CHAPTER TWO: NEIGHBOURS – PART 1
The conduct of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with his neighbors
Introduction:
The life of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is filled with examples of the good treatment of neighbors, and the order to take care of one’s neighbor, protect his honor, to cover his faults, to not look at his womenfolk and to stay away from everything that bothers him. Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, urged kind and considerate treatment towards neighbors and emphasized that they deserve respect and good treatment regardless of their religion, race or color. ‘Aa’ishah (the wife of the Prophet) reported that angel Gabriel, emphasized the importance of good treatment of neighbors, to the extent that the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, thought they would be granted inheritance rights.
The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was the best of neighbors in both his actions and statements. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, followed the order of Allah when He placed the right of the neighbor after His own rights, when He Said (what means): «Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful.» [Quran: 4:36]
As-Si’di (a scholar) said:
“The words: “The neighbor who is near of kin” mean that this person (the neighbor who is near of kin) has two rights over you: the right of a neighbor and the right of a relative. One must treat this person well according to what is customary in that society.
The words: “The neighbor who is a stranger” mean that he is not a relative. A neighbor’s right increases the closer his home is to yours. One must treat him well by giving him gifts, charity, invitations, good words and actions, and not harm him in any way.” (Tafseer As-Si’di (177/1).)
Ibn Hajar (a scholar) said: “From the neighbors of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in Madinah were: Sa’d ibn ‘Ubaadah, ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr ibn Haraam (the father of Jaabir), Abu Ayoob Al-Ansari, and As’ad ibn Zuraarah.
Ibn Sa’d (a scholar) narrated that Umm Salamah (the wife of the Prophet) said: “The Ansaar used to often give gifts to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Sa’d ibn ‘Ubaadah, Sa’d ibn Mu’adh, ‘Umaarah ibn Hazm, and Abu Ayoob, because they were close neighbors of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” (Reported by Ibn Sa’d in his book Tabaqat (163/8) and Fat-h Al-Baari (206/5).)
The tribe of Bani An-Najjaar were very proud of this honor of being his neighbors, they mentioned it in their poetry and their young girls would sing about it.
Anas ibn Maalik (a Companion) narrated that the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, passed by a place in Madinah, and some young girls were singing, “We are girls from Bani An-Najjaar, what a great neighbor is Muhammad!” The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Allah knows that I love you.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah (1899).)
Aa’ishah praised those neighbors, saying: “The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had some neighbors from the Ansaar, truly good neighbors, they had some borrowed animals and they would give the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, from their milk, so he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would give it to us to drink.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (2567) and Muslim (2972).)
Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also had some neighbors that were from the Muhaajireen, such as Abu Bakr, ‘Ali, ‘Abbas, and others.
In Makkah his neighbors were the very opposite, for they used to harm him and curse him. Ibn Is-Haaq (a scholar) narrated that the people who used to harm him, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in Makkah were Abu Lahab, Al-Hakam ibn Abu Al-’Aas ibn Umayyah, ‘Uqbah ibn Abu Mu’ayt, ‘Adiyy ibn Hamraa’, Ibn Al-Asdaa’ Al-Huthali, and they were his neighbors. None of them were saved except for Al-Hakam ibn Al-’Aas.
Ibn Hishaam (a scholar) said: “Once, one of them threw the placenta of a sheep on the back of the Prophet while he was praying, so the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would go to his door and say: “O children of ‘Abd Manaaf, what kind of neighborliness is this?”” (Tahtheeb Seerat Ibn Hisham (121/1).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, encouraged respecting the neighbor and taking care of his rights:
Aa’ishah narrated that the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “[angel] Gabriel continued to advise me to take good care of neighbors, until I thought he would make them to be one of the inheritors.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (6014) and Muslim (2624).)
A person from the Ansaar said: “I came from my home looking for the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, so I came to him and he was standing, and another man was facing him, and I thought he needed something from the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, continued standing until I felt sorry for him. When the man left, I told the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “O Messenger of Allah, that man caused you to stand until I felt sorry for you.” He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: “You really saw him?” I said: “Yes.” He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Do you know who he was?” I said: “No.” The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: “That was [angel] Gabriel, he continued to advise me to take good care of neighbors, until I thought he would make them to be one of the inheritors.” (Reported by Ahmad (19459).)
Meaning he thought that Allah would order the neighbors to inherit from one another.
Even in the Farewell Hajj (pilgrimage), the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not forget to advise his Companions to take good care of their neighbors. Abu Umamah (a Companion) narrated: “I heard the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, while he was on his camel in the Farewell Hajj saying: “I instruct you to take good care of your neighbor,” until he said it many times, and I thought that he would make him inherit.” (Reported by At-Tabarani (118/7) in his book Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer.)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, made honoring the neighbor one of the signs of faith:
Abu Shurayh Al-’Adawi (a Companion) narrated: “My ears heard, and my eyes saw when the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should honor his neighbor.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (6019) and Muslim (48). The narration in Muslim reads: “Should be kind to his neighbor”.)
Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali (a scholar) said: “’Ata’ Al-Khurasani the narrator of this narration was asked about the right of the neighbor over his neighbor. He replied: “If he seeks your help, help him. If he asks to borrow money, loan it. If he becomes poor then give him. If he becomes sick then visit him. If something good happens, congratulate him. If calamity strikes, then console him. If he dies, then attend his funeral.” (Jaami’ Al-’Uloom Wal-Hikam (350/1).)
Ibn Hajar (a scholar) said: “Protecting the rights of the neighbor is from the perfection of faith, and even the people before Islam used to pay attention to it. It is achieved by being good to one’s neighbor by whatever means possible, such as giving gifts, greeting them, smiling at them, asking about them, helping them when they need assistance, and keeping all kinds of harm from him.” (Fat-h Al-Baari (442/10).)
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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