Confident Muslim
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Getting to Know Your Neighbor - Ummesalmah Abdulbaseer #ConfidentMuslim
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Once again, salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim, alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, wa salatu wa salamu ala rasulihi al-kareem, wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salamu tasliman kathira. Tonight we have a special session, and the focus is not one of our accomplished activists or speakers or scholars, but instead dreamers, people that want to achieve great things and that want to dig into our tradition to offer solutions for not just our ummah, but for the world as a whole as our ummah has always done. When we look at Muhammad Ali, may Allah have mercy on him, what made him so special? His courage, his generosity, the fearlessness that he had of anyone that tried to put him down, the refusal to be told that he couldn't do something. But more than anything else, what makes Muhammad Ali so special for all of us is that Muhammad Ali was not just a great person who happened to be Muslim. He was a person who constantly referenced his conviction as a reason for his contribution. Every opportunity he had, he mentioned Allah and he mentioned Islam as the reasons for why he was who he was. I was watching a video the other day of Muhammad Ali freeing the captives from Iraq when the war started, some of the American captives. And as those captives were coming out after he went out there and he freed them, one of them went up to him and said, I don't know how to thank you. What should I do? What can I do to thank you? And he could barely even say the words. He was so tired and he was advanced in his illness. But he looked up and he said, thank Allah, don't thank me. Thank Allah, don't thank me. This was a man who attributed all of his greatness to Allah.
Our project, Confident Muslim, we hope will be a special program that will launch globally, inshallah. And alhamdulillah, we launch here tonight in Chicago. What we're trying to do is we're trying to find young people that want to aspire to something great, not just happening to be Muslim, but because they are Muslim, finding things in their tradition that inspire them to offer present day strategies and solutions and ideas for us, finding deep conviction in the sunnah of the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam, and the people that were inspired by the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam, that offered so many contributions that our civilization till today is in debt for. So inshallah, dear brothers and sisters, we're going to have three presenters today. They're young Muslims that have aspired for something great. They are young Muslims that believe that they have something to share with us all. And inshallah, we hope that tonight will be a launching point for them and for this blessed program. So I'm going to introduce our first participant, inshallah. Umm Salama Basir is from the University of Illinois here in Chicago, and she'll begin our program tonight, inshallah. Please be attentive. Don't distract our participants and make dua for them. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. A few weeks ago, my parents went to City Hall. They joined a group of 40 of our neighbors. Many of these people had never met before, but they had gathered for one goal. That goal was to ensure that Bucky's convenience store and its accompanying gas station did not become our neighbor too. They worked together. They passed out flyers. They delivered passionate speeches just for that goal, and along the way, they developed relationships.
My parents especially were excited because they had the opportunity to meet our neighbors after a long time. And to me, that was odd, because our neighbors are the individuals that live closest to us, yet we often see them the least. And that's not just the case with my parents, often with all of Americans today. I want you to take a moment. Think to yourselves. Do you consider yourself to be a good neighbor? Do you even know your neighbors' names? All of them? Some of them? Even one of them? Do you know anything more? There was a time in America when your neighbors were your closest friends. Individuals who you invited over for dinner, for book club. But unfortunately today, that relationship has grown cold, diminished, even become non-extinct. And there's a reason for that. It's because it's reflecting how we are in society. Today, 30% of Americans have never even met their neighbors. I asked you how many of you knew your neighbors' names. If you knew all of them, or even most of them, more power to you, because only 19% of Americans can say the same. A whopping 60% of Americans do not know their neighbors' names or only know a few of them. What does that tell us about our society? What does that tell us about community engagement? And how the fact that we have become accustomed to our communities, our religiously and ethnically based communities, and we haven't ventured out. We haven't taken the opportunity to meet our neighbors, greet them, and create relationships with them.
