Explanation of the author's statement: "And good neighborliness, and kindness to orphans, the poor, and the traveler, and gentleness with the slave"
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The Shaykh : He said: "And they also call for and command good neighborliness":
Good neighborliness with neighbors. The neighbors are the relatives in the home, and the closest of them are the most deserving of maintaining ties and honoring.
Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:[An-Nisa 4:36] The close neighbor and the distant neighbor, all of them, Allah the Exalted has commanded kindness toward them. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 47a
And he said:Sahih Muslim 2625b And he said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1942Sahih (Darussalam) And he said: Sahih al-Bukhari 6016
To mention other than that of the texts indicating the care for the neighbor and kindness to him and honoring him.
And if the neighbor is a Muslim relative, he has three rights: the right of Islam, the right of kinship, and the right of neighborliness.
And if he is a relative neighbor, he has two rights: the right of kinship and the right of neighborliness.
And if he is a Muslim non-relative who is a neighbor, he has two rights: the right of Islam and the right of neighborliness.
And if he is a non-Muslim distant neighbor, he has one right, which is the right of neighborliness.
The important point is that the people of the Sunnah and the community command good neighborliness absolutely, whoever the neighbor is, and whoever is closer is more deserving.
And it is regrettable that some people today are worse to the neighbor than to non-neighbors. You find him encroaching on his neighbor by taking from his property, troubling him, disturbing him, and the like. And it has passed us in the chapter on reconciliation in jurisprudence something of the rulings of neighborliness, so let one refer to it.
"Likewise, kindness to orphans, the poor, and the traveler":
They command kindness to these three categories.
Orphans: the plural of orphan, and he is the one whose father died before he reached puberty, or before the father reached puberty? The child, yes, he is the one whose father died before he reached puberty. Yes, we said we do not need to say the pronoun refers to the nearest or the farthest mentioned, because the meaning is clear. Good.
The one whose father died before he reached puberty is an orphan. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) commanded kindness to orphans, and likewise the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged it in several hadiths. The reason for that is that the orphan's heart is broken by the separation from his father, so he is in need of care and gentleness. Therefore, the Shari'ah encourages care for him and kindness to orphans according to the situation. The young orphan is treated kindly with what? With a sweet, a small car, yes, things that make him happy. The older one with a pen, a watch, a book, a notebook, and so on. And the adult with what? The adult is not an orphan. The adult is not an orphan, but he is a Muslim. If you are kind to him with what you are kind to him with, that is good.
Good. The poor: who are they? The poor. The poor here includes the needy and the poor. So kindness to them is what the Shari'ah commanded in multiple verses of the Qur'an, and it gave them specific rights in the fay' and others. The reason for kindness to them is that poverty settled in them and weakened them and broke their hearts. So it is among the beauties of Islam that we are kind to them to compensate for what happened to them of what? Of deficiency and brokenness.
Kindness to the poor is according to the situation: if he is in need of food, kindness to him is by feeding him. To clothing, by clothing him. To consideration, by giving him his consideration. Suppose a poor man entered the gathering, he is full and earning. He greeted, perhaps only one person at the end of the gathering returned the greeting. Yes, here how do you be kind to the person? I say, "Welcome, so-and-so's father, may Allah greet you, and peace be upon you. Come forward here so that we may raise his morale." As for humiliating him, he comes and greets and does not know if it was returned or not. And if it is returned, the dignified people do not return it; only the lowest among them return it. The lowest among them are those who return it. This is an insult to him. So for this deficiency that Allah the Mighty and Majestic decreed by His wisdom, He the Mighty and Majestic commanded us to be kind to them to compensate for this deficiency.
Likewise, the traveler. The traveler means: the one whose journey was cut off, or not cut off, in the chapter of zakah. The one whose journey was cut off, because we give him for his need, and here his journey was cut off or not cut off, because the traveler is a stranger, and the stranger is lonely. And from the common sayings: "O stranger, be polite". So the stranger, by his name, is lonely from people. If you make him feel at ease by honoring him and being kind to him, then this is what the Shari'ah commands.
