The Prophet's Golden Rule: Ethics of Reciprocity in Islam (original) (raw)
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The Golden Rule in Islam: Ethics of Reciprocity in Islamic Traditions
The ethics of reciprocity, known as the “golden rule,” is any moral dictum that encourages people to treat others the way they would like to be treated. The principle exists in the sacred texts of the world’s religions as well as the writings of secular philosophers. Due to its ubiquity in many contexts, it has become an important focal point for interfaith dialogue and the development of international human rights norms. Islam, as a world religion with over one billion followers, has an important role to play in facilitating dialogue and cooperation with other groups in the modern world. The golden rule in Islamic traditions has been explicitly invoked by numerous Muslim leaders and organizations towards this end. This study examines the phenomenological appearance of the golden rule in Islamic texts and modern interfaith dialogue with Muslims. Sources include the Qur’ān, Ḥadīth traditions, exegetical commentaries, extracanonical or apocryphal literature, and contemporary works. Sections are organised by genre of literature and are loosely chronological. Key interpretive points from the classical period are related to modern interfaith initiatives and universal human rights, with a view of demonstrating the ways in which the classical heritage informs the experiences of Muslims today.
Contemporary Uses of the Golden Rule of Reciprocity in Abrahamic Interfaith Discourses
Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, 2017
The second half of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries have witnessed a revival of the Golden Rule arguments in relation to the idea of religious toleration. Apologizing or acknowledging apologies for past mistakes, the Abrahamic religions have produced a series of texts inviting further ethical and theological discussions with the purpose of facilitating reconciliation and working to maintain a sustainable world peace. Inspired by three groundbreaking texts, Nostra Aetate (1965), Dabru Emet (2000), and A Common Word (2007), representatives of all three monotheisms have produced a number of important commentaries, responses, and critiques with the purpose of clarifying some key points that both unite and separate the interpretations, given the familiar look of common doctrinal and moral teachings.
In this study, we will firstly examine The Common Word initiative and its formative roots. Secondly, we will overview some of the subsequent reactions from religious leaders and academic scholars in both the Christian and Muslim communities. While acknowledging that negative responses to The Common Word have arisen, we will rather focus on the perceptions of the majority which reflect more favorably on the impact of the initiative. Finally, we suggest that it is possible to view The Common Word initiative as having been derived from the basic essence of both the Qur’anic and Biblical teachings in regards to the building of one’s social conscience through pluralism, humanism and universalism
The Golden Rule : An Islamic-Dialogic Perspective
2010
, taking the theme of "The Golden Rule: can we live by it?" 3 Unless otherwise stated, translations from scriptures and scholarly texts are my own. Qur'anic quotations are referenced by (Q chapter:verse), while hadiths are referenced by name of collection. 4 The Qur'an says that "If you support God, He will support you..." (Q 47:7), while a hadith in Al-Tirmidhī promises: "Take care of God and He will take care of you." However, the correspondence between respective meanings of "support" (naṣr) and "taking care" (ḥifẓ) is necessarily non-literal. 5 Similarly, a hadith in Al-Bukhārī says: "God is only merciful to the merciful ones among His servants." And on the flip-side: "Verily, God will torment those who torment people in this life." (Muslim) 6 Jāmi' al-'Ulūm wal-Ḥikam ("Compendium of Sciences and Wisdoms") 7 From a hadith in Aḥmad and Al-Ṭabarāni. See A.F. Abū Ghuddah, "Prophet Muhammad, the Teacher" (Zam Zam Publishers, Pakistan) 8 These quotations are from the excerpt of Ihyā' 'Ulūm al-Dīn ("Revival of Religious Sciences") published as "Al-Ghazālī on Disciplining the Soul", translated by T.J. Winter (ITS, Cambridge). 9 According to a hadith in Muslim, the angels echo the supplication of a believer who prays for his brother in his absence.
Peaceful interreligious relations in Islam derive from covenants and treaties
Melbourne Asia Review
What Muslims and non-Muslims think about Islam matters for peaceful interreligious relations. Islam is predicted to be the world's most followed religion by the latter half of this century, surpassing Christianity for the first time. So far this century, the world's fastest growing religion has been viewed by many non-Muslims with antipathy and fear, often in reference to historic conflicts between Muslim and Christian empires and in response to more recent acts of violent extremism and terrorism. The centrality of fulfilling covenants and treaties in Islam has been understated in discourses about Islam, yet it is mentioned in the Qur'an alongside the religion's most central tenets including belief in God and the Day of Judgement, prayer and charity to define righteousness (Q2:177) and the characteristics of a believer (Q23:2-9). This article looks at covenants in the Qur'an and historic documents, that recent research indicates were issued by the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) to Christian and other communities of his time, to offer some deeper insights into interreligious relations in Islam. The dominant narrative Politically and ideologically motivated violence by Muslim and far-right extremists is done in the name of, and in opposition to, Islam respectively. The association of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad with violence and enmity towards non-Muslims is not confined to the views of extremists but also disseminated through social media
Religious Freedom and Interreligioius Relations in Islam: Reflections on Da'wah and Quranic Ethics
The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 2011
This article argues that Da’wah, or reaching out to people to introduce Islam, must be understood today as a friendly outreach to bring understanding and goodwill between religious communities and never as an aggressive proselytization. It contends that Islamic ethic towards religious diversity should lead to a social contract based on religious freedom. This has immediate implications for how religious diversity is treated in Muslim-majority contexts—especially contexts where religious freedom is not present or encouraged today. A correct understanding of da’wah and the four principles outlined in the paper provide, I contend, a better guide to Muslim engagement with Jews and Christians, and to followers of non-Abrahamic faiths as well: 1. recognizing earlier revelation and acknowledging the truth brought by all biblical prophets. 2. emphasizing active faith instead of merely formal religious association. 3. competing with people of faith in goodness and defer judgment to God. 4. promoting a search for common ground
Right from the beginnings of its association with the name «Golden Rule», the moral principle of reciprocity was significantly used in moral arguments dealing with political decisions. Thomas Hobbes, one of the earliest authors using the Golden Rule as a political argument, argued that Christians of his time did not make enough effort to place themselves in the position of a non-Christian person. Early modern theologians remained preoccupied by the confessional rivalries at the core of the theologico-political projects of the theocratic-like states. Philosophers like Locke, Leibniz, Clarke, Kant, were fully aware of the unwanted consequences of the application of the Golden Rule principle in regulating social behavior. Kierkegaard represents an early example of the willingness to eliminate the social or political predominance in the application of the Golden Rule. Globalization and multiculturalism, in the 20th and 21st century marked the beginning of a return to a Golden Rule of compassion, as originally stated by the sacred texts of each great monotheism.
