Qur'an verses on neighbors

Ala-Maududi

(4:36) Serve Allah and ascribe no partner to Him. Do good to your parents, to near of kin, to orphans, and to the needy, and to the neighbour who is of kin and to the neighbour who is a stranger, and to the companion by your side,^[62] and to the wayfarer, and to those whom your right hands possess. Allah does not love the arrogant and the boastful,

62. The expression al-sahib bi al-janb (the companion by your side) embraces those with whom one has friendly relations of an abiding nature as well as those with whom one’s relationship is transient: for instance, either the person who walks beside one on the way to the market or who sits beside one while buying things from the same shop or one’s fellow traveller. Even this temporary relationship imposes certain claims on every refined and decent person – that he should treat him, as far as possible, in a kind and gracious manner and avoid causing him any inconvenience.

Ala-Maududi

(8:48) And recall when Satan made their works seem fair to them and said: None shall overcome you today. and I am your supporter.’ But when the two armies faced each other, he turned on his heels, and said: ‘Surely I am quit of you for I behold that which you do not. Indeed I fear Allah, and Allah is stern in punishment.’

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(13:4) And on the earth there are many tracts of land neighbouring each other.^[9] There are on it vineyards, and sown fields, and date palms: some growing in clusters from one root, some standing alone.^[10] They are irrigated by the same water, and yet We make some excel others in taste. Surely there are signs in these for a people who use their reason.^[11]

9. That is, If you observe carefully, you will find divine wisdom, design and purpose in the diversity of the structure of the earth. Though it has countless regions adjoining one another, they are different from one another in their shapes, colors, component parts, characteristics, potentialities, productive capacity and source of minerals. This diversity has countless points of wisdom and advantage. Let alone other creatures, if we consider the diversity of regions from the point of the good it has done to mankind, we shall have to acknowledge that this is the result of the well thought and well planned design of the All-Wise Creator. For this diversity has helped the growth of human civilization so much that only an unreasonable person can assign this to mere accident.

10. Some of the date palm trees have only a single trunk from the root while others have two or more stems from the same root.

11. The things mentioned in this verse contain many other signs besides the proofs of Tauhid and the boundless powers and All-Comprehensive Wisdom of Allah. Let us consider one of these, that is, the diversity in the universe, including mankind. There is the one and the same earth but all its regions are quite different from one another. Then there is one and the same water but it helps to produce different kinds of corn and fruits. Then one and the same tree bears fruits which, in spite of likeness, differ from one another in shapes, sizes, and other features. Then there is one and the same root from which sometimes one and at others two trunks sprout up, with their own different characteristics. If one considers these aspects of diversity, one shall come to the conclusion that the divine wisdom demands the same kind of diversity in the natures, temperaments and inclinations of human beings, and, therefore, in their conducts. So, one need not worry about the existence of this diversity. As it has been stated in (Surah Ar-Raad, Ayat 31), if Allah had willed, He could have created all human beings alike and virtuous by birth. But the wisdom that underlies the creation of the universe, including mankind, requires diversity and not uniformity. Otherwise, all this creation would have become meaningless.

Ala-Maududi

(33:60) If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts there is a sickness,^[113] and the scandal mongers in Madinah^[114] do not desist from their vile acts, We shall urge you to take action against them, and then they will hardly be able to stay in the city with you.

113. “Having diseased hearts” points to two kinds of evils:

(1) That a person should be an ill-wisher of Islam and the Muslims although he gets himself counted among the Muslims; and

(2) That he should be cherishing evil intentions and having criminal mentality and his evil tendencies be manifesting themselves in everything he thinks and does.

114. This implies the people who, in order to cause panic among the Muslims and to lower their morale, used to spread rumors in Al-Madinah to the effect that the Muslims had suffered such and such serious setback, that a huge army was gathering together against them at such and such a place, that Al-Madinah was under threat of a sudden attack, etc. Besides this, they had another pastime. They would concoct and spread imaginary stories about the domestic life of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) household and of other Muslims so as to produce suspicions among the common people and destroy the moral influence of the Muslims.