If a guest comes to you, then honoring him is what? Honoring him, honoring his hospitality. But some scholars said: "It is not obligatory, it is not obligatory to honor him with hospitality except in the villages, not in the large cities". The large cities that have restaurants and hotels, meaning these do not require you to honor him, do not require you to honor him or host him. If he comes, you say, "By Allah, look for a hotel, what? The Oasis hotel, for example, here in Unaizah, or look for such-and-such a restaurant. Man, I would like to stay with you. By Allah, as long as there is something that meets your need, rely on Allah. We will give you dirhams, we will give you dirhams." Yes, some scholars see that hospitality in such a case is not obligatory, even if he is a traveler. And we say: rather, it is obligatory, unless there is a reason, like the narrowness of the house, for example, or other reasons that prevent you from hosting this man. But in any case, it should be that if it is difficult, you be kind in the response, be kind in the response.
Good, he says: "And gentleness with the slave". And what is the slave, the human or the animal?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It includes both. Gentleness with the human slave: you feed him when you eat, and you do not deprive him of food. You bring it to you, you eat it in front of him, and you do not give it to him. This is bad treatment. Gentleness with the slave also includes animals. Gentleness with animals, whether they are those that are ridden, or milked, or kept. Be gentle with them. And gentleness with them varies according to what they need. So in winter, you put them in warm places if they cannot bear the cold. And in summer, in cool places if they cannot bear the heat. You bring them food and drink. If they are those that carry, do not make them carry what they cannot bear. And do not beat them.
And this indicates the perfection of the Shari'ah, and that it did not forget even the animals. Good, he says: "Gentleness with the slave".
Good neighborliness with neighbors. The neighbors are the relatives in the home, and the closest of them are the most deserving of maintaining ties and honoring.
Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away
وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِhe who believes in Allah and the Last Day should treat his neighbour with kindness
من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر فليكرم جارهAnd he said:
when you prepare the broth, add water to that and give that (as a present) to your neighbour.
إذا طبخت مرقة، فأكثر ماءها وتعاهد جيرانكJibril – may the Salawat of Allah be upon him – continued to recommend me about (treating) the neighbors so (kindly and politely), that I thought he would order me to make them heirs.
ما زال جبريل يوصيني بالجار حتى ظننت أنه سيورثهNarrated Abu Shuraih: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe!" It was said, "Who is that, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)?" He said, "That person whose neighbor does not feel safe from his evil."
والله لا يؤمن والله لا يؤمن والله لا يؤمن من لا يأمن جاره بوائقهTo mention other than that of the texts indicating the care for the neighbor and kindness to him and honoring him.
And if the neighbor is a Muslim relative, he has three rights: the right of Islam, the right of kinship, and the right of neighborliness.
And if he is a relative neighbor, he has two rights: the right of kinship and the right of neighborliness.
And if he is a Muslim non-relative who is a neighbor, he has two rights: the right of Islam and the right of neighborliness.
And if he is a non-Muslim distant neighbor, he has one right, which is the right of neighborliness.
The important point is that the people of the Sunnah and the community command good neighborliness absolutely, whoever the neighbor is, and whoever is closer is more deserving.
And it is regrettable that some people today are worse to the neighbor than to non-neighbors. You find him encroaching on his neighbor by taking from his property, troubling him, disturbing him, and the like. And it has passed us in the chapter on reconciliation in jurisprudence something of the rulings of neighborliness, so let one refer to it.
"Likewise, kindness to orphans, the poor, and the traveler":
They command kindness to these three categories.
Orphans: the plural of orphan, and he is the one whose father died before he reached puberty, or before the father reached puberty? The child, yes, he is the one whose father died before he reached puberty. Yes, we said we do not need to say the pronoun refers to the nearest or the farthest mentioned, because the meaning is clear. Good.
