‘Compassion towards others is a moral imperative’

Dr Jamal Badawi is an Egyptian-born Canadian author of many books and articles on Islam. In this interview he granted Muslim Central Project, an Islamic media publisher, best known for its Islamic audio publishing across many devices and platforms, the public speaker, preacher and writer speaks about the moral teachings of Islam as they relate to compassion.

How does the Qur’an describe compassion or mercy as a divine attribute?

According to the Qur’an, mercy or compassion is one of the most notable and highly emphasised of the divine attributes. When one opens the Qur’an, the first line before any of the chapters even begin says, ‘In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.’ This same phrase is found in the beginning of all Surhas save one. Also, this same phrase is repeated by Muslims before any act (work, study or any other activity).

In Arabic, the phrase is Bismi Allah Arahman Araheem, which is translated to, ‘In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.’ Both words Arahman and Araheem come from the same Arabic root which is rahman, which means compassion. Araheem means the kind, merciful and the compassionate. This trait can apply to any human being. Arahman, however, doesn’t really have a word equivalent in English, as it means the absolute source of mercy. Thus, it is erroneous to describe a person as being rahman. We can, however, say that a person is raheem which means he is kind, merciful and compassionate but not the source of these attributes. The Qur’an (7:156) says, ‘My mercy extends to all things. That (mercy) I shall ordain for those who do right, and practise regular charity, and those who believe in Our signs.’

 

Can you tell us about justice? Some say that it is a contradiction between compassion and punishment, is this correct?

The mercy and compassion of God are there for the taking. There are two basic conditions in order to deserve and receive mercy. One is the correct belief in God and to accept to be a servant of God. Second is to do good deeds in one’s way of life. Doing good deeds can be implemented in one’s way of life in aspects of family, social, political and economic life. When a human being becomes so puffed up with pride, becoming arrogant and haughty to the point that they refuse to believe in God, then the person is just being unfair to himself.

Of course, none of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. But if a person sincerely believes and tries their best to implement the will of God in their life when they do make a mistake, the door of repentance will always be open. The Qur’an (23:118) says, “So say: ‘O my Lord! grant Thou forgiveness and mercy for Thou art the Best of those who show mercy!’” In Prophetic sayings, we also find a reference to this. One saying is reported in Muslim and is a Hadith Qudsi (word of God through the Prophet): ‘My mercy overcomes my anger.’ Thus, there can be mercy and justice at the same time and if the person is trying their best then the mercy of God will outweigh the punishment or strict justice.

The same point was emphasised by Prophet Muhammd (peace upon him). In Bukhari, he was quoted to have said, ‘All of my followers will enter Paradise except for those who refuse.’ People wondered if anyone would refuse to go to Paradise and he replied, ‘Whoever obeys me (in following the teachings revealed by God) will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys me refuses to go to Paradise.’ The question is not reconciling justice with mercy but rather that we are being unfair to ourselves when we reject God and the right path.

 

What has the Prophet (peace upon him) said about mercy as a moral virtue?

Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) made a clear connection between belief in God and compassion. In a saying of the Prophet narrated in Al Tabarani, he said, ‘You won’t be true believers unless you have compassion.’ When people heard him say this, they said, ‘Oh Prophet, we are all merciful.’ He replied, ‘I am not referring to the mercy that one of you would have towards his companion or close friend but I am referring to mercy or compassion to all.’ In one of his sayings, the Prophet indicated that it is important for one to be compassionate towards fellow beings in order to receive the compassion and mercy of God. Again, in Al Tabrani, the Prophet says, ‘Whoever does not show mercy to those on earth will not receive the mercy of He who is in the Heavens.’

Another example is when the Prophet (peace upon him) and the early followers were being persecuted the Prophet went to Al Taif where people received him very badly by sending their children and others to throw stones at him. His feet were bleeding and while he was being stoned, he did not invoke any type of curse on the people. All he said was, ‘Oh my Lord, guide my people to the right path for they know not what they are doing.’ This is the kind of attitude which does not limit mercy to a certain category but rather extends it to all mankind.

