As for the report narrated by Abu Hurayrah in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “Let not a neighbor prevent his neighbor from embedding a beam in his wall,” its meaning is this: if your neighbor wishes to roof his house and needs to rest timber on the shared wall, it is unlawful for you to stop him, for placing the wood on the wall does no harm. On the contrary, it strengthens the wall and shields it from run-off. This was especially true in earlier times, when buildings were made of sun-dried bricks; the wood kept the rain from beating directly upon the wall, thereby protecting and reinforcing it. Because the arrangement benefits both the neighbor and the wall itself, it is impermissible for the owner of the wall to forbid it. Should he nonetheless refuse, the ruler has the right to compel him to allow the beam to be placed in spite of his objections.

For that reason Abu Hurayrah once declared, “What is the matter with you that you turn away from this ruling? By Allah, I will fling it between your shoulders!”—meaning that if someone will not permit a beam to be set in his wall, it will be laid across his very back. He said this when he had been appointed over the people of Madinah during the time of Marwan b. al-Hakam.

A similar stance was taken by the Commander of the Believers ʿUmar b. al-Khattab in the dispute that arose between Muhammad b. Maslamah and his neighbor. Muhammad wanted to channel irrigation water to his orchard, but his neighbor’s orchard lay in between and the man refused to let the water cross his land. When the case was brought before ʿUmar, he said, “By Allah, if you prevent him, I will make the water flow across your own belly,” and he obliged the neighbor to allow the water through, because doing so caused no harm. Every orchard is cultivated ground: when the water of the irrigation channel flows, the soil benefits, the crops around the channel benefit, and the neighbor himself benefits. Yes, if the land-owner intended to build on that plot and said, “I do not want water running over it,” he would be entitled to refuse. But if he means to plant it, the water can only increase its