– aktāfikum (with the dotted tāʾ): the plural of kataf, meaning the shoulder—that is, “among you.” It is also narrated with a nūn as aknāfikum, the plural of kanaf (with the first syllable open), which likewise means “among you,” for kanaf denotes one’s side.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said: “We read it in the Muwaṭṭaʾ with both the tāʾ and the nūn, namely aktāfikum and aknāfikum.”

What may be inferred from the ḥadīth

1. A neighbor possesses many significant rights that must be honored. The Prophet ﷺ urged maintaining ties with neighbors, treating them well, showing them kindness, and protecting them from harm. The Almighty said, “…and the distant neighbor” (Qur’an 4:36). Al-Bukhārī (6015) and Muslim (2625) report that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Gabriel kept advising me about the neighbor until I thought he would make him an heir.” Al-Bukhārī (6016) also records that he ﷺ declared, “By Allah, he is not a believer whose neighbor is not safe from his mischief.” Numerous ḥadīths speak to this theme.
2. Part of good neighborliness and observance of rights is that a neighbor offer his neighbor benefits that cause him no substantial harm while bringing advantage to the other.
3. Among those benefits is that a neighbor must permit his neighbor to rest a beam on his wall when the latter needs it and the former suffers no significant harm thereby; refusing is unlawful, for a prohibition indicates impermissibility.
4. Some scholars held that the prohibition only implies discouragement, whereas Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) understood it as an outright ban on refusal. Hence he reproached the people of Madinah for ignoring this sunnah and failing to implement it. The understanding of a Companion takes precedence over that of others.
5. This is one of the neighborly rights encouraged by the Lawgiver, who commanded benevolence toward neighbors; by analogy, other forms of benefit that neighbors may need fall under the same ruling.