The Rights of the Neighbour - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah al-Ula — Opening

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds.

Whom Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whom He misguides, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant, His Messenger, and the purest of His creation, and His friend.

Allah has sent him to all people as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the Ummah. And He left us on the white carpet — its night is like its day; nothing escapes it except destruction.

May Allah's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon him, his family, and his companions. And whoever is guided by his guidance, and holds fast by his Sunnah, and invites by his call to the Day of Judgment.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

O you people, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul, and created from it its mate, and spread from them many men and women. And fear Allah, about whom you ask, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak a sound word. He will correct your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed achieved a great triumph.

My beloved brothers and sisters in Allah and in Islam, I counsel you and myself with taqwa of Allah and ihsan — for indeed, Allah is with those who have taqwa and those who are doers of good.

The Woman Who Was in the Fire

The Prophet ﷺ was asked about a woman who prayed much and fasted much and gave much in charity, but she harmed her neighbors with her tongue — by what she said. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Hadith 119)

She is in the fire. May Allah protect us from it.

Here you notice something that is really, really important. That كَثْرَةُ الصِّيَامِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَالصَّدَقَةِ — fasting a lot, and praying a lot, and giving a lot of charity — although extremely important, does not necessarily mean that you're going to be from the people of Jannah, if you're living your life in this dunya in a way where you are a constant harm to others.

And I specifically want to address in this khutbah today the neighbors — and how Allah and His Messenger made it so important that we are not only not harming our neighbors, not only just kind to our neighbors, but that we treat them in a way that is like family.

Angel Jibreel and the Rights of the Neighbour

To the point where Rasulullah ﷺ — Angel Jibreel came to him. One of the Sahaba mentions that one day he wanted to approach the Prophet ﷺ. And he saw a man standing with the Prophet ﷺ, and he thought perhaps this man has a private need. So let me give them their space.

لَعَلَّهُ عِنْدَهُ حَاجَةٌ — Perhaps there is something that he wants.

So he said, "I sat down and I waited, and he continued speaking to the Prophet ﷺ, until I felt — how long is this man talking? I felt bad for the Prophet ﷺ, how long this conversation is going." And after that man left, the Prophet asked him, "Did you know who that was?" He said, "That was Jibreel. That was Jibreel. He came to me to advise me and tell me about the importance and the rights of the neighbor."

To the point the Prophet ﷺ felt that Jibreel was going to say to him: the neighbors are considered part of your inheritors. Who usually inherits you? Your closest family. So Allah sent Angel Jibreel to the Prophet ﷺ to speak to him over and over and over again about — what? About the people that live next door to you, or a few doors down in your neighborhood.

That you understand that your Creator Allah — the same one who obligated you to come to Jumu'ah, the same one who obligated you to fast in the month of Ramadan — has obligated upon you that you are the best you can be to your neighbor. And that you absolutely avoid harming them in any way, shape, or form.

The Example of Abdullah ibn Umar

Think about our Prophet ﷺ and how he was with his neighbors, and how the Sahaba were. Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him — this great companion — he comes home one day and they had slaughtered a sheep, and the meat was being prepared. And the first thing he says is: "Have you gifted some of this meat to our Jewish neighbor?" That is the first thing that comes to his mind.

Now I want to ask you right now — think about this. How well acquainted are you with the people that live in your neighborhood? Especially those that are closest to you. How often are you aware of their well-being? How often are you ensuring that you are not harming them? That you are mindful — you and your family, your spouse and your children — about noise, about where you park, about cleanliness. That you are aware of this. Not just out of the pure kindness of your heart, but because Allah wants this from you.

The Signs of a True Believer

The Prophet ﷺ said: among the signs of a true believer is that you are ensuring that your neighbors are, first and foremost, never bothered by you — that you are never harming them, that they are never going to complain about you. And then the following step is that you are such a neighbor that you are invested in their well-being. That if you have something, you share it with them. That you gift them, that you visit them, that you know their names and how they are doing.

And today, practically speaking, it is extremely important that as Muslims we are the best neighbors possible. Imagine every single non-Muslim in the UK who had a Muslim neighbor — that Muslim neighbor behaved the way Allah and His Messenger want us to behave — to the point where the first thing they would say is: "Oh, that person over there — that's a lovely family, that's a lovely person." This will have a huge impact on how people perceive Islam. And it is all interconnected. But it goes further than that. This is something Allah wants from you. This is something that is legislated in our deen.

