PRESENTED BY: DR SHEIKH HASSAN KINYUA OMARI

PHD , M.A,PGD(ISLAMC BANKING AND INSURANCE-IIBI, UK) B.A (ISLAMIC STUDIES/ARABIC LANGUAGE )

DIRECTOR, RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS-SUPREME COUNCIL OF KENYA MUSLIMS

AT DARI HOTEL-NAIROBI17TH - 19TH , 2016

INTERFAITH CONSULTATION

Rights of Neighbours:Islamic perspective

Religions share a common message, ‘do to others what you have done to you’, this is one of the moral foundations in interfaith relations.

And be good to the neighbour who is your relative and to the neighbour who is not a relative . . . (Qur'an, 4:36) Islam has great respect for the mutual rights and duties of neighbours. The Holy Prophet said: Jibril always used to advise me to be generous with neighbours, till I thought that Allah was going to include the neighbours among the heirs of a Muslim. 

Cont..

The rights of neighbourhood are not meant for Muslim neighbours only. of course, a Muslim neighbour has one more claim upon us - that of Islamic brotherhood; but so far as the rights of neighbourship are concerned, all are equal.  

Hadith on types of neighbours

Explaining it, the Holy Prophet said: Neighbours are of three kinds:

(1) that one who has got one right upon you; (2) that one who has got two rights upon you; (3) that one who has got three rights upon you.

 The neighbour having three rights upon you is the one who is also a Muslim and a relative. The neighbour having two rights is the one who is either a non-Muslim or a non-relative Muslim.

The neighbour having one right is the one who is neither a Muslim nor a relative. Still he has got all the claims of neighbourhood-rights upon you. 

Hadith on neighbours

Here are some more traditions which show the Islamic love towards the neighbours: The Holy Prophet said:That man is not from me who sleeps contentedly while his neighbour sleeps hungry. Al-Imam `Ali ibn al-Husayn (a. s.) in his Risalat al-Huquq, said:These are your duties towards your neighbour: Protect his interests when he is absent; show him respect when he is present; help him when he is inflicted with any injustice. Do not remain on the look-out to detect his faults; and if, by any chance, you happen to know any undesirable thing about him, hide it from others; and, at the same time, try to desist him from improper habits, if there is any chance that he will listen to you. Never leave him alone at any calamity. Forgive him, if he has done any wrong. In short, live with him a noble life, based on the highest Islamic ethical code.

Responsibility towards neighbour.

Protect his interests when he is absent; show him respect when he is present; help him when he is inflicted with any injustice. Do not remain on the look-out to detect his faults; and if, by any chance, you happen to know any undesirable thing about him, hide it from others; and, at the same time, try to desist him from improper habits, if there is any chance that he will listen to you. Never leave him alone at any calamity. Forgive him, if he has done any wrong. In short, live with him a noble life, based on the highest Islamic ethical code

Cont..

The neighbour having one right is the one who is neither a Muslim nor a relative. Still he has got all the claims of neighbourhood-rights upon you. Here are some more traditions which show the Islamic love towards the neighbours: The Holy Prophet said:That man is not from me who sleeps contentedly while his neighbour sleeps hungry. Al-Imam `Ali ibn al-Husayn (a. s.) in his Risalat al-Huquq, said:These are your duties towards your neigbour

Cont..

• Ethics and morality are paramount in Islamic teachings, which focus on the individual wellbeing and the development of the world to establish peace and harmony for all (Dugbazah, 2009:25).

• Verily, God commands justice, and Ihssan10/ beneficence and giving to kindred; and forbids indecency, and forbidden things, and wrongful transgression. He admonished you that you may take heed (16:90)

• This verse lays the foundation for human behaviour and ethics in relation to God, other human beings and the environment; the verse stipulates God’s comprehensive commands for ethical human behaviour (Asad, 2003: 456, note 108).

• The whole society is commanded to follow the behaviour exhorted in the verse in order to demonstrate justice, ihssan/beneficence and generosity/charitable giving (Kamali, 2002: 112).

• Indeed a moral framework for development encourages a more caring society, more development aid to the poor and stability in a world of mutual respect and cooperation (Tyndale, 2003: 22-28).

Cont..

• Religions have a vision of creating a better world that is not centred upon economic factors

Religious values and moral codes provide a strong foundation for a more sustainable and appropriate development strategy”(Lunn 2009: 945)

• International conventions, conferences and institutions have focused on fighting corruption

• Civil society has been active in combating corruption. • Most of these initiatives have been undertaken within a

‘secular’ framework. • codes of ethics promoted by different faiths have the

potential to contribute to the process of curbing corruption.

• there has not been a clear public message on the role of faith in the fight against corruption

Islam and social justice

• Social justice is central to the concept of development in Islam (Dugbazah, 2009: 34). • In Islamic teaching, social justice includes the fair and equitable distribution of wealth,

the provision of basic necessities, and the protection of the weak against economic exploitation by the strong (Badawi, 1982).

• Furthermore values of fairness, honesty, ethics and mercy should be evident in the application of justice regardless of race, colour or creed (Khan, et. al., 2009). Therefore, all behaviours that undermine those values and distort Islam’s moral framework are not acceptable in Islam.

• The Quran addresses this issue by using the concept of ‘fasaad’, which is an Arabic word that can be translated as corruption.

