What does Islam say about the rights of neighbors?
The Prophet ﷺ said Jibrīl kept recommending the neighbor until he thought the neighbor would inherit. What the classical scholars drew from that about daily practice.
10 passages from 5 books in the library
Islam gives neighbors weighty, graded rights. Imam al-Ghazali, in his Iḥyāʾ chapter on Friendship and Brotherhood, relates the Prophet's teaching that neighbors are of three types — one with a single right, one with two rights, and one with three — and that a true neighbor wishes for others what he wishes for himself and never covets their home or household. So central is this duty that, as the tradition records, Jibrīl kept urging it until it seemed the neighbor might inherit. Al-Ghazali also warns that one of the two who will quarrel on the Day of Judgment will be neighbors who failed each other.
- A neighbor with one right
- A neighbor with two rights
- A neighbor with three rights
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 5 books by Imam al-Dhahabī, Imam al-Ghazali, Ibn al-Qayyim, and Ibn Kathir — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
13th–14th century · Damascus, Syria
Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ — the monumental biographical dictionary of Islamic scholarship, from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ through al-Dhahabī's own era. A working-scholar reference used for seven centuries.
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"of Allah, and he mentioned three, to associate partners with Allah while he created you, to kill your child out of fear that he may eat with you, and to commit adultery with your neighbor's wife. He also stated, Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor. Neighbors are of three types, a Muslim neighbor who has the rights of neighborliness, the rights of Islam, and the rights of kinship, a Muslim neighbor who has the rights of neighborliness and the rights of Islam, and a non-Muslim neighbor who has the rights of neighborliness."
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"and the rights of Islam, and a non-Muslim neighbor who has the rights of neighborliness. Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, had a Jewish neighbor, and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would say, Carry some of it to our Jewish neighbor. It has been narrated that a poor neighbor will cling to a rich neighbor on the Day of Resurrection and say, O Lord, ask this one why he denied me his kindness and closed his door to me."
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"is not a believer whose neighbor does not feel safe from his harm. It was said that it is easier for a man to commit adultery with ten women than to commit adultery with his neighbor's wife, and it is easier for a man to steal from ten houses than to steal from his neighbor's house. In the Sunan of Abu Dawud, it is reported from Abu Huraira that a man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, complaining about his neighbor."
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"Eventually, the neighbor approached the man and said, O brother, return to your home, for you will never see what you dislike. This teaches us the importance of bearing the harm of one's neighbor, even if the neighbor is a non-Muslim. It is narrated about Sahal ibn Abdullah al-Tustari, may Allah have mercy on him, that he had a non-Muslim neighbor whose house leaked into Sahal's yard."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
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"A Muslim neighbor deserves what every Muslim deserves and more. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Neighbors are of three types: A neighbor with one right, a neighbor with two rights, and a neighbor with three rights. The neighbor with three rights is the Muslim relative, having the right of kin, Islam, and neighborhood."
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"The Prophet, peace be upon him, also emphasized: "Gabriel continued to advise me about the neighbor until I thought he would make him an heir." He said: "Let whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day honor his neighbor." And: "No servant truly believes until his neighbor is safe from his harm." He also stated: "The first to argue on the Day of Judgment will be two neighbors." And he said: "If you harm your neighbor's dog, you have harmed him.""
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"It is important to understand that a neighbor's right is not only to refrain from causing harm but also to endure harm if necessary. Just avoiding harm is not sufficient to fulfill a neighbor's rights, which also include kindness and offering good. On the Day of Judgment, a poor neighbor will cling to his wealthy neighbor, asking, "My Lord, ask this person why he denied me his kindness and kept his door closed to me.""
14th century · Damascus, Syria
Madārij al-Sālikīn — the classical map of the spiritual journey — and a vast body of work on the soul, love, the traps of the ego, and the nature of the heart.
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"adultery with an unmarried woman. If her husband is also his neighbor, added to this is the abuse of neighborly relations and highest forms of harm to the neighbor, which are among the gravest offenses. It is confirmed from the prophet, peace be upon him, that he said, he will not enter paradise whose neighbor is not safe from his mischief. There is no greater mischief than committing adultery with his wife, and adultery with a hundred unmarried women is lighter in God's sight than adultery with the neighbor's wife. If the neighbor is also a brother or a close relative, then severance of ties of kinship"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
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"my neighbor and betray my friend? By Allah, I will not do so as long as I live. And from his poetry also, it does not harm a neighbor whom I dwell beside that there is no curtain at his door. I lower my gaze when my neighbor's woman appears until my neighbor's veil covers her. And from the poetry of Hatim again, and it is not my character to insult my cousin, nor will I betray anyone who seeks my protection. I heard a word from an envious person without cause and said, come, save me. They criticized her to me, yet she did not criticize me, and my forehead has never sweated for her. One with two faces meets me freely,"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
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"Lord your God gives you. Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness against your neighbor, do not covet your neighbor's house, do not desire your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor. Its meaning is a prohibition against envy."
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