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| Compassion:
Islamic Perspective Asghar Ali Engineer Compassion
represents the true spirit of Islam and is vital to Islamic teachings.
Compassion means sensitivity to the condition or state of all creation,
ie: human beings as well as animals and plants. A person cannot be
compassionate unless he/she is sensitive to others’ needs and
conditions. There
are certain key words in the Qur’an that are often repeated i.e. rahmah
(compassion), ihsân (benevolence) ‘adl (justice), and hikmah (wisdom).
Rahmah (compassion, mercy) and its roots abound in the Holy Qur’an.
Among Allah’s own names are Rahmân and Rahîm (Compassionate and
Merciful). A Muslim begins everything by reciting Bismillah al-Rahmân
al-Rahîm (i.e. begin in the name of Allah Who is Compassionate and
Merciful). Thus a Muslim is supposed to invoke Allah the Compassionate and
Merciful at every step. The
first chapter of the Qur’an carries this message of compassion when it
describes Allah as ‘Rabb al-‘Alamin’ (i.e. Sustainer of the
universe). The concept of sustenance is based on His Mercy and Compassion
for everything He has created. In fact rahmah is so central to Allah’s
existence that it embraces all that exists in the universe (wasi`at kulla
shayin) 40:7. God
sent His Messenger Muhammad (saw) as the ‘Mercy to the world’
(21:107), representing universal mercy. As the Messenger of Allah he is
representative of His Mercy and is known as rahmata lil `alamin (mercy of
the worlds). A true follower of the Prophet (PBUH) has to be merciful and
compassionate to the extent humanly possible. The
Qur’an again and again shows its sympathy for the weaker sections of the
society, which includes orphans, widows, poor and exploited and other
politically, socially, and economically oppressed people. It emphasizes
different ways of helping them. Zakâh
has been made obligatory on all believing Muslims, men & women, to
liberate the poor and oppressed from their situation. Thus the Qur’an
says, “(Zakat) charity is only for the poor and the needy and those
employed to administer it, and those whose hearts are made to incline, and
(to free) the captives, and those in debt, and in the way of Allah and for
the wayfarer – an ordinance from Allah. And Allah is Knowing, Wise.”
(9:60). A believer who is
well off must be sensitive to the needs of the less fortunate, and must
help them financially to remove their sufferings. Thus even for the
payment of zakâh compassion remains central. Fasting
during the month of Ramadan can be interpreted both spiritually and
materially. Fasting in spiritual sense is a form of `ibâdah i.e. a form
of prayer and an attempt to shun consumerism for cultivating one's
spiritual potentialities. But it also helps make one sensitive to the
hunger and need of the less fortunate, helping us develop sensitivity
compassion for their suffering. Compassion
towards the poor is so important that the Prophet used to say that even if
one person remains hungry in a locality no angel would descend until that
hungry person is fed. Also the Prophet is reported to have said that it is
more meritorious to feed a hungry widow than to pray all night. Thus one
can see the intensity of the Prophet’s compassion towards others
suffering. It was for this reason that even for expiation of one's sins
the Qur’an requires feeding the hungry or liberating the oppressed. The
Prophet (saw) was equally kind to animals. When a woman of disrepute came
to him and said that she saved a thirsty cat from dying by fetching water
from a pit with the help of her socks, the Prophet said Allah will pardon
all your sins and you will go to paradise. The Prophet, according to one
hadith described the entire creation (including humans, animals and trees
and plants) as family of Allah (‘ayal Allah) and said all should be
treated with compassion and sensitivity. We
find in Imam Malik’s Al-Muwatta that the Prophet once was seen gently
wiping the face and mane of his horse with his gown. On being asked by his
companions he explained that he was admonished by Allah for neglecting his
horse. `Ali ibn Abu Tâlib used to admonish Muslims not to eat too much
meat and make their stomachs graveyards for animals. A
number of Prophet’s traditions dealing with kindness and compassion to
animals are included in the authentic hadith literature. Cruelty and
torturing of animals in any form is forbidden. This criterion is so
absolute that even when for valid reasons man is permitted to kill an
animal for food or to save himself from harm, he is enjoined to do so
without causing avoidable pain or torture. The
Qur’an uses the word ‘rahm’ (mercy, compassion) repeatedly. This
word and its various derivatives have been used more than 326 times.
According to ‘Mufradat al-Qur’an’ by Imam Raghib, an authentic
dictionary of the Qur’anic terms, ‘rahmah’ means softening of heart
towards one who deserves our mercy and induces us to do good to him/her.
