Jabir said, "A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to complain to him about the enmity of his neighbour. While he was sitting between the Corner and the Maqam, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, approached with a man who was wearing a white garment. They went to the Maqam where they were praying for the dead. He went up to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'May my mother and my father be your ransom, Messenger of Allah! Who is this man I see with you wearing the white garment?' 'You saw him?' he asked. 'Yes,' the man replied. He said, 'Then you have seen much good. That was Jibril, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the Messenger of my Lord. He kept on recommending that I treat my neighbours well until I thought that he would order me to make them my heirs.'"
Hadith Commentary: The Sacred Duty of Neighborly Conduct
This profound narration from Jabir ibn Abdullah, recorded in Imam Bukhari's "Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 126," reveals the extraordinary emphasis Islam places on the rights of neighbors. The setting itself is significant—the sacred space between the Corner (Black Stone) and Maqam Ibrahim in the Masjid al-Haram—indicating that matters of neighborly relations hold spiritual weight before Allah.
Divine Emphasis Through Angelic Repetition
The appearance of Angel Jibril in human form, wearing pure white garments, underscores the heavenly importance of this matter. The Prophet's astonishment at the repeated recommendations—"until I thought that he would order me to make them my heirs"—demonstrates that the obligation toward neighbors approaches the level of inheritance rights among relatives.
Scholars explain that this repetition indicates the obligation is both urgent and comprehensive, encompassing material support, kind treatment, patience with harm, and protection of their rights and honor.
Practical Implications for Muslim Conduct
This hadith establishes that proper treatment of neighbors is not merely recommended but obligatory, regardless of the neighbor's faith or conduct. The complainant came regarding a hostile neighbor, yet the divine instruction emphasized the Muslim's responsibility rather than justifying retaliation.
Classical scholars derived from this that neighbors have rights to: protection from harm, financial assistance when in need, visitation during illness, sharing food, offering sincere counsel, and overlooking minor faults—creating communities bound by mutual care and responsibility.