Neighbours
55. The recommendation to be kind to neighbours
101. ‘A’isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Jibril, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, kept on recommending that I treat neighbours well until I
thought that he would order me to treat them as my heirs.”
102. Abu Shurayh al-Khuza’i reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, “Anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day should be good to his neighbours. Anyone who
believes in Allah and the Last Day should be generous to his guest. Anyone who believes in Allah and
the Last Day should say what is good or be silent.”
56. The neighbour’s due
103. Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, asked his Companions about fornication and they said, “It is unlawful. Allah and His
Messenger have made it unlawful.” He said, “It is less serious for a man to fornicate with ten women
for him to fornicate with his neighbour’s wife.” Then he asked them about stealing. They replied,
“It is unlawful. Allah and His Messenger have made it unlawful.” He said, “It is less serious for a man
o steal from ten houses than it is for him to steal from his neighbour’s house.”
57. Begin with the neighbour
104. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
“Jibril kept on recommen
106. Same as 101
58. You give to the neighbour whose door is the nearest to you
107. ‘A’isha said, “I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have two neighbours. To whom should I give my
gifts?’ He replied, ‘To the one whose door is nearer to you.'”
108. same as 108 with a different isnad.
59. The nearest and then next nearest neighbour
109. Al-Hasan was asked about the neighbour and said, “The term ‘neighbour’ includes the forty
houses in front a person, the forty houses behind him, the forty houses on his right and the forty
houses on his left.”
110. Abu Hurayra said, “Do not begin with your more distant neighbours before the closer ones.
Rather begin with your nearest neighbours before the most distant ones.”
60. The person who shuts his door against his neighbour
111. Ibn ‘Umar said, “There was a time when no one was more entitled to a person’s money than his
Muslim brother. Now people love their dirhams and dinars more than their Muslim brother. I heard
the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘How many a neighbour will be brought
together with his neighbour on the Day of Rising! He will say, “Lord, this man closed his door to me
and refused to show me common kindness!”‘”
61. A person should not eat his fill without seeing to his neighbour
112. Ibn ‘Abbas told Ibn az-Zubayr, “I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
say, ‘A man is not a believer who fills his stomach while his neighbour is hungry.'”
62. When there is a lot of stew, it is divided between the neighbours
113. It is reported that Abu Dharr said, “My dear friend, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
enjoined three things on me: ‘Hear and obey, even if the ruler is a slave with his limbs amputated.
When you cook a stew, put a lot of water in it and then go and see the people of a neighbouring house
and give them a reasonable amount of it. Pray the prayers at their proper prayers. Then if you find that
the imam has already prayed, you have guarded your prayer (by already having performed it). If not, it
is a supererogatory prayer (since you have done it again).”
114. Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Abu
Dharr! If you cook some stew, make a lot of it and fulfil your duty to your neighbours (or divide it
among your neighbours).”
63. The best neighbour
115. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said, “The best of companions in the sight of Allah Almighty is the best of them towards his companion,
and the best of neighbours in the sight of Allah is the best of them towards his neighbour.”
64. The righteous neighbour
116. Nafi’ ibn ‘Abdu’l-Harith reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
“Part of the happiness of the Muslim man includes a spacious dwelling, righteous neighbour and a
good mount”
65. The bad neighbour
117. Abu Hurayra said, “Part of the supplication of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, was, “Oh Allah, I seek refuge with you from an evil neighbour in the Eternal World. A neighbour in this world can be changed.
118. Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
“The Final Hour will not come until a man kills his neighbour, his brother and his father.”
66. A person should not injure his neighbour
119. Abu Hurayra said, “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked,
‘Messenger of Allah! A certain woman prays in the night, fasts in the day, acts and gives sadaqa, but
injures her neighbours with her tongue.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, ‘There is no good in her. She is one of the people of the Fire.’ They said, ‘Another woman
prays the prescribed prayers and gives bits of curd as sadaqa and does not injure anyone.’ The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘She is one of the people of the
Garden.'”
