As for the right of [your] sitting companion is to treat him mildly...

As for the right of [your] sitting companion is to treat him mildly, to give him a good company and to do him justice in conversation; and while looking at him do not take your eyes away from him at once; and, while talking, your aim should be to make him understand. And if you have gone to sit with him, you are at liberty to take your leave; but if he has come to sit with you, he has the option, and [in this case] you should not stand from that meeting with-out his permission.

And there is no power save in God. As for the right of [your] neighbour is to safe-guard [his interest] in his absence, and respect him in his presence, and to help and assist him in both condi-tions. Do not look for his [hidden] shames and do not dig into his affairs in order to know any disgrace; but if you come to know it inadvertently without looking for it,