• The concept of corruption in the Quran is broader than the mainstream concept of corruption, which is the misuse of entrusted power.

• The verse instigates the values of justice, beneficence /Ihssan and giving/generosity to one’s fellow men (denote the wider community), then, the verse highlights the forbidden behaviours of indecency, forbidding -behaviours, and wrongful transgression

• Ihssan according to the prophet’s (pbuh) saying is ‘to worship God as you are seeing him and while you see Him not yet truly He sees you’ (Albukhari).

• Ihsan means doing everything in an excellent manner in relation to the following: in relation to God by feeling his presence; parents by honour and being thankful to them; relatives by saving their rights and being good to them; the weak and needy by charity and being nice to them; human relations in general by being good to all regardless of differences in faith; the whole world’s creatures including vegetables, animals and inanimates and the whole environment by not wasting or misusing resources and doing good in everything.

Cont..

• In order to fulfil their role as stewards on earth, it is important for human beings to follow the moral framework laid down by Islam, which includes all the guidance and teachings that promote morality. Humankind would ideally conform to such a moral framework, without the need for a legal system or external supervision because of their love and fear of God (Kamali, 2002: 113, and Zayd, 2006).

• This conformity reflects the concept of taqwa, which is a central concept in the teaching of the Quran. Taqwa can be translated into the state of being pious or God-fearing. Like justice, conveying the importance of taqwa was the goal of all of the messengers sent by God (Quran 4:131); the message was to “obtain the taqwa of God” (Baianonie, 1998). The centrality of taqwa in relation to ethics16 and human behaviour is a guiding principle in the teachings of the Quran and has been linked to God’s guidance on human behaviour in 151 verses (Karolia, 2003).

• Therefore, one can conclude that compliance to Islam’s moral framework is a measure of accountability to God. Consequently, from an Islamic perspective there is a significant moral and ethical dimension that should influence human behaviour in the fight against corruption (Lewis, 2006:13). Furthermore in the Quran, the concept of taqwa is instrumental in framing human behaviour and ethics. Therefore, from an Islamic perspective, the concept provides the foundation for ethical transparency and accountability in all humankind’s deeds and sayings beyond the power of legal systems and the enforcement of laws and procedures.

Hadith

أخبرنا قال المروزي م�حمد بن بشر الله حدثنا أخبرنا عبد يونس قالأخبرنا الزهري عن الله قال عبد بن عمر عن سالم الله ابن رضي

الليث وزاد راع كلكم يقول وسلم عليه الله صلى الله رسول أن عنهمايومئذ معه وأنا شهاب ابن إلى حكيم بن رزيق كتب يونس بوادي قال

أجمع القرى أن ترى جماعة ورزيق هل وفيها يعملها أرض على عاملعلى ورزيق وغيرهم السودان من شهاب فكتب أيلة يومئذ وأنا ابن

أن حدثه سالما أن يخبره يجمع أن يأمره عمر أسمع بن الله يقول عبدم�سئول وكلكم راع كلكم يقول وسلم عليه الله صلى الله رسول سمعت

وهو أهله في راع والرجل رعيته عن ومسئول راع اإلم�ام رعيته عنرعيتها عن ومسئولة زوجها بيت في راعية والمرأة رعيته عن مسئول

قال قد أن وحسبت قال رعيته عن ومسئول سيده مال في راع والخادمعن ومسئول راع وكلكم رعيته عن ومسئول أبيه مال في راع والرجل

رعيته

Reference

• Abdul Kader, A. (1973) in Al-buraey M (1985) ‘Administrative Development, An Islamic Perspective’ London, England, first published by KPI limited.

• Al-buraey M. (1985) ‘Administrative Development, An Islamic Perspective’ London, England, first published by KPI limited

• Asad, M. (2003) ‘The Message of the Quran’, England, The Book Foundation • Badawi, A. (1982) ‘Islamic Teachings’, Halifax: Islamic Information Foundation, Album 4 • Baianonie, M. (1998) ‘The position of Taqwa and its importance in Islam’• Blunt, E. (2002), Corruption ‘costs Africa billions’ available at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2265387.stm accessed on 24th October 2009 • Clarke, G. (2007) ‘Agents of Transformation?: Donors, faith-based organisations and

international development.’ Third World Quarterly, 28 (1), pp 77-96 • Dillon, J. Ekmekji, E. Feighery,A. Garrett,R. Gray,M, Johnson, T, Jones,S, Legge,T, Leous,J.

Raeisghasem, A. and Reilly, K.(2006), Corruption and the Environment, USA, Columbia University. Available at http://www.watergovernance.org/downloads/Corruption_&_the%20Environment_Columbia_U niv_WS_May2006.pdf , accessed on 20th October 2009

• Dugbazah, J. (2009) ‘The Relationships between Values, Religious Teaching and Development Concepts and practices: A Preliminary Literature Review’ Birmingham, University of Birmingham

• Iqbal, Z. and Lewis, M.K. (2002), ‘Governance and Corruption: Can Islamic Societies and the West Learn from Each Other?’ American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 19(2), 1-33

• Kamali, M. (2002) ‘Freedom, Equality and Justice In Islam’ United Kingdom. The Islamic Texts Society

• Khan, A. Tahmazov, I. and Abuarqub, M. (2009) ‘Translating Faith into Development’ available at http://www.islamicrelief.com/Indepth