Islam places great emphasis on ethical relationships and social responsibility, making the rights of neighbours in Islam an important dimension of Islamic teachings. The Qur’an, the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, and the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt emphasize kindness, respect, protection, assistance, privacy, and freedom from harm in dealing with those who live nearby. The rights of neighbours in Islam therefore extend beyond ordinary social courtesy and constitute an important part of Islamic moral conduct and community life. A good neighbour is not merely one who avoids causing harm but one who contributes positively to the dignity, security, and well-being of others.
The objective of this article, therefore, is to examine the rights of neighbours in Islam and to explain the principal responsibilities Muslims have toward their neighbours in both traditional and contemporary contexts.
Qur’anic Foundations of Respecting Neighbours
A Muslim’s relationship with Allah is closely connected to the way he or she treats other people. Among the various social relationships emphasized in Islam, the relationship with neighbours occupies a particularly important position. The Qur’an places neighbours alongside parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy among those toward whom believers are commanded to show goodness and care[1]. This demonstrates that the rights of neighbours in Islam are not merely matters of social courtesy but constitute an important dimension of Islamic moral responsibility. Respecting neighbours, protecting their dignity, and avoiding harm to them are therefore expressions of Islamic ethical conduct.
The principal Qur’anic foundation for the rights of neighbours is found in the Qur’an: “Worship Allah and do not ascribe any partners to Him, and be good to parents, the relatives, the orphans, the needy, the near neighbour and the distant neighbour, the companion at your side, the traveller, and your slaves.”[2]
The structure of this verse is significant. It begins with the command to worship Allah alone and then immediately identifies a range of human relationships toward whom believers are required to demonstrate goodness. Neighbourly responsibility is therefore situated within the broader framework of Islamic devotion and ethical conduct. The verse commands believers to do good to the neighbour who is close to them and extends this ethical obligation to the neighbour who is distant or a stranger[3]. In this way, the rights of neighbours in Islam are not confined to relationships based on kinship, friendship, or religious affiliation.
The expression “the near neighbour and the distant neighbour” in the Qur’anic verse has been interpreted in several complementary ways by Qur’anic exegetes. Qaraʾatī explains that “the near neighbour and the distant neighbour” includes neighbours who are relatives and those who are not, as well as neighbours who share the same beliefs and those who do not[4].
Al-Ṭabrisī, in Majmaʿ al-Bayān, likewise discusses various interpretations of these two expressions and relates them to different categories of neighbours. One interpretation understands “the near neighbour” as a neighbour who is related to a person by kinship, while “the distant neighbour” refers to a neighbour who has no familial relationship with him. Another interpretation understands “the near neighbour” as the neighbour who is close through Islam, whereas “the distant neighbour” refers to a non-Muslim neighbour who is religiously different[5].
Al-Zajjāj interprets the near neighbour as one who is close to you, with mutual familiarity and association, while the distant neighbour refers to one who is farther away[6]. The exegetical discussion therefore indicates that the verse encompasses different categories of neighbours and establishes an obligation to treat them with goodness regardless of kinship or religious affiliation. In this sense, the Qur’anic verse provides a broad foundation for the rights of neighbours in Islam, extending neighbourly responsibility beyond family and religious boundaries.
Another important feature of the verse is its conclusion: “Indeed Allah does not like those who are arrogant and boastful.”[7] The connection between the command to treat others well and the condemnation of arrogance is significant. Al-Ṭabrisī explains that arrogant and boastful people may distance themselves from poor relatives and neighbours and fail to maintain good relations with them[8]. Thus, the verse teaches that wealth or social status must never become a reason for neglecting or mistreating neighbours. Rather, the rights of neighbours require Muslims to maintain good relations with them and to treat them with dignity and kindness regardless of their economic or social position.
The Qur’an also establishes broader ethical principles that reinforce the rights of neighbours. Believers are commanded to cooperate in righteousness and piety rather than in sin and aggression[9]. They are instructed to “say that which is best” in their interactions with others[10], while it prohibits negative suspicion, spying, and backbiting[11]. These principles have direct relevance to neighbourhood relations because respect for neighbours requires responsible speech, protection of privacy, avoidance of suspicion, and restraint from behaviour that may damage their dignity or reputation.
