Neighbors: Rights and Simple Gestures
What the Quran and the sunna say about the neighbor, Muslim or not: do no harm, share, lend a hand, with practical guidance for the apartment building, noise and mutual help.
The neighbor, a place apart
In Islam, the neighbor, الْجَار (al-jār), is not just a stranger on the landing. The Quran mentions him in the same sentence as the worship of Allah and kindness to parents:
۞ 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
Adorez Allah et ne Lui donnez aucun associé. Agissez avec bonté envers (vos) père et mère, les proches, les orphelins, les pauvres, le proche voisin, le voisin lointain, le collègue et le voyageur, et les esclaves en votre possession, car Allah n'aime pas, en vérité, le présomptueux, l'arrogant,The verse distinguishes the near neighbor from the distant neighbor. Commentators have seen several meanings in it: the one whose door is very close and the one who lives a little farther away, or else the neighbor who is also a relative and the one who is not. In every case, the key word is إِحْسَان (ihsān): acting with kindness, doing more than the strict minimum.
The Prophet ﷺ showed how much this bond matters:
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ أَبِي أُوَيْسٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ عَمْرَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَا زَالَ يُوصِينِي جِبْرِيلُ بِالْجَارِ حَتَّى ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ سَيُوَرِّثُهُ ".
Narrated by ‘Ā’isha (may Allah be pleased with her)
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Jibrīl kept recommending the neighbor to me, to the point that I thought he would give him a share of the inheritance.”
Inheritance is reserved for family. Imagining that the neighbor could receive a share shows the almost familial place Islam gives him.
First, do no harm
The neighbor’s first right is simple: to be safe from us. The Prophet ﷺ said it with rare insistence:
حَدَّثَنَا عَاصِمُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي ذِئْبٍ، عَنْ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي شُرَيْحٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " وَاللَّهِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُ، وَاللَّهِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُ، وَاللَّهِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُ ". قِيلَ وَمَنْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ " الَّذِي لاَ يَأْمَنُ جَارُهُ بَوَايِقَهُ ". تَابَعَهُ شَبَابَةُ وَأَسَدُ بْنُ مُوسَى. وَقَالَ حُمَيْدُ بْنُ الأَسْوَدِ وَعُثْمَانُ بْنُ عُمَرَ وَأَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍ وَشُعَيْبُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي ذِئْبٍ، عَنِ الْمَقْبُرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ،.
Narrated by Abū Shurayh (may Allah be pleased with him)
The Prophet ﷺ said: “By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe!” It was asked: “Who, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied: “The one whose neighbor is not safe from his harms.”
The Arabic word بَوَائِق (bawā’iq) means nuisances, foul play, everything that causes harm. Scholars explain that this sentence does not put someone who bothers his neighbor outside Islam, but signals incomplete faith: true faith is also seen on the landing.
Another hadith directly links faith to three everyday behaviors:
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الأَحْوَصِ، عَنْ أَبِي حَصِينٍ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلاَ يُؤْذِ جَارَهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلْيُكْرِمْ ضَيْفَهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ ".
Narrated by Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor. Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should honor his guest. And whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should say what is good or keep silent.”
Not harming covers many concrete things: noise late in the evening, trash bags left on the stairs, a car parked in front of a garage, rumors about the family next door, prying looks. Holding your tongue is also part of the neighbor’s rights (see Holding your tongue).
The non-Muslim neighbor
These rights do not depend on the neighbor’s religion. In his commentary on Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī explains that the word “neighbor” includes the Muslim and the non-Muslim, the near and the stranger, the friend and even the one with whom we get along badly. The Quran also lays down a general principle of kindness and justice toward all those who live in peace with us:
لَّا يَنْهَىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَٰتِلُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَٰرِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُقْسِطِينَ
Allah ne vous défend pas d'être bienfaisants et équitables envers ceux qui ne vous ont pas combattus pour la religion et ne vous ont pas chassés de vos demeures. Car Allah aime les équitables.In a French-speaking city, our neighbors are often of another faith or have no religion. Greeting them, asking after them when they are ill, sharing a plate at the time of ‘Īd, keeping a parcel while they are away: these gestures make Islam known better than many speeches. Kindness toward the neighbor is not a strategy, it is a way of being.
