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 6 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 6 books by Ibn Kathir and Imam al-Ghazali — 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.
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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"neighbor, do not covet your neighbor's house, do not desire your neighbor's wife, his male"
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.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
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"a neighbor with two rights, and a neighbor with three rights. The neighbor with three"
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"argue on the Day of Judgment will be two neighbors. And he said, If you harm your neighbor's dog,"
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"The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, Neighbors are of three types, a neighbor with one right,"
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"neighbor's houses, and he did not wish for his neighbors what he would not wish for himself."
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.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
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"O Allah, I seek refuge in you from an evil neighbor in the dwelling place, for the neighbor"
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"O Allah, I seek refuge in you from an evil neighbor in the dwelling place, for the neighbor"
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.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Others might say, You were my neighbor but were a poor neighbor, or you traded with me"
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.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"The reciters gathered with Ibn Abbas the governor there saying we have a neighbor who fasts and prays by night"
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.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"others, but means to prioritize what is significant, as in honoring your father before your neighbor."
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