Our neighbors are now the individuals who complain when our parties get too loud or when our guests start parking in their driveways. Like I said, a cold relationship. I'm sure you guys have all heard the famous tagline, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. There it is again, the word neighbor. This time, the construct is different. It's positive, something that implies unity, togetherness. Nothing like we see it today. With the cold relationships that we have now, it's different. Imagine if that's how it was today, that you were always with your neighbors together, happy, and there was no bad blood between you guys. Imagine if your neighbors were the ones that you could talk to, and especially in this recent political climate, individuals that understood what we were going through. That would be great. And that's how it was during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Man, if I could explain to you what it meant to be a neighbor then. The Prophet, peace be upon him, changed the way that we saw relationships between our neighbors. Instead of it just being every clan for themselves as it was with the Quraish, it meant something. It had value. Being someone's neighbor meant honoring them, trusting them. It meant upholding dignity, integrity, loyalty. In the Quran, Allah says in Surah Nisa, Do good unto parents, unto kinsfolk, unto orphans, unto those in need, and unto neighbors who are near, and neighbors who are strangers. The Prophet, peace be upon him, himself was the best example of a neighbor. He served his people. He served them with kindness, and he ensured that all their needs were met.
Imagine if the Prophet, peace be upon him, was your neighbor. How great would that have been? Take the example of those that traveled from Mecca to Medina, the Muhajirun. They went from Mecca, and they became neighbors with the Ansar. I'm sure it wasn't easy, but they developed relationships, companionship, and they learned to get along with everyone. The unity that came about then is something that is unparalleled today. By becoming neighbors with them, serving them, and developing good relationships, they helped introduce a unity in the Ummah. And imagine how happy that made the Prophet, peace be upon him. They created a foundation of brotherhood and sisterhood in Islam, and that highlights the beauty of our religion. Imagine how great it would be if that's how it was today, if the 300 million Americans decided to adopt the ways that we had learned in Islam, to treat neighbors well, to serve your neighbors. Brothers and sisters, I have to say this, we've failed in our responsibilities to our neighbors. It's not enough to just know your neighbor's name. It's not enough to make small talk. It's more than that. Being a neighbor means something in our religion, and it's time that we take initiative and do it right. I believe that neighbors have a duty, and that's what we've learned in our religion. Recently, a website came out called Nextdoor, and it was to facilitate social interactions between neighbors. Social interactions aren't even enough, and that's why I believe that there are three steps that we must take in order to facilitate a better interaction with our neighbors, to cultivate a relationship with them. There was supposed to be a slideshow. There we go.
So I believe that there are three steps, collaboration, organization, and unity. Each of them is important in cultivating a relationship with your neighbors. We must work with your neighbors, collaborate, find ideas and projects that your community needs. What are some issues that are found in the community? Organize, work with the community to see what the resolutions are, how can they be supported, and finally, unite. Be unified in your community. Work with your neighbors. Look past any differences that you may have, because that's what the Prophet, peace be upon him, did. Once we do those things and once we focus, we can increase community engagement and negate any stereotypes that we had about those around us. One of the best ways that we can do this is by something called National Muslim Neighbors Day. It's simple, but it's effective. I'm sure you guys have taken part in service projects before, and this is just like that. One day, just to help your neighbors. As Muslims, this is our duty. It's our responsibility. Go out to your neighbors, find out what it is that they need, and help them. Find out what their issues are. Perhaps they're having trouble making ends meet. Maybe they're having trouble babysitting, taking care of their kids because of their work. You can go out and be the solution. As Muslims, again, I can't stress enough that this is our duty. And imagine how much happier it would be as a society, knowing that you're helping your neighbors. The Prophet, peace be upon him, would have encouraged things like this, and it's things like this that we've forgotten to do. We see our neighbors as individuals that just live next door, but they're more than that. They should be our friends, people that we value in our life. And this is just the beginning. Having National Muslim Neighbors Day is just the first step in understanding what it means to be a neighbor. The key, I believe, is collaborating, organizing, uniting,
and uniting neighbors together. I call it the Count Initiative because doing actions that count is what matters. As Muslims, you can do anything for your neighbors and serve them and show them that you're there for them. Imagine how much of a difference that would make in our world, in our country. You know, today, Muslims aren't seen in the best light, but all it takes is a step from you to show that you care, and that you will serve the community. That's what we're here for. And I believe that as long as you're doing actions that count, one day in the future you will know much, much more than just your neighbor's name. Thank you. Jazakallah khairan. Applause
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