It is interesting to note that the womb of mother is also called rahm. A
mother is always very soft towards her children and showers love and
affection on them. The
Qur’an also says that the believers (Múminűn) are merciful to each
other. Allah is referred to as Rahîm and Rahmân. According to Mufradat
of Imam Raghib, Rahmân is one whose mercy encompasses all, not all human
beings but the entire creation. Thus only Allah can be Rahmân, no one
else. We human beings have our own limitations. We love our fellow
religionists more than those belonging to other religious groups; we love
those speaking our own tongue more than those speaking other tongues and
we love human beings more than the animals. But
it is not so with Allah. Allah loves and showers His Mercy equally on all.
And if we are really worshippers of Allah we too should not make such
distinctions. We should love all human beings equally whether they belong
to our religion or not, whether they speak our tongue or not and whether
they have the same skin color as we have or not. If Allah is Rahmân
(Compassionate) to all; we, His servants should try to imitate Him as much
as we can. True ‘ibâdah (worship) can be claimed only when we try to
imbibe elements of His attributes. Thus
a real Muslim is one who despite being firm in his/her faith tradition
shows equal love and compassion for all human beings whether they belong
to his faith tradition or not. Every faith tradition is unique and should
be recognized as such and should not become a tool of discrimination. The
Qur’an itself declares that all human beings, all children of Adam have
been honored equally (17:70). There is no justification in showing any
discrimination on the basis of faith as far as the Qur’an is concerned. Allah
is Rahman (Compassionate) as he provides for everyone, regardless of their
faith. It is said that the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) would not eat unless
there was some guest on his table. Once it so happened that there did not
come any guest and Prophet Abraham was hungry.
Abraham went out in search of a guest and he found a very old man
in the nearby forest. He invited the old man to dine with him and the man
agreed and started out with Abraham. On the way Abraham asked him about
his religion and he said I am an atheist. Prophet Abraham was angry and
cancelled his invitation. When he did so he heard a voice from above: ‘O
Abraham We tolerated him (the old man) for seventy years despite his
disbelief and you could not tolerate him for seven minutes?’ Abraham
repented and took the old man home for dining. The
lesson is clear: what to believe and who is right and who is wrong should
be left to Allah rather than our weak judgment. Our judgment is often
influenced by several factors including our ego, our interests, our
beliefs, color of our skin and our ethnicity. Allah alone can judge most
impartially. Thus our respect for others and our compassion should not be
meant for limited number of groups. It should be as wide in sweep as
possible. When
the Qur’an refers to weaker sections it does not qualify it with Muslim,
it refers to all human beings. And all of them are equally entitled to our
compassion and Allah’s mercy, no less, no more. The Qur’an does not
use words like Muslim orphans, Muslim widows or Muslim slaves. It uses
these words in general without any qualification whatsoever. Similarly the
Qur’an does not use any qualification for the powerful and arrogant.
They can belong to any religion, race or ethnicity. The
Qur’an’s attitude is so compassionate towards all human beings that
even in the matter of wasiyyah (i.e. making a will) it advises that if
apart from your relatives, someone needy is present at that time, make
some provision for them also. The Qur’an uses the word sadaqah for
charity, which is derived from the root sidq, which means truthfulness.
Real charity (sadaqah) is one that is given with sincerity and
truthfulness. Anything that is given to show off, or not with sincere and
compassionate intention, does not qualify as sadaqah. Only that feeling
qualifies for compassion, which moves our heart for suffering of others
and that motivates us to help others. Thus the use of the word sadaqah for
charity is very significant. It is the condition of a human person, rather
than his/her religion that should move us to help. Compassion is the best
quality one can have towards other creatures, particularly towards other
human beings and animals. It is suffering which is most fundamental not
one's religion, language or race. A
Qur’anic verse that describes some of the qualities of a believer says,
“ Those who spend in ease as well as in adversity and those who restrain
anger and pardon men. And Allah loves doers of good.” (3:133). Thus
it will be seen that those who control their anger and pardon others and
do good to others are those whom Allah loves. And these qualities are very
much the basis of compassion. Anger and violence are always denounced by
Allah. They are the opposite of compassion. One of Allah’s name is Ghafűr
i.e. one who pardons, one who is not revengeful. A compassionate person
can never be revengeful. Thus one can conclude from closer study of Qur'an and hadith that compassion is the best human quality and no one deserves to be human unless he is compassionate. Thus it is quite central to the teachings of Islam.
Excerpt
from: On the Concept of Compassion in Islam by Asghar Ali Engineer |