Furthermore, the Qur’anic emphasis on justice and goodness provides a broader framework for understanding neighbourly obligations. The command to practice justice and goodness[12] demonstrates that Islamic social ethics is not limited to avoiding wrongdoing; it also encourages positive acts of kindness and benevolence. Accordingly, a Muslim should not merely refrain from harming a neighbour but should, within reasonable limits, contribute to the neighbour’s welfare and peaceful living.
Therefore, the Qur’anic basis of the rights of neighbours in Islam, therefore, extends beyond the single command in Qur’an 4:36. It forms part of a comprehensive moral framework based on worship of Allah, goodness, justice, humility, respect for human dignity, protection of privacy, avoidance of harm, and social responsibility. These principles provide the foundation upon which the detailed teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the Ahl al-Bayt concerning neighbourly conduct can be understood.
The Status and Rights of Neighbours in Prophetic and Ahl al-Bayt Teachings
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUHH) gave the neighbour a remarkably important position in Islamic social ethics. His teachings show that the rights of neighbours are not merely matters of courtesy but constitute an important part of religious and moral responsibility. They emphasize respect, good treatment, continued concern, and protection from harm.
The Holy Prophet (PBUHH) highlighted the high status of the neighbour by stating that the sanctity and respect owed to a neighbour are comparable to the respect owed to one’s mother[13]. This comparison demonstrates the seriousness of neighbourly obligations and establishes respect as a fundamental element of the rights of neighbours.
The Prophet (PBUHH) also connected good neighbourliness directly with faith, teaching believers to maintain good relations with those who live beside them so that they may be true believers[14]. Thus, faith is expected to appear in practical social conduct. The rights of neighbours therefore include respectful, considerate, and honourable treatment.
The exceptional importance of these obligations is further illustrated by the Prophet’s statement that Gabriel continually advised him concerning the neighbour until he thought that the neighbour might eventually receive a share of inheritance[15]. This indicates the extraordinary emphasis placed on neighbourly responsibility and shows that concern for neighbours was a consistently reinforced Prophetic teaching.
Finally, the Holy Prophet (PBUHH) established a clear prohibition against harming one’s neighbour, declaring that whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbour [16]. This gives the rights of neighbours a protective dimension: neighbours have a right to live with security, dignity, and peace, free from unjustified harm or disturbance.
Taken together, these teachings establish four central aspects of the rights of neighbours in Islam from the Prophetic perspective: respect for the neighbour, good neighbourly conduct, concern for the neighbour’s welfare, and protection from harm. The Prophet’s teachings therefore present neighbourly conduct as a practical expression of faith and an essential component of Islamic social morality.
The teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) provide an important framework for understanding the rights of neighbours in Islam. Their guidance emphasizes the high status of the neighbour, the broad scope of neighbourhood, good neighbourly conduct, protection from harm, and the positive effects of respectful relations.
Imam Ali, in his final instructions, strongly emphasized caring for neighbours, reminding Muslims that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUHH) repeatedly recommended them, to the extent that people thought he might eventually assign them a share of inheritance[17]. This demonstrates the exceptional importance of the neighbour and establishes the rights of neighbours as a serious religious responsibility.
Imam ʿAli (a.s.) also described the scope of neighbourhood as extending to forty houses in each direction[18]. This indicates that neighbourly responsibility encompasses a wider local community rather than being limited to the household immediately next door. The rights of neighbours in Islam, therefore, extend across a meaningful social area.
Imam al-Ṣādiq (a.s.) instructed believers to practice good neighbourliness because Allah has commanded it[19]. Thus, good treatment of neighbours is not merely a social courtesy but a religiously grounded responsibility. The rights of neighbours include respectful interaction, kindness, consideration, and peaceful coexistence.
The Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) also emphasized the neighbour’s right to security. Imam al-Riḍā (a.s.) stated that a person is not truly among them if his neighbour is not safe from his harmful behaviour [20]. This establishes freedom from harm as a fundamental element of the rights of neighbours in Islam.
Imam al-Ṣādiq (a.s.) further taught that good neighbourliness brings prosperity to homes and contributes to longer lives[21]. Good relations with neighbours therefore benefit not only individuals but also families and the wider community.
These teachings are complemented by Imam Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn’s Risālat al-Ḥuqūq. In his discussion of the neighbour’s right, he emphasizes protecting the neighbour in his absence, honouring him in his presence, helping him when wronged or in legitimate need, and concealing his faults[22]. These principles show that the rights of neighbours in Islam involve both avoiding harm and actively protecting the neighbour’s dignity and welfare.
Taken together, the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) teachings identify several central rights of neighbours in Islam: respect, peaceful coexistence, security from harm, assistance in legitimate need, and protection of dignity and privacy. Good neighbourliness is therefore both a religious responsibility and a means of strengthening the wider community.
Major Rights and Responsibilities of Neighbours
The rights of neighbours in Islam encompass both protection from harm and positive responsibilities such as respect, assistance, privacy, and justice. Islamic teachings seek to establish peaceful and caring relationships among people who live in close proximity.
1. The Right to Safety and Protection
The most fundamental of the rights of neighbours in Islam is the right to safety. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUHH) taught that whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day must not harm his neighbour [23]. Imam al-Riḍā (a.s.) similarly stated that a person is not truly among the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) if his neighbour is not safe from his harmful conduct[24]. This includes avoiding aggression, threats, harassment, property damage, and other forms of unjustified harm.
2. The Right to Respect and Dignity
Respect and human dignity are central to the rights of neighbours in Islam. The Qur’an prohibits ridicule, insult, suspicion, spying, and backbiting[25]. Therefore, disagreements over noise, parking, children, property boundaries, or shared facilities should be handled with courtesy and restraint rather than humiliation or verbal abuse.
3. The Right to Peace and Freedom from Disturbance
Neighbours have a right to peaceful living. Excessive noise, deliberate disruption, blocking access, careless disposal of waste, and similar avoidable conduct can conflict with the rights of neighbours in Islam. A person’s use of his property should not become a means of deliberately disturbing others.
4. The Right to Assistance
The rights of neighbours in Islam also include appropriate assistance in times of genuine need. Visiting the sick, providing food, helping during an emergency, or checking on a vulnerable neighbour are practical expressions of Islamic compassion. The Qur’anic command to do good to neighbours provides the foundation for this responsibility[26].
5. The Right to Compassion and Hospitality
Islam encourages kindness, generosity, and hospitality toward neighbours. Sharing food and showing consideration for their circumstances can strengthen social bonds and turn a neighbourhood into a caring community. Thus, the rights of neighbours in Islam involve positive acts of goodness, not merely avoidance of harm.
6. The Right to Privacy
Privacy is another important aspect of the rights of neighbours in Islam. Imam Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn (a.s) emphasises protecting the neighbour’s dignity and concealing matters that should remain private[27]. Accordingly, Muslims should avoid intruding into private spaces, exposing personal matters, or unnecessarily sharing a neighbour’s affairs.
7. The Right to Justice and Fair Dealing
Finally, the rights of neighbours in Islam require fairness in matters involving property, money, boundaries, and shared facilities. A Muslim should not exploit a neighbour, take property unjustly, obstruct legitimate access, or manipulate disputes. The Qur’anic command to practice justice and goodness applies directly to these relationships[28].
In summary, the rights of neighbours in Islam include safety, respect, peaceful living, assistance, compassion, privacy, and justice. Together, these principles establish neighbourly relations based on dignity, security, cooperation, and mutual care.
Neighbourly Rights in Contemporary Society
Modern living has changed the structure of neighbourhoods, but it has not diminished the rights of neighbours in Islam. In apartment buildings, several families may share walls, entrances, elevators, parking areas, and other facilities, making mutual consideration especially important.