Sharing, smiling, helping
The neighbor’s rights do not stop at not bothering him. Islam encourages small gestures, even modest ones. The Prophet ﷺ told Muslim women that no neighbor should look down on what she offers her neighbor, “even if it is a sheep’s trotter” (reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim). And when ‘Ā’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked him to which of her two neighbors she should give a gift, he replied: “To the one whose door is closest to yours” (reported by al-Bukhārī).
A smile itself is a gift:
حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو غَسَّانَ الْمِسْمَعِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عُمَرَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَامِرٍ، - يَعْنِي الْخَزَّازَ - عَنْ أَبِي عِمْرَانَ الْجَوْنِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ، عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ، قَالَ قَالَ لِيَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " لاَ تَحْقِرَنَّ مِنَ الْمَعْرُوفِ شَيْئًا وَلَوْ أَنْ تَلْقَى أَخَاكَ بِوَجْهٍ طَلْقٍ " .
Narrated by Abū Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me: “Do not look down on any good deed, even meeting your brother with a smiling face.”
Another hadith details these everyday charities:
حَدَّثَنَا عَبَّاسُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَظِيمِ الْعَنْبَرِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا النَّضْرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْجُرَشِيُّ الْيَمَامِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو زُمَيْلٍ، عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ مَرْثَدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " تَبَسُّمُكَ فِي وَجْهِ أَخِيكَ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ وَأَمْرُكَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَنَهْيُكَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ صَدَقَةٌ وَإِرْشَادُكَ الرَّجُلَ فِي أَرْضِ الضَّلاَلِ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ وَبَصَرُكَ لِلرَّجُلِ الرَّدِيءِ الْبَصَرِ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ وَإِمَاطَتُكَ الْحَجَرَ وَالشَّوْكَةَ وَالْعَظْمَ عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ وَإِفْرَاغُكَ مِنْ دَلْوِكَ فِي دَلْوِ أَخِيكَ لَكَ صَدَقَةٌ " . قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَجَابِرٍ وَحُذَيْفَةَ وَعَائِشَةَ وَأَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ . وَأَبُو زُمَيْلٍ اسْمُهُ سِمَاكُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ الْحَنَفِيُّ .
Narrated by Abū Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Your smile in the face of your brother is a charity for you. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is a charity. Guiding a man who is lost is a charity for you. Helping someone whose sight is weak is a charity for you. Removing a stone, a thorn or a bone from the road is a charity for you. Pouring what remains in your bucket into your brother’s bucket is a charity for you.”
Today, the bucket of water can become an errand run for an elderly neighbor, a light bulb changed, a hand with moving, a stroller carried up the stairs. Each of these gestures is a صَدَقَة (sadaqa), a charity.
Life in an apartment building: noise, common areas, mutual help
Living a few meters from dozens of families takes attention. A few reflexes help a lot:
- respect quiet hours, especially late in the evening and early in the morning, and give notice before noisy work;
- keep common areas clean and leave nothing lying around;
- think of cooking or tobacco smells drifting through the windows;
- warn your neighbors when you host many people, for example for a party or ‘Īd;
- introduce yourself when you move in, and welcome newcomers;
- keep a kindly eye on the elderly or isolated people in the building.
In case of disagreement, the sunna calls for a gentle word before any other step:
Steps
Honestly ask yourself whether you are not the source of the nuisance.
Go and speak in person, at the right time, without reproaches in public.
Describe the problem without accusing, and propose a concrete solution (hours, rugs, tidying up).
If that is not enough, leave a courteous note, then talk to the building manager, the landlord or a mediator.
Forgive as much as possible: the Prophet ﷺ said that Allah only raises in honor the one who forgives (reported by Muslim).
Going further
- Read the verse on kindness to neighbors: Sūrat an-Nisā’, verse 36.
