my blogs would provoke reading realists… just whether or not they would comment on them would be a whole different story. enter, zeri.
i know i know… i’ve stashed away my realist alter ego and have decided my idealistic self into the lime-light.
have to admit my doors are normally shut to salesmen, robbers, and the orange cat that once wee-d on ches’ shoes, and i know the glorious generation of Islam is way waaaayyy in the past, but you never know… you could re-live bits and pieces of it right (and thw world would be a better place (idealist speaking))? even realists must be able to believe in that??
well, love thy neighbour anyway. and i’m sure “hi” translates effectively into As-salamu’Alay-kum, depending on the recipent.