The rights of neighbours in Islam therefore include respecting building regulations, avoiding excessive noise, maintaining cleanliness, disposing of waste properly, and using shared facilities responsibly. A person’s freedom to use personal property should not become a means of unnecessarily disturbing others.
Digital technology has also created new challenges. Private disagreements can now be recorded and widely circulated through social media. Islamic principles of privacy, dignity, and avoidance of backbiting therefore apply to digital behaviour as well as direct interaction[29]. Protecting a neighbour’s personal information and reputation is consequently part of the rights of neighbours in Islam.
Religious and cultural diversity further demonstrates the broad scope of these rights. The Qur’an commands believers to do good to both the near and distant neighbour [30], indicating that neighbourly kindness is not restricted to people of the same faith. Muslims can therefore uphold the rights of neighbours in Islam through honesty, respect, assistance, peaceful coexistence, and protection from harm.
Thus, although modern neighbourhoods differ from traditional communities, the fundamental rights of neighbours in Islam remain relevant: respect, privacy, peaceful coexistence, justice, and freedom from harm.
Conclusion
Islam places neighbourly relations within a broader framework of faith, morality, and social responsibility. The Qur’an establishes the rights of neighbours in Islam by commanding kindness toward both near and distant neighbours, while the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s) emphasize respect, good treatment, assistance, and protection from harm. These teachings demonstrate that the rights of neighbors in Islam are not merely matters of social courtesy but important aspects of Islamic character.
The major rights of neighbours in Islam include safety, dignity, peaceful living, assistance, compassion, privacy, and justice. These principles remain relevant in contemporary society, whether people live in traditional homes, apartment buildings, or diverse urban communities. By respecting the rights of neighbours in Islam, Muslims can reduce conflict, strengthen trust, and contribute to peaceful and caring communities. Ultimately, good neighbourliness is a practical expression of faith and an important means of building a society founded on mutual respect, compassion, and responsibility.
Notes
[1] . Qur’an 4:36.
[2] . Ibid.
[3] . See: Faqīh Imānī, An Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur’an, vol. 4, p. 60.
[4] . Qaraʾatī, Tafsīr-e Nūr, vol. 2, p. 66.
[5] . Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol 3, p. 72.
[6] . Ibid, vol 3, p. 72.
[7] . Qur’an 4:36.
[8] . Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol 3, p. 72-73.
[9] . Qur’an 5:2.
[10] . Qur’an 17:53.
[11] . Qur’an 49:12.
[12] . Qur’an 16:90.
[13] . Ṭabrisī, Makārim al-Akhlāq, p. 126.
[14] . Ibn Bābawayh al-Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 201.
[15] . Ṭūsī, al-Amālī, p. 520, ḥadīth 1145.
[16] . Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 667, ḥadīth 6.
[17] . Ibid, vol. 7, p. 51, ḥadīth 7.
[18] . Ibn Bābawayh al-Ṣadūq, al-Khiṣāl, vol. 2, p. 544, ḥadīth 20.
[19] . Ibid, al-Amālī, p. 359.
[20] . Ibid, ʿUyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 2, p. 24, ḥadīth 3.
[21] . Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 667, ḥadīth 8.
[22] . ʿAli ibn al-Ḥusayn Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, Risālat al-Ḥuqūq, “The Right of the Neighbor.”
[23] . Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 667, ḥadīth 6.
[24] . Ibn Bābawayh al-Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 2, p. 24, ḥadīth 3.
[25] . Qur’an, 49:11–12.
[26] . Qur’an, 4:36.
[27] . ʿAli ibn al-Ḥusayn Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, Risālat al-Ḥuqūq, “The Right of the Neighbor.”
[28] . Qur’an, 16:90.
[29] . Qur’an, 49:12.
[30] . Qur’an, 4:36.
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Risālat al-Ḥuqūq
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- Ṭabarsī, Ḥasan ibn Faḍl. (1991). Makārim al-Akhlāq. 4th ed. Qom: Sharīf al-Raḍī.
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