- The chapter on the neighbor’s right in Riyād as-Sālihīn.
- The good manners of greeting: Riyād as-Sālihīn, the salām.
- Taking care of your words: Holding your tongue.
Questions fréquentes
What are a neighbor’s rights in Islam?
The first is to suffer no nuisance from us: noise, dirt, hurtful words. Next come kindness, sharing, help in times of need and respect for his privacy. The Prophet ﷺ linked these behaviors to faith itself.
Do a neighbor’s rights apply to a non-Muslim neighbor?
Yes. Scholars, such as Ibn Hajar in his commentary on Sahīh al-Bukhārī, explain that the word “neighbor” includes the Muslim and the non-Muslim. The Quran invites kindness and justice toward all those who live in peace with us.
What should I do if my neighbor makes too much noise?
Start by going to speak to him calmly, in person and at the right time, offering a concrete solution. If that is not enough, a courteous note, then the building manager, the landlord or a mediator can help. In case of threats or violence, contact the authorities.
How far does the neighborhood extend?
The Quran speaks of the near neighbor and the distant neighbor, without setting a distance. Some early scholars proposed limits, but no authentic text imposes one; we refer to custom. In practice, the neighbor on the same landing, floor or street is concerned.
Can you offer food to a non-Muslim neighbor?
Yes, it is even encouraged: sharing a plate, especially at the time of ‘Īd, nurtures good relations. As for what we receive, everyone stays attentive to his own dietary rules and can explain this kindly. For a specific question, ask a qualified person.
Mots arabes de cet article
- Jār جار
- The neighbor, near or distant, Muslim or not, to whom Islam recognizes rights.
- Ihsān إحسان
- Kindness and excellence: doing good beyond the strict necessary.
- Bawā’iq بوائق
- The nuisances, harms and foul play from which the neighbor must be protected according to the hadith.
- Sadaqa صدقة
- Charity in the broad sense: any gift or good deed, including a smile or a service rendered.
- Shuf‘a شفعة
- The right of pre-emption: priority of purchase granted, depending on the school, to the co-owner or also to the adjoining neighbor.
Sources et références
Chaque référence a été contrôlée automatiquement : existence du verset ou du hadith, numérotation sunnah.com, degré d’authenticité selon les savants.
- Coran 4:36Vérifiéquran.com
- Coran 60:8Vérifiéquran.com
- Sahîh al-Bukhârî n° 6014Sahîh (authentique) · al-Bukhârî et Muslim (muttafaq ‘alayh, Muslim n° 2624a)VérifiéVoir sur sunnah.com
- Sahîh al-Bukhârî n° 6016Sahîh (authentique) · al-Bukhârî (recueil authentique par consensus)VérifiéVoir sur sunnah.com
- Sahîh al-Bukhârî n° 6018Sahîh (authentique) · al-Bukhârî et Muslim (muttafaq ‘alayh)VérifiéVoir sur sunnah.com
- Sahîh Muslim n° 2626aSahîh (authentique) · Muslim (recueil authentique par consensus)VérifiéVoir sur sunnah.com
- Jâmi‘ at-Tirmidhî n° 1956Sahîh (authentique) · Ahmad Muhammad Shâkir, al-AlbânîVérifiéVoir sur sunnah.com
- Sahîh Muslim n° 2588aSahîh (authentique) · Muslim (recueil authentique par consensus)Vérifiécelui qui pardonne, Allah l’élève en honneurVoir sur sunnah.com
- Fath al-Bârî, commentaire de Sahîh al-Bukhârî, livre des bonnes manières (chapitre de la recommandation envers le voisin) — Ibn Hajar al-‘AsqalânîRéférence bibliographique
- Riyâd as-Sâlihîn, chapitre du droit du voisin — an-NawawîRéférence bibliographiquesunnah.com
Dans l’application
Cet article est une synthèse pédagogique : il résume des sources vérifiées et ne constitue pas une fatwa. Les détails de pratique peuvent varier selon les écoles. Pour une situation personnelle, consultez une personne qualifiée. Signaler une erreur
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