Love Thy Neighbors!

`Abdullah ibn `Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) had a sheep slaughtered. He repeatedly asked his servant,

"Have you sent some meat [as a present] to our Jewish neighbor?" When he said that, he added, "I heard Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say, 'Gabriel has repeatedly recommended me to be good to my neighbor to the extent that I thought that he would include him [my neighbor] among my heirs' "

(Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi).

Salaams! Tonight we had dinner with our neighbors. They are a young very devout Christian couple with 2 roommates. Sundays are busy for us as we teach Sunday school and run errands. Today was extra busy and I had to cook the main dish so I was a little stressed but we made it! We had a wonderful time! I was actually a little shocked at how much fun we had. I have a lot in common with them all! Jacob (the husband) thinks I'm cool because I can quote lines from one if his favorite movies (Pulp Fiction) and we share a love of "boy" movies and a disdain for chick flicks. Elizabeth (the wife) and I share a love of makeup, Nigella Lawson and we are both a bit uptight! Zach really took to them all :).

So the moral of the story is take the time to get to know at least one of your neighbors; even if they don't look like you, pray like you or cook like you! Take a chance.

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