Sahih al-Bukhari, 2473
sahihNarrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (ﷺ) judged that seven cubits should be left as a public way when there was a dispute about the land.
حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرُ بْنُ حَازِمٍ، عَنِ الزُّبَيْرِ بْنِ خِرِّيتٍ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، سَمِعْتُ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَضَى النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا تَشَاجَرُوا فِي الطَّرِيقِ بِسَبْعَةِ أَذْرُعٍ.
Isnad
4 transmittersReferences2 variants
- In-Book Reference
- Book 46, Hadith 34
- USC-MSA web (English) reference
- Vol. 3, Book 43, Hadith 653 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
During the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, people used to refer their differences to the Prophet ﷺ, and he used to make things clear to them and settle their disputes. His statements on those occasions have become legislation for all Muslims. In this hadeeth, the Prophet ﷺ issued a decree regarding disputes among neighbors over boundaries, spaciousness, and width of roads between their houses. He ﷺ judged that seven cubits should be left as a public way when there isa dispute among people, neighbors, or landlords regarding the width of the road, when landowners want to build thereon. Seven cubits, or seven arms (i.e., an arm is 69 cm approximately) should be left as a public way. This applies to newly constructed roads in the event of disputes among the landlords. A landlord should leave seven arms as a public way, for the public benefit of Muslims, and place his fence around the rest of his property, or build on it as he wishes. As for the old ways, they should be retained as agreed upon by the concerned owners, provided that due regard should be paid to the rights of the road and those of the neighbors. It is deduced from the hadeeth that the Laws of Islam keenly regulates the urban planning of towns and cities, the construction of roads, and public utilities..