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What is the ruling on a neighbor preventing his neighbor from building on his land on the pretext that his own land and crops will be harmed?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars have differed regarding the harm resulting from an individual's action within their private property. The most sound opinion is that a person has the right to dispose of their property in a manner that is not considered extraordinary, even if it causes harm to their neighbor. Therefore, a neighbor is not prevented from undertaking ordinary construction on their land, even if it affects their neighbor's crops. This is because the fundamental principle is the permissibility of a person's disposition over their property. Preventing a person from disposing of their property in ways they need is a great harm, and harm is not removed by harm. If a person's exercise of their right inadvertently causes specific harm to others, and the rights-holder would be harmed by being prevented from their right, then this harm has no effect, and it is not permissible to prevent the rights-holder from their right.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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