Prohibitions that are taken too lightly
Book by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid . Being a bad neighbour Allaah has enjoined kind treatment of neighbours
in the Qur'aan (interpretation of the meaning):
"Worship Allaah and join none with Him in worship,
and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, the
poor, the neighbour who is near of kin, the
neighbour who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those
slaves whom your right hands possess. Verily,
Allaah does not like such as are proud and
boastful." [al-Nisaa' 4:36] Harming a neighbour is haraam because of the
greatness of his rights. Abu Shurayh (may Allaah be
pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "By
Allaah, he does not believe, by Allaah, he does not
believe, by Allaah, he does not believe." He was asked, "Who, O Messenger of Allaah?" He said: "The
one from whose harm his neighbour is not
safe." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari,
10/443) The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) regarded the praise or criticism of a
neighbour as a measure of a person's goodness or
badness. Ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased with
him) reported that a man said to the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "O Messenger of Allaah, how may I know if I am doing
well or not?" The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "If you hear your
neighbour say that you are good, then you are
doing well, and if you hear him saying that you are
bad, you are not doing well." (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/402, see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 623). Harming a neighbour may take many forms,
including: not allowing him to fix a piece of wood
to a shared wall or fence; expanding one's
dwelling in such a way as to deprive him of sun or
air without his permission; opening windows
overlooking his house and looking out of them to invade his privacy; disturbing him with loud sounds
such as hammering or shouting, especially when
he is asleep or resting; or throwing trash in front of
his door. The sin of such deeds is increased when
they are done to a neighbour, as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "If a man were to commit adultery with ten women,
it would be better for him than committing adultery
with the wife of his neighbour, and if a man were to
steal from ten houses, it would be better for him
than stealing from the house of his
neighbour." (Reported by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, no. 103; see also al-Silsilah al-Saheehah,
65). Some treacherous people take advantage of a
neighbour's absence during his night shift to enter
his house and commit immoral acts. Woe to them of
the punishment of a painful Day!