How should the hadith "to want for his believing brother what one wants for himself" be understood?
Submitted by on Wed, 22/11/2017 - 15:14
Dear Brother / Sister,
We will try to explain it by reporting a few hadiths:
1. Narrator: Abud-Darda: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"There is no believer who supplicates for his brother in his absence that the angel does not say, ‘The same be for you too.’" (The following addition exists in Abu Dawud's narration: "Angels say, "Amin. The same be for you too.") [Muslim, Dhikr 86, 88, (2732, 2733); Abu Dawud, Salat 364, (1534)]
2. Narrator: Abu Hurayra: Once, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said to his Companions,
"Who will take these statements from me, so that he may act upon them, or teach one who will act upon them?" I immediately said,
"Me! O Messenger of Allah!" He took my hand and listed five things:
"Be on guard against the unlawful and you shall be the most worshipping among the people. Be satisfied with what Allah has allotted for you and you shall be the richest of the people. Be kind to your neighbor and you shall be a believer. Love for the people what you love for yourself and you shall be a Muslim. And do not laugh too much, for indeed increased laughter kills the heart." [Tirmidhi, Zuhd 2, (2306); Ibn Majah, Zuhd 24, (4217)]
3. From Anas b. Malik: Hz. Prophet (pbuh) said,
"I swear by Allah who holds my soul in His hand that a person is not regarded to have believed perfectly unless he wants for his Muslim brother what he wants for himself." (Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal, al-Musnad, al-Fathur-Rabbani Tartib, Ensar Publications: 1/113.)
What is meant by wanting here is perfection. It does not mean "A person who does not want for his Muslim brother what he wants for himself becomes an unbeliever." It is evaluated in terms of the perfection of belief. It does not mean that a jealous and egoistic person who does not want for his brother what he wants for himself is an unbeliever but it means "He does not have perfect belief."
One should want for his believing brother whatever good he wants for himself. However, it does not mean not to work but to want happiness for his believing brother.
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