The Etiquettes OF Being A Good Neighbor
1) Honoring One’s Neighbor
2) The Rights Of The Next-Door Neighbor
3) It Is Forbidden To Harm One’s Neighbor In Any Way, Shape, Or Form

The Manners Associated With Being A Good Neighbor

Allah (Swt) said: “Worship Allah and join none with Him in worship, and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masaakeen (the poor), the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger…” (Qur’an 4:36)

And the Prophet (Pbuh) said, “Jibreel (A.S) continued to advise me [to be good to my] neighbor, until I thought that he was going to make him an inheritor (i.e., of a person’s estate).”

The Etiquettes OF Being A Good Neighbor

1) Honoring One’s Neighbor

Allah (Swt) said: “The neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger…”

A neighbor who is also one’s relative has two rights: the right of relation and the right of good neighborliness. Meanwhile, the neighbor who is not a relative has one right: the right of good neighborliness. Although neighbors differ in regards to the degree of rights they have, all of them should be honored and treated well. ‘Aaisha (R.A) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) said, “Jibreel (A.S) continued to advise me [to be good to my] neighbor, until I thought that he was going to make him an inheritor (i.e., of a person’s estate). ” [Muslim, 2624]

Honoring one’s neighbor involves various displays of kindness and friendliness – such as giving gifts, extending greetings of peace, meeting one’s neighbor with a smiling countenance, making sure one’s neighbor is doing well, helping him when he needs help, and so on; it also involves refraining from harming him in any way. ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr (R.A) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) said, “The best of companions with Allah (i.e., in Allah’s judgment) is he who is best to his companion, and the best of neighbors with Allah is he who is best to his neighbor. ” [At-Tirmidhee, 1944]

Related Issue: The term neighbor applies to both a Muslim and a disbeliever; to a pious worshiper and an evil doer; to a person who is far away from his native land and a person who has always been a dweller in the same city; to a friend and an enemy; to a kindly neighbor and one who causes others harm; to a relative and a non-relative; and to one whose house is near as well as one whose house is slightly further away. Neighbors vary in degree, some having more rights than others. In the pairings mentioned above, a neighbor who has the most qualities from the first of every pair deserves to be honored most. And the neighbor who has the most qualities of the second of every pair least deserves to be honored (as far as neighbors go). And other neighbors vary according to the combination of qualities they possess.

2) The Rights Of The Next-Door Neighbor

One’s next-door neighbor has more rights than a neighbor who lives further off, such as a person who lives two houses down or on the next floor of an apartment building (as opposed to one who lives on the same floor). This ruling is taken from a Hadeeth related by ‘Aaisha (R.A) in which she (R.A)  asked the Messenger of Allah, “0 Messenger of Allah, I indeed have two female neighbors; to which of them should I give a gift?” He (Pbuh) said, “To the one whose door is closest to you (or to your door).” [Ahmad, 24895]

It is said that the neighbor who lives closer has more rights because, in time of need, he is quicker to lend a helping hand. And it is almost instinctive among people to establish closer ties to a neighbor who lives next-door than to a neighbor who lives, for instance, down the street.

One of the rights a person has over his neighbor is that his neighbor should not prevent him from driving wood into the wall they share, in order to build a room or something similar. Abu Hurairah (R.A) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) said, “Let no one from you prevent his neighbor from thrusting wood into his wall.”

However, one needs to keep the following conditions in mind:

1) The new construction should in no way damage the wall.

2) A neighbor should use the wall only if he needs to.

3) A neighbor has no other option; if he is to build a new room, he must use his neighbor’s wall.

If one or more of these conditions is not fulfilled, then it is not permissible for a person to use his neighbor’s wall for construction purposes. The Prophet (Pbuh) forbade Muslims from harming others when he (Pbuh) said, “No harm and no reciprocating of harm (the translation, ‘no reciprocating of harm,’ takes into account only one of the interpretations of this Hadeeth).” [Ibn Maajah, 2340]

3) It Is Forbidden To Harm One’s Neighbor In Any Way, Shape, Or Form

There are many ways in which a person can harm his neighbor; but in no way is it permissible for him to do so. The importance of not harming one’s neighbor is indicated in the following Hadeeth, for in it, the Prophet (Pbuh) coupled Eemaan (faith, belief) in Allah and the Last Day with not harming one’s neighbor. Abu Hurairah (R.A) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) said, “If one believes in Allah and the Last Day, then let him not harm his neighbor. ” [Ahmad, 7571]

And in another Hadeeth, Abu Shuraih (R.A) reported that the Prophet (Pbuh) said, “By Allah, he does not believe; by Allah, he does not believe; by Allah, he does not believe.”

It was said, “Who, 0 Messenger of Allah?” He (Pbuh) said, “He whose neighbor is not safe from his Bawaaiq (his rancor, his evil, his wrongdoing, etc.).” [Bukhaaree, 6016]

Abu Hurairah (R.A) related the Hadeeth with this wording: “He will not enter Paradise whose neighbor is not safe from his Bawaaiq (his rancor, his evil, his wrongdoing, etc.).”[Ahmad, 8638]

The Prophet (Pbuh) thrice negated the Eemaan (faith, belief) of a person whose neighbor is not safe from his evil; this does not mean that he is completely bereft of Eemaan; rather, it means that, because of his wrongdoing, his Eemaan is deficient and not complete.

In Abu Hurairah’s narration, the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) said that a person will not enter Paradise if his neighbor is not safe from his Bawaaiq. This means, and Allah knows best, that he will not enter it at first, but it does not necessarily mean that he will not enter it at all. Taking various narrations, including this one, into account, one will find that a person who is an Islamic Monotheist will enter Paradise, even if he is first punished. The Hadeeth may also mean that it is from Allah’s Sunnah that a person will die as a disbeliever if his neighbor is not safe from his Bawaaiq (his evil, his rancor, his wrongdoing, etc.).

A person can harm his neighbor in varying degrees, the greatest degree being harm that involves evil with a neighbor’s wife. ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood (R.A) said, “I asked the Prophet (Pbuh) ‘Which sin is greatest with Allah?’ He (Pbuh) said, “For you to take a partner alongside Allah (Swt) in worship, when “He (Allah) [is the One Who] created you.”

I said, ‘Verily, that is ‘ great [sin] indeed.’ I said, ‘Then which [deed]?’ He (Pbuh) said, “For you to kill your child, fearing that he would [otherwise] eat with you (i.e., from your food).’

I said, ‘Then which?’ He (Pbuh) said, “For you to fornicate with your neighbor’s wife. “‘[Muslim, 86]

Related Issue: Abu Hurairah (R.A) related that a man went to the Prophet (Pbuh) and complained to him about his neighbor. The Prophet (Pbuh) said, “Go and be patient.”

The same man returned twice or three times. The Prophet (Pbuh) then said, “Go and throw your possessions on the road.” The man threw his possessions on the road, and people began to ask him what had happened; he told them his story, and they began to curse his neighbor, saying: “May Allah do such and such with him.” His neighbor then went to him and said, “Return, for you will not again see anything from me that you dislike. ” [Abu Daawood, 5153]