Jibril kept advising the Prophet ﷺ about the neighbour until he thought the neighbour would be made an heir Bukhari 6014. Many of us do not know our neighbour's name.
From the Quran
وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنْبِ
From the Prophet ﷺ
«مَا زَالَ يُوصِينِي جِبْرِيلُ بِالْجَارِ حَتَّى ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ سَيُوَرِّثُهُ»
Seen in the prophets
The Quran tells us little about the prophets and their neighbours, so here the teaching comes from the Prophet ﷺ himself.
He ﷺ told Abu Dharr: when you cook a broth, add more water, then think of a household among your neighbours and give them some of it with kindness Muslim 2625.
He tied it to faith itself: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not harm his neighbour" Bukhari 6018.
What it is not
It is not only for the neighbours you like, or the ones related to you. The verse names both the near neighbour and the distant one 4:36.
Today, in practice
Learn your neighbour's name, and use it.
When you cook, make one plate more Muslim 2625.
Your noise at night, your parking, your rubbish: they live with all of it too.
Small, practical steps. This is friendly advice, not a ruling.
Your manner for the week
حَقُّ الجَار The neighbour
Choose one manner and carry it for seven days. It is saved on this device only, nobody else sees it.
Their moments
Sources on this page
Quran 4:36Sahih Muslim 2625Sahih al-Bukhari 6014Sahih al-Bukhari 6018
Quran meanings are given in plain English, close to the Arabic. Hadith numbers follow sunnah.com.