The Rules Of Conduct With Neighbours

(Excerpted from Futuwat namah by Khwaja Husayn Wa’iz Kashifi Sabzawari An Naqshbandi Translated by M. Nur Abdussalam)

If asked: How many are the rules of conduct with neighbours? Say: Fourteen:

1.      You should not be deficient in kindness and compassion with them.
2.      You should not withhold advice and admonishment from them.
3.      If a fault is observed, you should not embarrass them.
4.      You should assist and protect them as much as you can.
5.      You should not burden them with your troubles; instead, lift their burdens from their hearts.
6.      If you do something for them, they should not be taxed with an obligation for it.
7.      In receiving a benefit from them, thank them.
8.      If they commit some fault with respect to you, you should not complain.
9.      If they are poor and needy, you should indulge them with whatever you have at hand.
10.  If they request an implement, you should lend it to them cheerfully.
11.  You should not withhold water, salt, and firewood from them.
12.  You should caress their bright children.
13.  You should share their mourning and their felicitation, their grief and their joy.
14.  You should not be sparing in giving them access to waterways, footpaths, gates, or anything else that will benefit them and not cause you loss.

In short, respect the neighbour in a manner that cannot hope to be bettered. It will be a cause of salvation in the next world, the sign of the perfection of surety and the observance of the law. As the Prophet said: Whoever believes in God and the last day honours his neighbour.

God praises those who do good to their neighbours where He says: And the neighbour who is near of kin and the neighbour who is a stranger… (4:36).