Hadith: The Man Whose Neighbour Harmed Him

I will share with you a few hadith from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ that perhaps can give you some perspective on how important this really is.

One day a man came to the Prophet ﷺ. He said, "Ya Rasulullah, جَارِي يُؤْذِينِي — my neighbor harms me." The Prophet ﷺ said, "Go back and have patience."

The man went back and had sabr. It got worse. He came back to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "Ya Rasulullah, مَا زَالَ يُؤْذِينِي — he is still harming me." The Prophet ﷺ said, "Have sabr."

The third time, the Prophet ﷺ said, "If he continues doing this, take your belongings out — اطْرَحْ مَتَاعَكَ. Take your stuff out and let the people see that you cannot live safely in your own home because of your neighbor." So the people would come by and ask him, "Why are you outside?" He would say, "Because of my neighbor." And the people would say, "What a horrible human being. What a horrible person."

فَبَدَأَ النَّاسُ يَلْعَنُونَهُ — The people started to curse this neighbor who was so problematic that this person had to go outside of his house. This neighbor — who was the problem — then came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "Ya Rasulullah, النَّاسُ سَبُّونِي وَيَعْنُونِي — the people are cursing me and insulting me." The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 43, Hadith 5153)

Allah already cursed you before the people started to curse you. Allah curses the one whose neighbors are not safe from him.

Think about that the next time you are inconsiderate about where you are parking. Think about that the next time you are inconsiderate about the cleanliness of your area. Think about that the next time you are inconsiderate about the noise that you are making in your home. Think about that the next time you are inconsiderate or harmful to your neighbors. And this is the basic level — and it is unacceptable as Muslims. It is important that we do not behave the way we want, but that we behave the way Allah wants us to behave.

Hadith: Three People Whom Allah Loves

The Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith: ثَلَاثَةٌ يُحِبُّهُمُ اللَّهُ — three types of people Allah loves. Think about that — Allah loves them. Among the people the Prophet ﷺ mentioned is the one who has patience when their neighbor is harmful to him. So having sabr instead of retaliating, instead of going tit for tat — being patient. Because sometimes Allah will test you with a bad neighbor.

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 17522)

The Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith: from the calamities of life is being tested with a bad neighbor in a place where you cannot move from — فِي دَارِ الْمُقَامَةِ. However, if Allah tests you with that, what are you meant to do? Have sabr. Why? Because Allah loves that.

The Oath of the Prophet ﷺ Regarding the Neighbour

The Prophet ﷺ was not one who would make an oath lightly. And generally speaking, it is not good for you to say "Wallahi, Wallahi, Wallahi" even if you are telling the truth. In your day-to-day speech, avoid constantly saying "Wallahi this, Wallahi that" — because you should preserve oaths that carry Allah's name for something really important. Rasulullah ﷺ was not one to make an oath lightly. But here he said:

The one whose neighbor is not safe from their harm — by Allah, they do not truly believe. So you can come to the masjid all day long, and go to as many Umrahs as you want, and perform Hajj and come back, and give so much in charity. But if your neighbor — Muslim or otherwise — is not safe from your harm, according to our Messenger ﷺ, you are not a true believer.

And the Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith:

Whoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day — let him honor his neighbor. Let him honor his neighbor.

Practical Steps: Know Your Neighbours

Now that you have understood the virtue — that Allah loves the one who is patient when their neighbor is harmful; that a woman who was praying a lot and fasting a lot is in the fire because she was harmful to her neighbor by her speech; that true belief and faith is when you are honoring your neighbors; that they have rights and Angel Jibreel himself came to the Prophet ﷺ speaking to him over and over and over again about the neighbor — what is it that we should be doing?

Number one: make sure that you know them. Familiarize yourself with your neighborhood and your neighbors. If you are doing it already, that is great. And if you haven't, start there. Start there. Ask them how they are. Perhaps you invite them over. You see where you can support them. Something as small as — imagine you are parking up and you see your neighbor carrying bags. What Islam wants from you is to be the kind of person who says, "Let me help you carry these bags."

