—with a kasrah.
What may be drawn from the ḥadīth:
1 – The narration sets out the neighbour’s right and shows that it is immense. In the authentic report the Prophet ﷺ said: “Gabriel kept exhorting me about the neighbour until I thought he would grant him a share of inheritance.”
2 – It indicates that whoever harms his neighbour—whether by word or deed—does not possess complete faith in Allah or in the Last Day. True belief in Allah impels its bearer to avoid His prohibitions, and belief in the Last Day instils fear of that Day’s terrors, preventing him from harming his neighbour. Had the offender been truly characterised by faith at the moment he caused harm, no offence would have issued from him; for faith motivates a person to fulfil obligations and abandon the forbidden.
3 – The ḥadīth enjoins treating women kindly. In the Prophet’s sermon during the Farewell Pilgrimage he said: “Fear Allah regarding women, for you have taken them under Allah’s trust and have made their private parts lawful to you by the word of Allah.”
Out of His mercy and gentleness toward His creation, Allah urges care and protection for those who are small or weak. Concerning orphans He commanded the safeguarding of their wealth, forbade squandering it, and threatened those who consume it: “Indeed, those who devour the property of orphans unjustly are only consuming into their bellies fire, and they will be burned in a Blazing Flame” (4:10). The similarly vulnerable woman, effectively a captive in her husband’s house, is likewise commended to our care: “And live with them honorably” (4:19), and: “For them is a right similar to that which is upon them, in kindness” (2:228). The Prophet ﷺ said: “The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best of you to my family.”
4 – When the Prophet ﷺ counselled kindness toward women he added that “they were created from a rib, and the most crooked part of the rib is its upper portion.” This statement describes the intrinsic nature upon which women were created and serves as a prelude to the instruction