believe; by Allah, he does not believe—the one whose neighbour is not safe from his harm.” (1)

His statement, “No rawshan, sābāṭ, bench, or waterspout may be projected”: that is, it is not permissible to project a rawshan, sābāṭ, bench, or waterspout into through passageways.

A rawshan is a roof constructed without being joined to the opposite wall, while a sābāṭ is a roof constructed so as to join the opposite wall.

Therefore, one may not project anything beyond one’s property into the public street. The reason for this is that the airspace follows the land beneath it, and this road belongs to the general public; thus, it is not permissible to project anything into the airspace above this road.

The same applies to a sābāṭ. For example, if a person owns two houses separated by a through road and wishes to construct a bridge between them, he is not permitted to do so, because the airspace follows the land beneath it, and the street belongs to the general public; no one person has an exclusive right to it over another.

The apparent meaning of the author’s words—may Allah have mercy on him—is that this applies whether or not there is harm involved. Indeed, the apparent meaning of his words is that it is prohibited even if it benefits those who use the street—for instance, if it provides shade from the sun and rain. He would still not be permitted to do so.

The correct view, however, is that there is no objection to projecting what is customary, provided that it does not harm people and is done with the permission of the governing authority. But if it harms them, then it is not permissible, even if the authority responsible for the town—such as the mayor, for example—were to grant permission. Thus, if he gave permission