DAILYREFLECTION
We send down of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy for the believers.
Imam Abu Hanifa didn't have a neighbor who was a pious worshipper.
His neighbor was a drunk.
In Kufa, where alcohol had spread among some residents, this young man was the worst kind of neighbor. Every single night, he would come home intoxicated—loud, rowdy, screaming into the darkness. If music players existed back then, he would've been the guy blasting it at 3 AM.
But it wasn't just the noise. This young man borrowed money from everyone and never paid anyone back. People tried to help him, gave him advice, pointed him toward opportunities, but he kept failing.
He was stuck in a vicious cycle, and everyone had given up on him.
Night after night, Imam Abu Hanifa would hear this young man stumbling home, wailing incoherent poetry, screaming at himself. But there was one phrase he repeated over and over:
"They have abandoned me. They left me. No one cares about me. No one loves me!" Then, in moments of drunken grandiosity, he'd praise himself: "What a young man they've abandoned! I could have been someone great! They could have used me!"
While this young man was screaming, Imam Abu Hanifa was standing in night prayer.
Abu Hanifa didn't confront him. He didn't complain. He didn't call the authorities. He simply prayed for this broken soul and waited.
Then one night, the screaming stopped.
Abu Hanifa thought maybe his neighbor had drunk himself to sleep. But when the second night passed in silence, the Imam grew troubled.
He went out in the middle of the night and knocked on the door. No answer.
The next morning, Abu Hanifa didn't show up for his classes. Witnesses said he was visibly distressed. He went straight to Abu Ja'far, the governor, and asked urgently:"Where is he? Where is my neighbor? What happened to him?"
Abu Ja'far looked into it: "He's been imprisoned for his debts."
"Which prison?" Abu Hanifa demanded. "I want him released. How much does he owe?"
The answer? 885,000 dirhams.
Not a small sum. But without hesitation, Imam Abu Hanifa went home, gathered his wealth, and paid every single dirham.
He spent the entire day waiting and securing the young man's release.
When the young man walked free and saw Imam Abu Hanifa, he was stunned.
"Why?" he asked. "Why would you even care for someone like me?"
Abu Hanifa smiled and said:"Did we forget about you? Did we abandon you?"
That young man, the drunk, the debtor, the one society had written off became one of those who always prayed in the first row.
He became a student of Imam Abu Hanifa and eventually a teacher himself.
Reflect On This
What difficult person in your life might be one act of mercy away from transformation?
Share your reflections in the poll at the end of the email.
WATERMELONWATCH
Displaced families brace against rain and wind as community volunteers deliver emergency supplies.
Israeli strikes hit central Gaza and local health authorities reported new deaths, underscoring how fragile the current ceasefire remains. Even so, families and volunteer responders keep organizing around shelters and basic care as they try to hold daily life together.
Heavy rains and strong winds have damaged makeshift shelters and worsened exposure risks for displaced people across Gaza. Aid groups are still pushing out emergency shelter items and support where access allows, with community networks helping identify the most vulnerable first.
Technocratic committee plans are being discussed for a transitional Gaza administration tied to a wider reconstruction vision, though major political and security hurdles remain. The fact that Palestinian experts and civil engineers are publicly mapping rebuilding timelines is a small but real signal of future focused planning amid the ruins.
QURANCORNER
إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ
“Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.”
Inna shāni’aka huwa al-abtar
"Shāni’ak": The one who hates you, your enemy.
"Al-abtar": Literally “cut off” – meaning cut off from lineage, blessings, and remembrance.
This was a response to the mockery of Quraysh who said the Prophet ﷺ was “abtar” (cut off) when his sons passed away.
Those who oppose the truth may appear powerful now, but they will be forgotten, while the Prophet ﷺ is remembered eternally.