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 Is there a special category of people to whom more compassion should be shown?

Since people should show compassion to all, there is no contradiction in showing extra compassion to certain categories of people. There are eight categories that are emphasised in the Qur’an. The first category includes compassion towards parents. For example, the Qur’an (17:23-24) says, ‘Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: My Lord! bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.’ We notice in this verse that kindness to parents was mentioned after the decree to worship God alone which shows its significance and importance.

The second category is compassion towards children. One time, the Prophet (peace upon him) was sitting with some people and he kissed one of his grandchildren (Hassan or Hussein). One of the people sitting with him said, ‘Do you kiss your children? I have ten of them and I never kissed anyone of them.’ The Prophet (peace upon him) responded, ‘He who doesn’t show mercy shall not receive mercy.’ And in another version of this saying, he told him, ‘What can I do if God has taken mercy out of your heart.’ This shows that we should be kind and merciful towards children.

The third category is compassion towards one’s spouse. In Al Tirmithi, the Prophet (peace upon him) was reported to have said, ‘The most perfect believers are those who are best in their character and the best of you are the best to their families.’ He particularly referred to being kind to one’s wife. This doesn’t mean that the wife is exempt from showing kindness and compassion to her husband.

The fourth category would be compassion towards relatives. There is a saying of the Prophet (peace upon him) as narrated in Al Tirmithi where he says that blood relation is a network of connections which are granted and a blessing from the most Compassionate. Whoever tries to keep this network intact, God will keep his connection with him and whoever tries to break it, God will disassociates Himself from them. One has to perform his duty towards relatives even if they are not believers.

Another category would be compassion towards the orphans. The Qur’an (93:9) says, ‘Therefore, treat not the orphan with harshness.’ On several occasions, the Prophet (peace upon him) indicated that the best of actions is to put one’s hand kindly on the head of an orphan child. In the collection of Bukhari, the Prophet (peace upon him) said, ‘Whoever looks after an orphan will be like this (he was referring to two of his fingers held out side by side) with me in Paradise.

The sixth category would be compassion to those who are sick and suffering. There are several Hadiths in which God regards a person’s visit to a sick person like visiting God himself. On one occasion, the Prophet (peace upon him) showed that this mercy should be shown towards people who are serving or helping one. The Qur’an also indicates that kindness is required to those who are not close to a person. Qur’an (4:36) says, ‘Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good – to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet), and what your right hands possess: For Allah loves not the arrogant, the vainglorious.’

 

What does Islam say regarding mercy towards other creatures or pets?

Let’s refer back to the Quran when it refers to Prophet Muhammad’s message in (21:107): ‘We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.’ In the original Arabic text, it says mercy for the alameen. Alameen is a plural of alam which means world. So, alameen means worlds or universe. If it was meant that the Prophet’s mission brought mercy and compassion only to mankind then it would not have said universe. The universe has lots of other creatures and the Prophet is mercy to mankind, Jinn, animals and whatever is part of the universe.

In the collection of Hadith in Bukhari, Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) said that a woman was destined to go to hell because of a cat. The reason is that she imprisoned the cat without feeding it or allowing it to go out and search for food. So, the reason she was going to hell was her cruelty towards the cat. The Prophet (peace upon him) indicated that kindness to animals or pets is one of the ways that one can gain forgiveness for their sins. In the collection by Muslim, he said one time, a man was walking who was very thirsty. The man found a well and went down into the well to get a drink. After he quenched his thirst he saw a dog chewing mud out of thirst. He told himself that the dog must be in the same pain he was in before he drank some water. So he went down the well again, put water in his shoes and gave the dog a drink. The Prophet said that because of this God forgave his sins.

In Islam, when people kill an animal for food, they should make sure that it is done with as little pain as possible. For example, an animal should not be killed in front of another, knife must be very sharp and it must be done quickly. Also, people should be careful when using animals unnecessarily and cruelly for experimentation.