The Ruling on the Right of Pre-emption for a Neighbor in a Shared Path

Question:
This is now well-known among the common people. If you sell your house and he is your neighbor, he says, "Do not sell to anyone but me, Zaynab; I have a right."

Answer:
This is part of good neighborly conduct: if he makes an offer or sells to him, he is given priority over others. This falls under the meaning of the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him be good to his neighbor." This is from the perspective of being kind to him, not from the perspective of gratitude. What is the criterion for a single path? It is that they share the path. For example, there is a wall between them, a path through the wall between them, not a public road, but a private lane between them. If one of them sells, the other will not buy except as a pre-emptor, because the path is one, and the water channel is one, a single water channel.