A description of "neighborhood ethics” based on Imam Sajjad's sayings

The purpose of this study is to identify and organize the components of “ethics of neighborhood behavior” referring to Imam Sajjad's, the fourth Shite Imam (pbuh). This is done using a content analysis and descriptive-analytic method. For this purpose, two Imam Sajad's   books called “Sahifeh Sajjadiyeh” and a “Treatise on Rights” were studied analytically. The moral values in neighborhood behavior were extracted and formulated on nine categories including general ethics of neighborhood, the suffering neighbor's rights, code of conduct regarding philanthropic neighbor, ethics of complaining about a neighbor, ethics of neighborhood consultation, the way of behaving old age neighbors, behaving with the neighbors'  children, and the ethics of dealing with an evil neighbor. Also, the cognitive, emotional and attitudinal foundations of neighboring behavior identified and explained. Base on this results the concept of "Neighborhood" goes beyond and much broader than a physical proximity. In other words neighborhood means a kind of symbiosis with a sense of belonging, support, responsibility, and strict morality, which can transform a group of households into a coherent social unit.