There is a huge problem here in this country where so many people die alone. How often have you heard that such-and-such died alone and no one knew? Often these people are not Muslim because, alhamdulillah, at least within the Muslim community there is some connection — you have your siblings and your neighbors and people know each other. But we can do better and we should do better.

You will find sometimes an old lady who passed away in her home and nobody knows about her. And often when we hear about that, our instinct is to say, "SubhanAllah — where were her children? Where were her siblings? How come no one visited her?" And that is why Islam puts such a huge emphasis on community cohesion — families taking care of each other, silat al-arham, keeping ties of kinship, calling your cousins and your second cousins and your uncles and your aunties — but also the neighbors.

Now imagine that person who died, and the only reason people found out was the stench after many days. Where were the neighbors? Where were the neighbors? This is a tradition in our deen — that we are constantly aware. Maybe they just had a child — you congratulate them, you buy them gifts. Maybe someone passed away — you give your condolences. Muslim or otherwise, it does not matter. If they have children on the school run and there is a single mother struggling, and you have a car with space — offer: "I can take your kids to school for you." This is important. Why is it important? It is important for you, for your Akhirah.

The First Two People to Dispute on the Day of Judgement

Do you know what the first thing Allah will judge between people on the Day of Judgment is? As individuals, it is your salah. But the first two people that will hold each other accountable on Yawm al-Qiyamah — the Prophet ﷺ said — are neighbors: a neighbor complaining about their neighbor and the harm that they did to them.

How are we meant to spread Islam and give da'wah if we cannot even have a conversation with those that live next to us? Be mindful that you may meet Allah on the Day of Judgment with a lot of salah and a lot of fasting, but you can be told you are going to the fire because of how you made your neighbors feel.

When your children are running around and you live in a flat, they need to know that they need to keep the noise down because of the neighbors — not just because of them, but because of Allah. Our deen, my brothers and sisters, is a deen that is kamil, shamil — all-encompassing, covering all facets of life. And if we apply the deen, everything becomes better.

So insha'Allah ta'ala, the message to myself and to all of you is to keep in mind all of these hadith and statements and do something about it. And when you go home today, start thinking: what is it that I can do better? Whether that is removing their harm, or that is doing more good — generosity and honoring our neighbors.

I say this and ask Allah to forgive me and you, and He forgives every sin, so seek His forgiveness. Verily, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Khutbah al-Thaniyah — Good Character in Islam

Alhamdulillah. Salatu wassalamu ala Rasulillah. My beloved brothers and sisters, the topic that I spoke to you about earlier — the rights of our neighbors — comes under a larger topic: al-akhlaq al-fadila, good character in Islam.

I have mentioned many times from this minbar that as Muslims, not only must we focus on improving the quality — and yes, the quantity — of our personal acts of worship, we must also improve the quality of how we behave with others. The Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1987)

Fear Allah wherever you may find yourself. Wherever you may be, always be someone who is conscious of Allah — at work, at home, in private, in public, with friends, with family. It does not matter. Always be conscious of Allah, regardless of where you find yourself.

And the Prophet ﷺ also told us that we are not going to be perfect and that we will sin — وَأَتْبِعِ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا — follow up any bad deed with a good deed, it will wipe it out. And then the Prophet ﷺ said: وَخَالِقِ النَّاسَ بِخُلُقٍ حَسَنٍ — behave towards people with the best behavior possible. The behavior of the Prophet ﷺ. To learn about the behavior of the Prophet ﷺ, learn about his life and how he dealt with others, and try to emulate that.

Like Allah says in the Qur'an:

Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have the most excellent example. So if you want to learn how to be a husband, or a son, or a father, or a neighbor — look at Rasulullah ﷺ as your example.

A Call to Action

Please, allow these khutbahs and these sessions that you come to regularly — please, every week when you come to Jumu'ah, do not allow these khutbahs to be something that you listen to, agree with, and then go home and nothing changes about you. This is a calamity. We keep coming to the Friday khutbah, which is meant and designed to admonish us, to uplift us, and to change us. But every Friday we come and we go, and nothing changes about your ibadah, about your akhlaq — nothing changes. This is a problem.

We have to be people of action. We are not an Ummah of words only — we are an Ummah of amal. We are people who act and do righteous deeds. So I encourage all of you to take from every khutbah you attend and every reminder you listen to some actionable things that you can do and improve upon, insha'Allah ta'ala.

Du'a