Neighbours’ Rights According to the Sunnah pdf

Neighbors’ Rights According to the Sunnah and the Example of the Salaf By ‘Ali Hasan’Abd al-Hamid Translated by: Hoda Khattab

«Neighbours enjoy rights over and above those enjoyed by brothers in Islam. The neighbour is entitled to the same rights as every Muslim, but he is also entitled to more besides, by virtue of his being a neigh­ bour»1.

«The rights of neighbors do not entail only refraining from disturbing them. We should also put up with their disturbance; be kind to them; be the ones to initiate good deeds; be the first to greet a neighbor; not prolong disputes; visit them when they are ill; console

them at times of sorrow and congratulate them at times of joy; forgive their mistakes; not stare into their house;

not upset them by leaning wood against their wall; not pour away water in their gutter, not throw the dirt into their courtyard; not stare at whatever they carry into their house;

conceal whatever of their private matters they may inadvertently reveal; not eaves­ drop on their conversations; not look at their womenfolk; take care of their fan1ily’s needs when they are absent»², «not disturb their servants; be kind to their children, and guide them in religious or worldly matters of which they have little knowledge>?.

«When the Muslims were imbued with the spirit of Iman (faith) and living in a truly Islamic environment, the rights of others were well-known and taken care of. The Muslims used to compete in doing good and would hasten to carry out their duties with re­gard to all the rights which various persons enjoyed.

«But modern civilization, which is founded on materialism, does not care for good principles and beha­viour. It has made man into a machine, going along

in life’s orbit deaf and without feelings, playing the role laid down for him devoid of noble feelings or higher human principles.

«No-one can escape from his monstrosity except for those whose souls are steeped in religious principles and whose hearts are illuminated with the knowledge of Allah, or those who live on the margins of society, far from the centers of materialistic civilizations, such as farmers, shepherds, and inhabitants of desert areas.

«Among the noble principles which have been de­ stroyed virtually world-wide by materialistic civiliza­ tion are the rights which people have over one another»⁴•

Among the most important of these rights are those which we have referred to above, namely the rights of neighbors.

As «respect for neighbours was so important both during the Jahiliyyah [Time of Ignorance before Is- lam] and when Islam came, [it follows that this is the matter of] common sense and decency, as well as being required by religion»⁵•

The Sunnah of the Prophet (SAAS) provides a clear explanation of these rights so that many scholars and Muhaddithin [scholars of Hadith] included a section of Neighbours’ Rights in their chapters on Manners (al-Adabf or Kindness and Kinship (al-Birr wa’l-Silah)1. This matter became regarded as a «Branch of Faith»8, and some scholars devoted entire books to the topic, such as Imam Abu Na’im al-lsbahani (d. 430 AH)9, Imam al-Humaydi ( d 219 AH)10, Imam al­ Dhahabi (d. 748 AH)11 and others.

Seeing that such was the case, Mr. Nizam Sakkijha­ the proprietor of al-Maktabah al-Islamiyyah, may Al­ lah grant him success -asked me to prepare a book compiling the sound Ahadith and reports [from the Safa[, i. e. the first three-generation of Islam] dealing with the topic in a straightforward and down-to-earth manner. I liked the idea and set about fulfilling this re­ quest, which is how this short book came about.