Short answer: Islam gives neighbours some of the strongest rights after family. The Prophet ﷺ said Jibril kept urging him to be good to the neighbour until he thought the neighbour would be made an heir, and that a person whose neighbour is not safe from his harm will not enter Paradise. These rights cover every neighbour, Muslim or not: do them no harm, share food and gifts, help them in need, and be patient with small annoyances. When you can only help one, the nearest door comes first.
What the Quran says
۞ وَٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا۟ بِهِۦ شَيْـًۭٔا ۖ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَٰنًۭا وَبِذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينِ وَٱلْجَارِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْجَارِ ٱلْجُنُبِ وَٱلصَّاحِبِ بِٱلْجَنۢبِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًۭا فَخُورًا
Wa'budul laaha wa laa tushrikoo bihee shai'anw wa bilwaalidaini ihsaananw wa bizil qurbaa walyataamaa walmasaakeeni waljaari zilqurbaa waljaaril junubi wassaahibi biljambi wabnis sabeeli wa maa malakat aimaanukum; innal laaha laa yuhibbu man kaana mukhtaalan fakhooraa
"Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, 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 · translation by Sahih International
The verse names three kinds of people next to you: "the near neighbor", "the neighbor farther away" and "the companion at your side". The exegetes explained the first two as the neighbour who is a relative and the one who is not, or the one next door and the one further along, and the third as anyone beside you for a while: a travel companion, a colleague, a classmate.
The Quran also blames those who "withhold [simple] assistance" (107:7). Many early exegetes said this means refusing to lend small household things, a pot, a bucket, salt, the kind of help neighbours ask for every day.
The hadith about neighbours
مَا زَالَ يُوصِينِي جِبْرِيلُ بِالْجَارِ حَتَّى ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ سَيُوَرِّثُهُ
Mā zāla yūṣīnī Jibrīlu bil-jāri ḥattā ẓanantu annahū sa-yuwarrithuh
Jibril kept urging me to be good to the neighbour until I thought he would make him an heir.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6014, from Aishah; Sahih Muslim 2624
- Faith and the neighbour. "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him be generous to his neighbour."1
- A strong warning. "By Allah, he does not believe" three times, about the one "whose neighbour is not safe from his harm."2 And: "He will not enter Paradise whose neighbour is not safe from his harm."3
- The best neighbour. "The best of neighbours in the sight of Allah is the one who is best to his neighbour."4
- Share your cooking. "Abu Dharr, when you make a stew, add more water and look after your neighbours."5
- No gift is too small. "No woman should look down on a gift to her neighbour, even a sheep's trotter."6
- Who comes first. Aishah asked which of her two neighbours she should give a gift to. He said: "The one whose door is nearer to you."7
Who counts as a neighbour?
The people next door, above and below you in an apartment block, and across the street are all neighbours. A well-known saying that the neighbourhood extends forty houses in every direction is reported from some early scholars and in hadith that are weak, so it is not a fixed rule. Most scholars said it follows custom: whoever people in your place would call your neighbours. In an office, a dorm or a hospital ward, the "companion at your side" (4:36) has a share of these rights too.
Non-Muslim neighbours
The rights of the neighbour do not depend on religion. The Companion Abdullah ibn Amr once had a sheep slaughtered and asked his family twice: "Have you given some to our neighbour, the Jew?" Then he quoted the hadith of Jibril and the neighbour.8 Scholars note that a non-Muslim neighbour has the right of a neighbour, a Muslim neighbour has two rights, and a Muslim relative who lives next door has three. For more on how Islam asks Muslims to treat people of other faiths, see Islam and other religions.
Being a good neighbour today
| Situation | What the Sunnah asks |
|---|---|
| Noise | Keep it down, especially at night. Loud gatherings, music or building work that disturbs others is harm. |
| Parking and bins | Do not block their driveway or leave rubbish at their door. |
| Cooking smells and barbecues | Share some of the food, as the hadith of Abu Dharr says. |
| Ramadan and Eid | Send dates or sweets, and tell non-Muslim neighbours what the month is about. |
| Illness or a death | Visit, offer to shop or cook, and attend the funeral if you can. |
| Travel | Keep an eye on their home if they ask, and never pry into it. |
| Children | Teach them to respect the neighbours' property and quiet. |
| A problem between you | Speak kindly and privately first. Do not complain about them to others. |
When a neighbour causes you harm
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ complaining about his neighbour. He told him to be patient, and when the man came back two or three times, he told him to put his belongings out in the road. People passing asked why, and cursed the neighbour, until the neighbour came and begged him to return, promising not to harm him again.9 The lesson is patience first, then a wise, peaceful way to make the harm known. Today that may mean a calm letter, the building manager, or mediation, before anything else.
The neighbour's right of pre-emption
The Prophet ﷺ said: "The neighbour has more right because of his nearness."10 From this, the schools discuss shuf'ah: the right to buy a property before an outsider when its owner sells.
The right of pre-emption belongs first to a co-owner of the property, then to a partner in its rights such as a shared path or water channel, then to the adjoining neighbour. So in Hanafi law a neighbour whose property touches yours can claim to buy it on the same terms when you sell, if he asks at once.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali
- Pre-emption is only for a co-owner of undivided property. A neighbour has no right of pre-emption, though he should be offered the sale first as a courtesy.
FAQ
What are the rights of neighbours in Islam?
Not to be harmed, to be treated generously, to share in your food and gifts, to be helped in need, visited when ill, and borne with patience. The Prophet ﷺ said Jibril urged him about the neighbour until he thought he would be made an heir (Bukhari 6014).
Do non-Muslim neighbours have rights in Islam?
Yes. The rights of the neighbour do not depend on religion. Abdullah ibn Amr made sure his Jewish neighbour received meat, citing this very hadith (Abu Dawud 5152).
Is the forty houses hadith authentic?
No. The saying that the neighbourhood extends forty houses each way comes from weak reports. Most scholars said who counts as a neighbour follows local custom.
Which neighbour has the most right?
The one whose door is nearest, as the Prophet ﷺ told Aishah (Bukhari 2259). A neighbour who is also a relative and a Muslim has the most rights of all.
What should I do if my neighbour harms me?
Be patient and speak to them kindly first. If it continues, use a wise and peaceful way to stop it, as in the hadith of the man who put his belongings in the road (Abu Dawud 5153).
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari 6019, from Abu Shurayh; and Sahih Muslim 47, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 6016, from Abu Shurayh.
- Sahih Muslim 46, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 1944, from Abdullah ibn Amr; graded sahih by al-Albani.
- Sahih Muslim 2625, from Abu Dharr.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2566, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2259, from Aishah.
- Sunan Abu Dawud 5152 and Jami at-Tirmidhi 1943, from Mujahid; graded sahih by al-Albani.
- Sunan Abu Dawud 5153, from Abu Hurayrah; graded hasan sahih by al-Albani.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2258, from Abu Rafi.
- On pre-emption: al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, book of shuf'ah; for the other schools, their standard manuals.
- Quran 4:36 and 107:7, Arabic from the Uthmani text, translation by Sahih International.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.