Karyawan (April), 2021
This article presents lessons for minority Muslims living in non-Muslim countries based on the Marrakesh Declaration. It gives emphasis for the Singapore Muslim community on how to contribute and maintain social harmony. This article provides the background, objectives, and theological basis of the Marrakesh Declaration. This is followed by an analysis of its significance to contemporary Muslims. The article ends with a theological way forward for the Muslim community in Singapore. See http://haniff.sg/en/short-articles/short-article-preserving-social-harmony-lessons-from-the-marrakesh-declaration-for-minority-muslims-living-in-non-muslim-countries/
IIUM Law Journal, 2020
ENGLISH In March 2017, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) launched a “Faith for Rights” initiative. This initiative aims to gather the adherents of various religions around the world and show that they support human rights as part of their religion. This Faith for Rights initiative hosted a workshop in Beirut, which resulted in a document titled “the Beirut Declaration and the 18 Commitments on Faith for Rights” which is the centre of this article. Islam is one of the faiths claimed to be represented in this initiative. However, is Islam truly represented properly? Did this initiative properly accommodate Islamic teachings? First, this article notes that Islam does believe in human rights and has its own concept of it. Second, this article continues by examining the Beirut Declaration and its 18 Commitments on Faith for Rights and seeing whether the points agreed are consistent with Islamic principles. It is found that this document does not accommodate Islam properly. It is not suggested that Islam does not recognize human rights. However, the concept of human rights agreed by this document does not represent and even breaches the teachings of Islam. This article therefore recommends that Muslims should not accept “the Beirut Declaration and the 18 Commitments on Faith for Rights”, and instead they should accept the concept of human rights which are properly prescribed in the noble teachings of Islam. This article emphasizes that in the future, Muslim representatives to human rights initiatives must be weary and never agree on any declaration that might contravene any Islamic teachings or which could lead to such possibilities such as this. BAHASA MELAYU Pada Mac 2017, Persuruhjaya Tinggi Hak Asasi Manusia Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu telah melancarkan inisiatif “Hak Dalam Beragama”. Inisiatif ini bertujuan untuk menyatukan penganut daripada pelbagai agama dari seluruh dunia dan menunjukkan mereka menyokong hak kemanusian sebagai sebahagian daripada agama mereka. Inisiatif hak dalam beragama ini menganjurkan sebuah bengkel di Beirut, yang menghasilkan sebuah dokumen yang bertajuk, “Deklarasi Beirut dan 18 Komitmen Dalam Hak-Hak Beragama” yang merupakan tunjang kepada artikel ini. Islam adalah antara agama yang diperkatakan telah dibentangkan dalam inisiatif ini. Akan tetapi, adalah Islam telah dibentangkan dengan betul? Adakah inisiatif ini membantu dalam menyampaikan ajaran Islam? Pertama, artikel ini menerangkan Islam mempunyai hak asasi manusia dan mempunyai konsepnya tersendiri. Kedua, artikel ini disambung dengan meneliti Deklarasi Beirut dan 18 komitment-komitmen hak-hak beragama dan melihat sekiranya perkara-perkara yang dipersetujui selari dengan prinsip Islam. Hasilnya mendapati bahawa dokumen ini tidak sesuai untuk menjadi wadah untuk Islam. Ini bukanlah bermakna mencadangkan Islam tidak mengiktiraf hak asasi manusia. Akan tetapi, konsep hak asasi ini telah dipersetujui di dalam dokumen ini bukanlah mewakili dan malahan bertentangan dengan ajaran Islam. Artikel ini mencadangkan agar Muslim untuk tidak menerima “Deklarasi Beirut dan 18 komitmen komitmen hak-hak dalam beragama”, and seharusnya menerima konsep hak asasi manusia yang telah ditetapkan dalam ajaran Islam yang mulia. Pada masa hadapan, wakil Muslim ke inisiatif hak asasi manusia seharusnya tidak bersetuju dengan apa yang bertentangan dengan Islam seperti ini.