The National Prayer Breakfast is a long-standing tradition in Washington. It occurs on the first Thursday in Feburary and has taken place since 1953.
At this breakfast, President Obama selected to read a Hadith which is a selection from the sayings and actions of Mohammad, the prophet of Islam, rather than from the Quran, to demonstrate all great religions have a concept of the golden rule:
"Jesus told us to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” The Torah commands, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.” In Islam, there's a hadith that reads “None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Odd the President had to choose a Hadith to quote, though. Does the concept of the Golden Rule really not exist in the Quran, the primary authority in Islam? Brian Macker writing for Faith Freedom organization believes it is not in the Quran. He said in his studies of Islam, the closest that Islam comes to this principle is the hadith the president used:
"None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." [Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths."]
It's helpful to read the hadiths before and after this one for more context:
On the authority of Abu Hurairah, who said : The messenger of Allah said :
"Part of someone's being a good Muslim is his leaving alone that which does not concern him."
Hadith # 14
Abdullah bin Masud narrated that the messenger of Allah said :
"The blood of a Muslim may not be legally spilt other than in one of three [instances]: the married person who commits adultery; a life for a life; and one who forsakes his religion and abandons the community."
Did you get the last part? The blood of a Muslim is legal to split if they commit adultrey, a life for a life or if you forsake Islam or abandon the community.
In Hadith Bukhari 1.2.12
"The Prophet said, "None of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself."
The hadith before and after this one is interesting, as well:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr:
A man asked the Prophet , "What sort of deeds or (what qualities of) Islam are good?" The Prophet replied, 'To feed (the poor) and greet those whom you know and those whom you do not Know (See Hadith No. 27).
Narrated Abu Huraira:
"Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children."
Religious Tolerance used this hadith, as well, to show Islam has a version of the Golden Rule. So to me, this all appears to confirm the "Golden Rule concept" is not actually in the Quran itself.
If anyone knows of a verse in the Quran that affirms the "Golden Rule, please let me know.
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Also see:
Text of President Obama's speech
Sep 18, 2008 ... Think how wonderful a Golden Rule Islam would be. ... Islam denies the universality of the Golden Rule because Islam starts with the ...
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