Don’t take into account the today's period as a basis! That was the case then and Islam prefers those conditions. If you don’t have a family, whom can you count on? Who is always near to you? Yes, the neighbor. The word of Allah therefore gives the neighbor a distinguished place:

Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet), and what your right hands possess: For Allah loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious;- (Quran 4:36)

Do good deeds first of all inside the family than for those whose help is our duty. Then come those who are always there for you. In the first place the neighbor. Maybe we live far from our kin but the neighbor is there beside us no matter we know him or we don’t.

Neighbors who are near and neighbors who are strangers. Why does the Quran write like this? I publish the article 10/447 of Fath Al-Bari from the collection of Ibn Al-Hajar Al-Asqalani (1372-1449), in which Bukrari writes:

“The scholars held different views regarding the perimeter of one’s neighborhood. It has been narrated on the authority of Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) that all those who can hear the athaan of the mosque are neighbors. It has also been said that all those who pray the Fajr (dawn) prayer with you in a mosque are your neighbors. Also, ʻAa'ishah narrated that the perimeter of one’s neighborhood is forty houses on each side; the same view was adopted by Al-Awzaʻi. Al-Bukhari cited a marfooʻ (attributed to the Prophet, peace be upon him) hadeeth narrated by Kaʻb ibn Maalik with a weak chain of narration in his book Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, and it was also cited by Al-Hasan and AtTabaraani that the perimeter of one’s neighborhood is forty houses. Ibn Wahb narrated on the authority of Yoonus ibn Shihaab that it is forty houses from every side; to the right, to the left, to the back and to the front (in which case one’s neighbors will amount to 160 or so). This view is possibly correct, just like the first one; it may also mean that it is forty houses in total, that is, ten houses from each side...” [Fat-h Al-Bari: 10/447]

From this we can see what used to mean the close and far neighborhood at the time. With such a large community next door, one really couldn’t stay alone. Certainly, the situation is different today. This circle has narrowed considerably. In any case, there is still interdependence that assigns rights to the neighbors. The rights were formulated 1,400 years ago, many of them can still be filled with the same content, but obviously new contents can also be written into this scope. These are as follows: kind treatment, sharing food, visiting, not causing harm, exchanging greetings, forbearance, sharing happiness and sorrow regardless of the neighbor’s religion or affiliation.

I know these regulations are making us smile because everyone imagines their own neighborhood in this situation and today there are no conditions that fit into these circumstances. I'm just asking myself: haven't the today's conditions gone in the wrong direction? We are in deep contact with machines, robots and the internet and we also communicate even with people through them. The Quran and Sunnah can be interpreted for human attitudes and conducts, not for robots. However, this situation is not making us smile.

Perhaps floods, earthquakes, natural disasters, hurricanes, and the coronavirus are giving a lesson: we can expect less from a robot at that time than from humans. Maybe man will still have a future. If yes, so will the Scriptures.