120. ‘Umara ibn Ghurab reported that an aunt of his told him that she asked ‘A’isha, Umm alMu’minin, “If a woman’s husband desires her and she refuses to give herself to him either because she
is angry or not eager, is there anything wrong in that?” “Yes,” she replied. “Part of his right over you
is that if he desires you when you are on a saddle, you must not refuse him.” She said, “I also asked
her, ‘If one of us is menstruating and she and her husband only have a single cover, what should she
do?’ She replied, ‘She should wrap her wrapper around her and sleep with him. He can have what is
above it. I will tell you what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did on one of his
nights with me. I had cooked some barley and made loaf for him. He came in, stopped at the door, and
then went into the mosque. When he wanted to sleep, he closed the door, tied up the waterskin, turned
the cup over and put out the light. I waited for him and he ate the loaf. He did not go until I fell asleep.
Later he felt the cold and came and got me up. “Warm me! Warm me!” he said. I said, “I am
menstruating.” He said, “Then uncover your thighs,” so I uncovered my thighs and he put his cheek
and head on my thighs until he was warm. Then a pet sheep belonging to our neighbour came in. I
went and took the load away. I disturbed the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and
he woke up, so I chased the sheep to the door. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, “Take what you got of your loaf and do not injure your neighbour’s sheep.”‘”
121. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, “A person whose neighbours are not safe from his evil will not enter the Garden.”
67. A woman should not disdain anything which her female neighbour gives her,
even if it is only the hooves of a sheep
122. ‘Amr ibn Mu’adh al-Ashhali reported that his grandmother said, “The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Believing women! Do not let any of you women disdain
her female neighbour’s gift, even if it is only a burnt sheep’s hoof.'”
123. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, “Muslim women! Muslim women! A woman should not disdain her female neighbour’s gift,
even if it is only a sheep’s hoof.”
68. The neighbour’s complaint
124. Abu Hurayra said, “A man said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have a neighbour who does me harm.’ He
said, ‘Go and take your things out into the road.’ He took his things out into the road. People gathered
around him and asked, ‘What’s the matter?’ He replied, ‘A neighbour of mine injures me and I
mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He told me, “Take
your things out into the road.”‘ They began to say, ‘O Allah, curse him! O Allah, disgrace him!’ When
the man heard that, he came out to him and said, ‘Go back to your home. By Allah, I will not harm
you.'”
125. Abu Juhayfa said, “A man complained to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
about his neighbour. The Prophet said, ‘Take your bags and put them in the road and whoever passes
them will curse him.’ Everyone who passed him began to curse that neighbour. Then he went to the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, ‘How many people I met!’ He said, ‘The
curse of Allah is on top of their curse!’ Then he told the one who had complained, ‘You have enough,’
or words to that effect.”
. Jabir said, “A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to complain to
him about the enmity of his neighbour. While he was sitting between the Corner and the Maqam, the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, approached with a man who was wearing a white
garment. They went to the Maqam where they were praying for the dead. He went up to the Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, ‘May my mother and my father be your ransom,
Messenger of Allah! Who is this man I see with you wearing the white garment?’ ‘You saw him?’ he
asked. ‘Yes,’ the man replied. He said, ‘Then you have seen much good. That was Jibril, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, the Messenger of my Lord. He kept on recommending that I treat my
neighbours well until I thought that he would order me to make them my heirs.'”
69. Someone who harms his neighbour until he forces him to leave
127. Thawban said, “When two men cut each other off for more than three days and one of them dies,
then they both die while relations between them are severed and both of them are destroyed. There is
no man who wrongs his neighbour to the extent that he forces him until he
70. A Jewish neighbour
128. Mujahid said, “I was with ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr while his slave was skinning a sheep. He said,
‘Boy! When you finish, start with the Jewish neighbour.’ A man there exclaimed, ‘Jewish? May Allah
correct you!’ He replied, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
recommend that we treat our neighbours well until we feared (or we thought) that he would order us to
make them our heirs.'”
VII. Generosity and Orphans
Al-Adab al-Mufrad By Imam Al-Bukhari to be contiued