The rights of a neighbour in case of the sale of property, are established by the Muḥammadan law, for the Prophet has said that the neighbour of a house has a superior right to the purchase of that house (i.e. next to immediate relatives), and the neighbour of lands has a prior claim to the purchase of those lands, and if he be absent, the seller must wait his return. (Hidāyah, vol. iv. p. 562.)

Muslims are enjoined in the Qurʾān ([Sūrah iv. 40]) to be kind to their neighbours. In the Traditions, it is said that Muḥammad was so frequently advised by the angel Gabriel to order his people to be kind to their neighbours, that he almost imagined that he (the angel) wished to make neighbours heirs to each other. It is also related that the Prophet said, “He is not a perfect Muslim who eats to his full and leaves his neighbour hungry.”

Abū Hurairah says that a man once said to the Prophet, “There is a woman who worships God a great deal, but she is very abusive to her neighbours.” And the Prophet said, “She will be in the fire.” The man then said, “But there is another woman who worships little and gives but little in alms, but she does not annoy her neighbours with her tongue?” The Prophet said, “She will be in Paradise.” (Mishkāt, book xxii. ch. xv.)

NESTOR. Arabic Naṣt̤ūr (نصطور‎). A Christian monk who resided in Syria, who is said to have borne witness to Muḥammad. The legend is not accepted by Sunnī writers, and Sir William Muir (Life of Mahomet, new ed., p. 21), says it is to be rejected as a puerile fabrication. It is, however, believed by the Shīʿahs, and the following is the story as given in the Shīʿah work entitled the Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb, on the supposed authority of Abū T̤ālib, Muḥammad’s uncle:—

“As we approached Shâm (Syria),” continued Abutâlib, “I saw the houses of that country in motion, and light above the brightness of the sun beaming from them. The crowd that collected to see Mohammed, that Yusoof of Misree perfection, made the Bâzârs impassable wherever we went, and so loud were exclamations at his beauty and excellence altogether, that the sound reached the frontiers of Shâm. Every monk and learned man came to see him. The wisest of the wise among the people of the Book, who was called Nestoor, visited him, and for three days was in his company without speaking a word. At the close of the third day, apparently overwhelmed with emotion, he came near and walked around the Prophet, upon which I said unto him, ‘O monk what do you want of the child?’ He said, ‘I wish to know his name.’ I told him it was Mohammed-bin-Abdullah. At the mention of the name the monk’s colour changed, and he requested to be allowed to see the shoulders of the Prophet. No sooner did he behold the seal of prophecy [[SEAL OF PROPHECY]], than he cast himself down, kissed it, and wept, saying, ‘Carry back this sun of prophecy quickly to the place of his nativity. Verily, if you had known what enemies he has here, you would not have brought him with you.’ The learned man continued his visit to the Prophet, treated him with the greatest reverence, and when we left the country gave him a shirt as a memento of his friendship. I carried Mohammed home with the utmost expedition, and when the news of our happy return reached Mekkah, great and small came out to welcome the Prophet, except Abujahl, who was intoxicated and ignorant of the event.”

Other traditions respecting this journey into Syria inform us that many more miracles attended it. Savage animals and birds of the air rendered the most obsequious homage to the Prophet. And when the party reached the bâzârs of Buṣrā they met a company of monks, who immediately changed colour, as if their faces had been rubbed over with saffron, while their bodies shook as in an ague. “They besought us to visit their chief in their great church. We replied, What have you to do with us? On which they said, What harm is there in your coming to our place of worship? Accordingly we went with them, they supposing that Mohammed was in our company, and entered a very large and lofty church, where we saw their great wise man sitting among his disciples with a book in his hand. After looking at the book and scrutinizing us, he said to his people, ‘You have accomplished nothing, the object of our inquiry is not here.’ He then asked who we were, to which we replied that we were Koraysh. ‘Of what family of that tribe?’ he further demanded. We answered that we were of the Benee Abdulshems. He then demanded if there was no other person belonging to our party besides those present. We told him there was a youth of the Benee Hâshim belonging to our company, who was called the orphan grandson of Abdulmutalib. On hearing this he shrieked, nearly swooned away, sprang up and cried, ‘Alas! alas! the Nasarânee religion is ruined!’ He then leaned on his crosier and fell into profound thought for a long time, with eight of his patriarchs and disciples standing around him. At last he said, ‘Can you show me that youth?’ We answered in the affirmative.

“He then accompanied us to the bâzâr, where we found the Prophet, with light beaming from the radiant moon of his face, and a great crowd of people around him, who had been attracted by his extraordinary beauty, and were buying his goods at the highest prices, while they sold their own to him at the cheapest rate. With the view of proving the knowledge of the wise man, we pointed out another individual as the object of his inquiry, but presently he recognised the Prophet himself, and shouted, ‘By the truth of the Lord Meseeh, I have found him!’ and overpowered with emotion, came and kissed his blessed head, saying, ‘Thou art holy!’ He then asked Mohammed many things concerning himself, all of which he satisfactorily answered. The wise man affirmed that if he were to live in the time of Mohammed’s prophecy, he would fight for him in the cause of truth, declaring that whoever obeyed him would gain everlasting life, and whoever rejected him would die eternal death.” (Merrick’s translation of Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb, p. 64.)

NEW MOON. Arabic Hilāl (هلال‎). The term is used for the first three days of the new moon.

NEW TESTAMENT. Arabic al-ʿAhdu ʾl-Jadīd (العهد الجديد‎). There is no evidence in the Qurʾān, or in the Traditions, that Muḥammad had ever seen, or was acquainted with, the New Testament. The Christian scriptures are spoken of in the Qurʾān as the Injīl, εὐαγγέλιον, “which was given to Jesus”; by which Muḥammadans understand a complete book somewhat similar to the Qurʾān. See [Sūrah lvii. 27]: “We caused our Apostles to follow in their footsteps (i.e. of Noah and Abraham), and We caused Jesus the son of Mary to follow them, and We gave him the Injīl, and We put into the hearts of those who followed him kindness and compassion; but as to the monastic life, they invented it themselves.” The only New Testament characters mentioned by name in the Qurʾān are Jesus, Mary, Zacharias, John, and Gabriel, and there is no direct reference to the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, nor to the miracles or parables of Jesus. This is all the more remarkable, because the Old Testament history and its leading characters, are frequently mentioned in the Qurʾān. [[INJIL], [CHRISTIANITY].]

NEW YEAR. [[NAUROZ].]