Sunnah Web (سنة ويب) Authentic Knowledge from Qur'an & Sunnah as per the Understanding of Salaf-us-Saliheen
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “None of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” (Sahih Bukhari & Sahih Muslim)
عَنْ أَنَسٍ رضي الله عنه، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : ” لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لِأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ
(صحيح البخاري 13 – صحیح مسلم 45)
Benefits from this Hadith:
1) It is obligatory for a person to love for his brother what he loves for himself, as the negation of Imān from someone who does not love for his brother what he loves for himself indicates the obligation of doing that.
2) The bond of brotherhood for the sake of Allah is superior to biological brotherhood, and so its right is more worthy of fulfillment.
3) Anything that contradicts this love is prohibited, including words and deeds like cheating, backbiting, envy, and transgression against the life, property, or honor of a Muslim.
4) We should use some words of motivation, as he said: “for his brother”.
5) Imam Al-Kirmāni (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: It is also part of Imān that a person should dislike bad things for his brother as he dislikes them for himself. He did not mention it because the love of something entails dislike for its opposite. So, this was needless to say.
Negation of faith in this Hadith
When discussing the negation of faith in Quranic verses and Ahadiths, it can refer to two different situations. In some cases, it indicates that a person is not a believer at all, meaning they are a disbeliever. In other cases, it refers to someone who lacks full faith, but is still considered a believer, just with incomplete faith. The Hadith in question falls into the second category.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: This means that his faith is incomplete, but the essence/foundation of faith is still present/attained by someone who does not have this characteristic. End quote. (Sharh Muslim, 2/16) 1https://shamela.ws/book/1711/260#p1
Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It means that the faith of a person is NOT complete and perfect until, in addition to his Islam, people are safe from his harm, and he intends good for them, and he offers sincere advice to all of them in his interactions with them.” End quote. (Al-Mufhim lima Ashkala min Talkhis Sahih Muslim, 1/224). 2https://shamela.ws/book/132524/218
He also said: “That is, his faith is not complete; for the one who deceives a Muslim and does not offer him sincere advice is committing a major sin, though he is not a disbeliever by doing so, as we have explained on more than one occasion.” “Based on that, the meaning of the Hadith is: The one described as having complete faith is the one who, in his dealings with people, is sincere towards them, desires for them what he desires for himself, and dislikes for them what he dislikes for himself.” End quote. (Al-Mufhim, 1/227).
And this indicates that what is meant by the negation in this Hadith is the negation of the completeness of faith, as the Hadith has also been reported by Ibn Hibban with the wording: ‘A servant does not attain the true essence of faith until he loves for others what he loves for himself in terms of good.’ (Classed authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih At-Targhib, 1780).
Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “What is meant by the negation of faith is that the person has not attained complete faith…”. Ibn Hibban stated – based on a report of Ibn Abu `Adiy from Husayn Al-Mu`allim – that in the Hadith “No one can attain true faith,” what is meant by “true faith” is complete faith, which means that the one who does not possess this trait is not considered a disbeliever.” End quote. (Fath-ul-Bari, 1/57).
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “A servant does not attain the true essence of faith until he loves for others what he loves for himself in terms of good.” This narration clarifies the meaning of the narration found in the two Sahihs, indicating that the negation of faith refers to the negation of complete and ultimate faith. Indeed, faith is often negated due to the absence of some of its pillars and obligatory aspects, as when the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “No adulterer is a believer at the time when he is committing adultery; no thief is a believer at the time when he is stealing; no drinker of wine is a believer at the time when he is drinking it” and “He does not believe, whose neighbor is not safe from his evil conduct.” End quote. (Jami` Al-`Ulum wal-Hikam, 120)
Al-Hafidh Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When the Prophet (ﷺ) said that the one who does not love for his brother what he loves for himself does not truly believe, this indicates that this is one of the characteristics of faith and, in fact, is one of the obligations thereof, for faith cannot be negated unless one of its obligations is not being met, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said elsewhere: “No adulterer is a believer at the time when he is committing adultery…” Rather a man can only love for his brother what he loves for himself when he is free of envy, rancour, deceit and resentment, and that is something that is obligatory. End quote. (Fath-ul-Bari, 1/41).
The negation of faith here refers to the absence of the complete faith that is obligatory. So the one who does not love for his brother what he loves for himself is falling short in the faith that is required of him and is committing something that is prohibited, for which he deserves punishment.”
and Allah knows best!
Footnotes:
- 1https://shamela.ws/book/1711/260#p1
- 2https://shamela.ws/book/132524/218