Compassion in Islam

Syrian volunteers distribute food rations to poor families during the holy month of Ramadan, in a rebel-held area in the northern city of Aleppo. — AFP

Compassion represents the true spirit of Islam and compassion is far more vital to Islamic teachings than any thing else. There are certain key words in the Holy Quran which are greatly stressed of which four are very often repeated i.e. rahmah, ihsan ‘adl, and hikmah (compassion, benevolence, justice and wisdom).

The principle of compassion, in fact, lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and emphatically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism or self-interest to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others – even our enemies – is a denial of our common humanity.

The best place to begin our study of the compassionate tradition in Islam is, of course, the Holy Quran and the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Muslims must contemplate the signs (ayat) of God’s benevolence in all the wonders of the created world. Because of Allah’s generosity, there was order and fertility where there could have been chaos and sterility. As they learned to appreciate the overwhelming kindness of God, Muslims would be inspired to imitate Him; they would want to give graciously to all God’s creatures and cloak themselves in the virtues of compassion, developing a caring and responsible spirit, especially for the weak and vulnerable members of society.

Every recitation of the Holy Quran begins with an invocation to Allah, the Compassionate (Al Rahman) and the Merciful (Al Rahim), the fundamental message of the Holy Quran is a call to practical compassion and social justice; it is wrong selfishly to build up a private fortune and good to share your wealth fairly, and work hard to build a just and decent society, where everybody is treated with respect. From the very beginning of the Holy Prophet’s mission, Zakat made charity to the poor an essential part of Muslim life. Faith is not merely an intellectual acceptance of a set of doctrines about God. The earliest Surahs repeatedly emphasised the fact that a man or woman of faith was one who performed the ‘deeds of justice’ (Salihat).

In his English Translation of the Holy Quran, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, commenting on surah 90:13-18, highlights the importance of compassion in these words: “The difficult path of virtue is defined as the path of charity or unselfish love, and three specific instances are given for our understanding: viz. (1) freeing the bondman, (2) feeding the orphans and (3) feeding the indigent down in the dust.

“Feed those who need it, both literally and figuratively. But do specially when there is privation or famine.

“All orphans should be fed and helped. But ordinary orphans will come under the indigent. The orphans related to us have a special claim on us. They should be near and dear to us, and if charity begins at home, they have the first claim on us.

“Persons down in the dust can only be helped from motives of pure charity, because nothing can be expected of them neither praise nor advertisement nor any other advantage to the helper. Such help is help indeed. But there may be various degrees, and the help will be suited to the need.

“Such practical charity and love will be the acid test of Faith and the teaching of all virtues. The virtues are summed up under the names of Patience (the Arabic word includes constancy and self restraint) and compassionate kindness. Not only will they be the test by which the sincerity of their Faith will be judged they will be the fruit which their faith will constantly produced.

“They will be those who achieve salvation.”

Every Muslim knows all this, but we all need to make a conscious effort to remind ourselves of these basic truths. The Holy Quran sees this as a spiritual as well as intellectual process; it frequently makes the point that a prophet is not preaching any thing new, he is restoring the important values that has been overlooked or forgotten by the people. “Remind them!” Allah asked Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) ‘All you can do is be a Reminder” (surah 88:21). The Holy Quran itself is just such a reminder (dhkir). It says again and again that human beings are not essentially bad, they are just forgetful. Once the compassion is reinstated at the heart of the religious, moral and social life, all the other contentious issues that cause dissention among the faithful can be seen in proper perspective.

—Special to Khaleej Times