Search In Fatwa

Do unto others as you would have done unto you

Question

Assalamuaalaikum.. i need your help in this one matteri have a sister of islam, who have justrecently converted to Islam...she have send me this mail, askingthis question,,, and to be honesti don't know what to tel her, as she is still a new comer in to Islamand i don't want to be giving herany wrong information, as i don'thave much knowledge about thismyself... the question of my islamic sister is.. Can you please help me? The "golden rule" .... Do unto others as you would have done unto you ... or a version of this phrase appears in various scriptures of many faiths. I was told today that no version of this appears in the Qur'an, however, I am sure I have read it, but I cannot remember where. I am not well versed yet in the Qur'an as I am just learning. So, can someone please point me in the right direction. The only thing I have found is a Hadith saying that the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) stated that no one is a believer unless he wishes for others what he wishes for himself. Thank you for any help that you can give me. Wa Salam, Mary Anne plz ans me with reference as soon as posible jazakallah khair Hassan

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we ask Allaah to reward that sister for being keen on learning and studying the Quran, and may Allaah reward you for avoiding to speak about religious matters without knowledge.

As regards the expression that is mentioned in the question, its meaning is correct because it means justice and equity when dealing with people. There is evidence in the Quran about this, like the verses which order to be just, such as the saying of Allaah (which means): {O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allaah.}[Quran 4:135]

Moreover, this meaning is explicitly mentioned in the Sunnah. The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “Whoever wants to be drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, let him die while believing in Allaah and the Last Day, and do for the people what he likes them to do for him.” [Muslim]

Moreover, Al-Bukhari  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him reported a statement from ‘Ammaar ibn Yasir  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him which reads: “There are three characteristic if one has them, he has gathered the characteristics of faith, and he mentioned amongst them ‘to take others’ rights from oneself’; this means to deal with people in the same way you want to be dealt with, as stated by the scholars  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them.

It should be mentioned that Islam is a religion which advocates good moral conducts and good traits, but this does not necessarily mean that every detail about that is proven with specific evidence in the Quran; as it might be proven in the Sunnah, because the Sunnah is evidence in the same way the Quran is evidence.

Finally, it should be mentioned that a man should observe Islamic pre-conditions when dealing with a non-Mahram woman in order to avoid the means of temptation.

Allaah Knows best.

Related Fatwa