The one whose father died before he reached puberty is an orphan. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) commanded kindness to orphans, and likewise the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged it in several hadiths. The reason for that is that the orphan's heart is broken by the separation from his father, so he is in need of care and gentleness. Therefore, the Shari'ah encourages care for him and kindness to orphans according to the situation. The young orphan is treated kindly with what? With a sweet, a small car, yes, things that make him happy. The older one with a pen, a watch, a book, a notebook, and so on. And the adult with what? The adult is not an orphan. The adult is not an orphan, but he is a Muslim. If you are kind to him with what you are kind to him with, that is good.
Good. The poor: who are they? The poor. The poor here includes the needy and the poor. So kindness to them is what the Shari'ah commanded in multiple verses of the Qur'an, and it gave them specific rights in the fay' and others. The reason for kindness to them is that poverty settled in them and weakened them and broke their hearts. So it is among the beauties of Islam that we are kind to them to compensate for what happened to them of what? Of deficiency and brokenness.
Kindness to the poor is according to the situation: if he is in need of food, kindness to him is by feeding him. To clothing, by clothing him. To consideration, by giving him his consideration. Suppose a poor man entered the gathering, he is full and earning. He greeted, perhaps only one person at the end of the gathering returned the greeting. Yes, here how do you be kind to the person? I say, "Welcome, so-and-so's father, may Allah greet you, and peace be upon you. Come forward here so that we may raise his morale." As for humiliating him, he comes and greets and does not know if it was returned or not. And if it is returned, the dignified people do not return it; only the lowest among them return it. The lowest among them are those who return it. This is an insult to him. So for this deficiency that Allah the Mighty and Majestic decreed by His wisdom, He the Mighty and Majestic commanded us to be kind to them to compensate for this deficiency.
Likewise, the traveler. The traveler means: the one whose journey was cut off, or not cut off, in the chapter of zakah. The one whose journey was cut off, because we give him for his need, and here his journey was cut off or not cut off, because the traveler is a stranger, and the stranger is lonely. And from the common sayings: "O stranger, be polite". So the stranger, by his name, is lonely from people. If you make him feel at ease by honoring him and being kind to him, then this is what the Shari'ah commands.
If a guest comes to you, then honoring him is what? Honoring him, honoring his hospitality. But some scholars said: "It is not obligatory, it is not obligatory to honor him with hospitality except in the villages, not in the large cities". The large cities that have restaurants and hotels, meaning these do not require you to honor him, do not require you to honor him or host him. If he comes, you say, "By Allah, look for a hotel, what? The Oasis hotel, for example, here in Unaizah, or look for such-and-such a restaurant. Man, I would like to stay with you. By Allah, as long as there is something that meets your need, rely on Allah. We will give you dirhams, we will give you dirhams." Yes, some scholars see that hospitality in such a case is not obligatory, even if he is a traveler. And we say: rather, it is obligatory, unless there is a reason, like the narrowness of the house, for example, or other reasons that prevent you from hosting this man. But in any case, it should be that if it is difficult, you be kind in the response, be kind in the response.
Good, he says: "And gentleness with the slave". And what is the slave, the human or the animal?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It includes both. Gentleness with the human slave: you feed him when you eat, and you do not deprive him of food. You bring it to you, you eat it in front of him, and you do not give it to him. This is bad treatment. Gentleness with the slave also includes animals. Gentleness with animals, whether they are those that are ridden, or milked, or kept. Be gentle with them. And gentleness with them varies according to what they need. So in winter, you put them in warm places if they cannot bear the cold. And in summer, in cool places if they cannot bear the heat. You bring them food and drink. If they are those that carry, do not make them carry what they cannot bear. And do not beat them.
And this indicates the perfection of the Shari'ah, and that it did not forget even the animals. Good, he says: "Gentleness with the slave".