The Holy Quran

''And worship Allah and associate naught with Him, and show kindness to parents, and to kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and to the neighbour that is a kinsman and the neighbour that is a stranger, and the companion by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom your right hands possess. Surely, Allah loves not the proud and the boastful'' (4:37)

After laying down in the preceding verses that one should be kind to one’s wife, in the present verse the Quran enjoins a Muslim to make his kindness so comprehensive as to include in its scope the whole of mankind, from parents who are the nearest, to strangers who are the farthest removed. The Arabic expression rendered as, neighbour that is a kinsman, may also mean: (1) the neighbour that lives near; (2) the neighbour that is kind. Similarly, the words, neighbour that is a stranger, may also include: (1) the neighbour that lives at a distance; (2) the neighbour that is not kindly. The expression, companion by your side, may mean:(1) wife or husband; (2) comrade on a journey; (3) fellow partner in a trade or a co-worker; (4) associate; (5) immediate neighbour. The words, those whom your right hands possess, may refer to slaves, bondwomen, servants and even subordinates. A person who does not carry out the Divine commandments contained in this verse is condemned as proud and boastful because, instead of doing good to others and being kind to them, he looks down upon them and behaves arrogantly. The very act of abstaining from being kind to one’s fellow beings, whether relations or neighbours or strangers, is an act of pride condemned by Islam. (5 Volume Commentary, Volume 2 page 649, Surah Nisa Chapter 4 Verse 37 footnote 514)