775 – Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The neighbor has the strongest claim to the right of pre-emption of his neighbor; he is to be waited for—even if he is away—so long as they share a single access road.” Related by Ahmad and the Four Sunan compilers, and its transmitters are trustworthy. (1)

Status of the hadith: Sound (sahih).

Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Darimi recorded it through various chains from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abi Sulayman, from ʿAtaʾ, from Jabir, from the Prophet ﷺ. Shuʿbah voiced criticism of ʿAbd al-Malik on account of this narration.

Al-Tirmidhi said, “This hadith is hasan gharib; we know of no one who has transmitted it other than ʿAbd al-Malik from ʿAtaʾ from Jabir. ʿAbd al-Malik is reliable. It is reported from Ibn al-Mubarak that al-Thawri said, ‘ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abi Sulayman is a touchstone in knowledge.’”

Imam Ahmad declared, “This hadith is munkar (unacceptable).” Al-Shafiʿi said, “I fear it is not preserved.” Al-Bukhari likewise leaned toward judging it munkar because it conflicts with Jabir’s other report that states, “if their pathway is one.”

I say: The earlier authorities deemed this hadith munkar because of the additional clause it contains; yet that clause does not render the report objectionable. Rather, it is a sound and acceptable qualifier that reconciles two seemingly divergent bodies of hadith on the issue of pre-emption: one set affirms the neighbor’s right unconditionally, while the other denies it outright. This qualifying clause harmonizes the reports, and therefore the hadith is free of objection. Allah knows best.