The test of faith: wanting the same good for others that you want for yourself.
Narrated by Anas ibn Mālik (أنس بن مالك)
لاَ يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّىٰ يُحِبَّ لأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ
"None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
A hadith that sounds simple until you try to live it. The scholars took it as the ethical core of Islam — the golden rule framed as a condition of faith, not a pleasant aspiration. Ibn Rajab wrote that whoever measures his private hopes for himself against his hopes for others will find the gap, and the work of īmān is closing that gap.
Passages that draw on this hadith
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"The brother replied, "I would never break our brotherhood bond for your mistake. The devoted brother pledged to God that he would neither eat nor drink until God cured his brother of his desire. He fasted for forty days, continually asking about his brother’s condition, to which the brother replied, "My heart remains as it was."
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"One visits his brother with affectation, and this estrangement then cuts him off from him." Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "A believer is a brother to another believer; he does not exploit him nor does he have reservations towards him.""
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"The hadith "A believer does not perfect his faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself" and "Avoid falsehood in jesting" was narrated by Ibn Abd al-Barr. The two Sheikhs, Bukhari and Muslim, also narrated from Anas, "None of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
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"There is no path to attaining closeness to Allah except through faith. How can one walk the path of faith without understanding what defines faith and who possesses it? Neglecting knowledge of patience and gratitude is neglecting understanding who possesses faith and recognizing what constitutes faith."
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"He can have both faith and hypocrisy, faith and disbelief, and be closer to one than the other, thus belonging to its people. As اللّٰه says, "They are closer to disbelief on that day than to faith." And He says, "And most of them believe not in اللّٰه except while they associate others with Him." He affirmed their faith in Him alongside their association of partners."
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"is proof of its strength. Faith, then, is the heart of Islam and its very core. A Principle: The Two Kinds of Reliance Upon God And certainty is the heart of faith and its very core. Every knowledge and every deed that does not increase faith and certainty in strength is flawed, and every faith that does not stir a person to action is flawed."
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"I said: O Messenger of God, who among the people is most severely tested? He said: "The prophets, then those most like them, then those most like them. A man is tested according to the strength of his faith. If his faith is firm, his trials are severe, and if there is weakness in his faith, he is tested according to his faith."
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"He also said: "When you see the believer silent and dignified, draw near to him, for he is imparting wisdom." A believer is saddened by his misdeeds. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "It is not permissible for a believer to give his brother a hurtful look."