The neighbor is derived from proximity (mujawara). Qatada said: The neighbor is the house and the two houses. It is narrated from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "There is no prayer for the neighbor of the mosque except in the mosque." He said: It refers to one who hears the call [to prayer]. Said bin Amr bin Ja'da said: It refers to one who hears the iqama. Abu Yusuf said: Neighbors are the people of the district [if they are united by a mosque. If the people of the district are divided] between two small, neighboring mosques, then all are neighbors. If they are two large mosques, then every congregation of a mosque are neighbors. As for the cities which contain tribes, neighborhood is determined by the subdivisions (fakhdh).
As for us, we rely on what Abu Huraira narrated, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The neighbor is forty houses: like this, and like this, and like this, and like this." This is a text (nass) from which it is not permitted to deviate if it is authentic. If the report is not established, then the neighbor is the one who is near, and in that matter, one refers to common usage ('urf).
Section: If he bequeaths to the people of his alley or his street, they are the people of the district whose path lies through that alley.
Section: If he bequeaths to the categories of Zakat mentioned in the Quran, they are those who deserve [a share] from Zakat. It is appropriate to allot to each category one-eighth of the bequest, as if he had bequeathed to eight tribes. The difference between this and Zakat, where it is permitted to restrict [the payment] to a single category, is that the verse of Zakat was intended to clarify to whom it is permitted to give, while the bequest was intended to clarify to whom it is obligatory to give. It is permitted to limit the payment of each category to one person, because it is not possible to encompass them all. This is related from the Ashab al-Ra'y (the Hanafi school). From Muhammad bin al-Hasan, it is reported that he said: It is not permitted to pay to fewer than two. Abu al-Khattab narrated a second version from Ahmad, that it is not permitted to pay to fewer than three from each category. This is the school of Al-Shafi'i. The origin of this is the disagreement regarding Zakat, which we have already mentioned.
(18) Its documentation has preceded in: 3/8. To this is added: As Al-Bayhaqi recorded it in: The Chapter on the Follower (Ma'mum) Praying Outside the Mosque..., from the Book of Prayer, Al-Sunan al-Kubra 3/111, from Ali. And Abd al-Razzaq, in: The Chapter on One Who Hears the Call, from the Book of Prayer, Al-Musannaf 1/498, as a mawquf narration (attributed to a Companion). And Al-Hakim, in: The Chapter on What There is Concerning Three [People] in a Village or in the Desert Where the Prayer is Not Established, Only that the Devil Has Prevailed Over Them..., from the Book of Prayer, Al-Mustadrak 1/246, from Abu Huraira. (19) Omitted from: (M). (20) See: Kitab al-Wasaya, in: Talkhis al-Habir 3/92. And Irwa' al-Ghalil, in: The Chapter of the Beneficiary, from the Book of Bequests 6/100. (21) In (M): "lakum" (for you), which is an error.
