Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Question: It is in the hadith that seven cubits of road should be left... In length (i.e. height), from the Islamic point of view, how many floors is it permissible to build?

Wa 'alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

In the Islamic Shariah, no specific final number has been fixed for the height of a building or the number of its floors (for example two, four or ten floors); rather, the real basis has been laid upon the rights of people, the absence of harm (that no one be harmed), and observance of municipal and urban laws. The Shariah principles of this issue and its detailed rules are as follows:

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave a judgement of seven cubits (for the road, when there was a dispute about it): «قَضَى النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا تَشَاجَرُوا فِي الطَّرِيقِ بِسَبْعَةِ أَذْرُعٍ» "When people dispute about the road, (he judged) seven cubits (of road to be left)." (Sahih al-Bukhari: 2473) And in the narration of Sahih Muslim the words are: «إِذَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِي الطَّرِيقِ، جُعِلَ عَرْضُهُ سَبْعَةَ أَذْرُعٍ» "When you differ about the road, its width shall be set at seven cubits." (Sahih Muslim: 1613)

• The measure of seven cubits: The scholars' estimates of the length of the Shariah cubit (dhira') differ; the preferred estimate of contemporary researchers is about 48 centimetres (a little over a foot and a half), so seven cubits come to roughly three and a half metres (about 11 feet). This is only an approximate measure, not an exact one.
• The scope of the ruling: This ruling concerns the width of the road on the ground (horizontal distance / width), so that laden camels and the like, and those coming and going, can pass easily and people are not put to hardship — as the commentators have explained its rationale. It has no connection with the height of a building or the number of its floors.

As for building floors in the vertical direction, the Shariah has three basic principles:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) judged: «لَا ضَرَرَ وَلَا ضِرَارَ» "No harm shall be inflicted, nor shall harm be reciprocated." (Sunan Ibn Majah: 2340, from 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit, may Allah be pleased with him; Musnad Ahmad; Imam al-Nawawi declared it hasan and Shaykh al-Albani declared it sahih) This very hadith is the basis of one of the major maxims of fiqh: «الضَّرَرُ يُزَالُ» "Harm shall be removed."

• Air and light: In the light of this principle, the scholars have differed as to how far the blocking of a neighbour's air, sunlight or open space by his construction is preventable; the basic right of a person to build on his own property is established with everyone. However, the preferred and just view is that construction which causes a neighbour extraordinary and excessive harm — for example, his house becoming so dark and uninhabitable that living in it becomes difficult — shall be prevented, and it is upon the owner to obtain his neighbour's permission or remove the harm. An ordinary reduction of light and air does not fall under this ruling.
• Protection of covering and privacy (kashf al-'awrah): When building a tall structure, if windows or balconies are placed in such a way that it becomes possible to look directly into the neighbour's courtyard, roof or inner house and his covering is violated, it is obligatory upon the owner to arrange complete screening by putting up a screen/barrier, so that the neighbour's privacy is not affected. Allah the Exalted said: «يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ بُيُوتِكُمْ حَتَّىٰ تَسْتَأْنِسُوا وَتُسَلِّمُوا عَلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا» "O you who believe! Do not enter houses other than your own until you have sought permission and greeted their inhabitants." (Surat al-Nur: 27) — and this command of seeking permission is fundamentally because of the gaze. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave such a severe warning against peeping into someone's house without permission: «مَنِ اطَّلَعَ فِي بَيْتِ قَوْمٍ بِغَيْرِ إِذْنِهِمْ، فَقَدْ حَلَّ لَهُمْ أَنْ يَفْقَؤُوا عَيْنَهُ» "Whoever peeps into the house of a people without their permission, it has become lawful for them to put out his eye." (Sahih Muslim: 2158; this meaning is also narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari: 6902) On this very basis the jurists have written that it is obligatory upon the one above (the owner of the taller building) to build a screen such that looking down upon the one below is no longer possible. (Kashshaf al-Qina'; also Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin, al-Sharh al-Mumti': 9/267)

In the noble hadiths, raising ever taller buildings without need, merely out of arrogance, display and vying with one another for superiority, has been counted among the signs of the Hour (as was said in the Hadith of Jibril: «وَأَنْ تَرَى الْحُفَاةَ الْعُرَاةَ الْعَالَةَ رِعَاءَ الشَّاءِ يَتَطَاوَلُونَ فِي الْبُنْيَانِ» "And that you see the barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds of sheep competing in raising buildings tall"). (Sahih Muslim: 8; this meaning is also present in Sahih al-Bukhari: 50) However, building a strong and safe structure out of need, to remove the crampedness of living space, or for the capacity of the population is permissible in principle; what is disliked is the intention of pride and competition, and extravagance — not mere height.

'Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) in his era laid down regulations for the widths of lanes and highways in the planning of the newly founded cities (amsar) — in the layout of Basrah the main highway was kept at sixty cubits, the ordinary lanes at twenty cubits and the alleys at seven cubits (according to the historical reports transmitted in Futuh al-Buldan and elsewhere). This was the practical form of the same principle: that the regulations of urban order and public welfare are set by the ruler, and observing them is binding.

• The construction by-laws (Building Regulations) of every area or society — under which permission for floors and height is given after examining the sewerage, the width of the lane, the strength of the soil and fire safety — must be observed under this very principle, because Allah the Exalted said: «أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ» "Obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you." (Surat al-Nisa': 59) Contemporary scholars — such as Shaykh Ibn Baz and Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on them — have said the same about modern systems such as traffic: that regulations made for the public welfare which do not conflict with the Shariah must be obeyed as a Shariah obligation, and violating them is not permissible; the ruling of construction regulations is the same.
• Exceeding the municipal limit and raising unlawful floors is tantamount to deception and endangering the safety of the general population.

Summary: The Shariah has not fixed any particular count of floors; you may build on your plot as many floors as the local construction laws permit, provided that no excessive harm is caused to the neighbour thereby and his covering and privacy remain fully protected.

Translated from the original Urdu fatwa.