The reason for setting up this website is the lack of compassion and empathy in the Islamic community, while the Islamic sources mention it abundantly.
Another reason is the fact that non-Muslims do not know much about this most important part of the Islamic faith. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was both a spiritual leader and a reformer.
But due to his success of establishing an organised social structure,
many biographers have focused more on his political career than his spiritual one.
Many non-Muslims have therefore hardly learnt about the spiritual side of Islam. I therefore hope that this website will be useful to them in this respect.
Compassion, the essence of Islam
Compassion and empathy both play an essential role in Islam and they represent the true spirit of the Islamic way of life. Compassion means: sensitivity towards the condition or state of all creatures: men, animals and plants alike. The companions asked the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him):
"Oh Messenger of Allaah, is there a reward for us in showing kindness towards the animals?"
The Messenger of Allaah replied:
"There is a reward for showing kindness every living animal."
[Bukhaaree: Book 8: Volume 73: Hadeeth 38, Muslim: Book 26: Hadeeth 5577]
Islam and Buddhism share this common basis. Although Buddhism is known as a peaceful and compassionate way of life, Islam on the other hand is often associated with war, including jihad against non-Muslims. This is not correct, because Islam is a way of life based on peace and compassion, just as Buddhism is. Let us therefore not look at its history but at its doctrines; which are based on the Qur’aan, the Sunnah and the sayings of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Solidarity with others
In order to reach our goals, we must deal with others through rahmah (compassion) to create solidarity with others. The Prophet said that ‘the djamaa’ah’ (the group which is together) is rahmah. The companion Nu’maan ibn Basheer also narrated that the Prophet said:
"The similitude of believers in regard to their being merciful among themselves
and showing love among themselves and being kind, is that of one body; when any limb of the body aches, then the whole body aches because of sleeplessness (insomnia) and fever".
(in Arabic: ‘tawaadihim wa taraahumihim wa ta’aatufihim’)
[Bukhaaree: Book 8: Volume 73: Hadeeth 40, Muslim: Book 32: Hadeeth 6258]
In this narration the word ‘taraahumihim’ (‘their rahmah’) has been used.
The metaphor of the body is remarkable because the limbs are all connected and not disconnected! Compassion, love and care are not necessarily present, but we have to develop them and show them towards each other. We should work very hard to achieve this. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“None of my companions should convey to me anything regarding another,
because I desire to meet everyone with a clean heart.”
[Abu Daawood: Book 41: Hadeeth 4842: Narrated by ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood]
What a pure manner of conduct! Look how many people around us talk about one another and how people have their opinions ready regarding others without having taken any effort to get to know the person first. The Islamic society is preoccupied with external appearance, while neglecting the inner side. As the Prophet (peace be upon him) clearly stated:
“Verily, I have been sent to perfect the most noble of manners.”
[Ahmad: 2/281, Al-Baihaqee 1/192, Al-Bukhaaree: Al-Adab Al-Mufrad]
Love must grow. You can’t have a deep love for someone whom you have never met.
You might like him and there could even be compatibility, but by spending time together, sharing and getting to know each other love will start growing. Because we spend so little time together we do not get to know each other and feelings of love are not expressed,
and therefore we do not apply the hadeeth in which the Prophet says:
“When a man loves his brother, he should tell him that he loves him.”
[Abu Daawood: Book 41: Hadeeth 5105: Narrated by Abu Karimah]
Think about what solidarity and love bring about. In a narration from Abu Hurairah the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“There are people among the servants of Allaah who are neither Prophets nor martyrs.
The Prophets and martyrs will envy them on the day of resurrection for their rank with Allaah the most high.”
The people asked: “Who are they, O Messenger of Allaah? We want to love them.”
He said:
“They are people who love one another for the sake of Allaah without having any mutual kinship and without giving property to one another.
By Allaah, their faces will glow and they will be (sitting) in (pulpits of) light.”
[Abu Daawood: Book 23: Hadeeth 3520, Classed saheeh by shaikh Al-Albaanee]
“We want to love them” here shows the amount of love which the companions of the Prophet had for people they did not even know, but whom they felt love for because they were so beloved to the Creator and His Messenger.
This touches on the narration that explains to us that we will not taste the sweetness of faith unless our heart fulfils three conditions, of which one of them is that we love the other.
This hadeeth shows us that this love is not based on kinship or one’s wealth,
but that it is for the sake of Allaah.
For the sake of Allaah is according to the message that mankind has received,
similarly passed on by thousands of Prophets and messengers, each time addressing the needs and characteristics of the people from whom they came forth, so that the people could relate to these guides (Prophets and messengers).
Compassion for everyone
It is rahmah that moves our hearts and motivates us to help others. Compassion is the best quality one can have towards others, but if we do not want to see or get to know the other, then how can we feel for the other? How can we support this person with his or her pain and sorrow? We see Muslims attend Islamic lectures all over the world, but without initiating relationships with the others who are present. When the lecture ends, everyone gets up and leaves and nobody got to know each other. In general, everyone feels compassion but many keep it measured. Some feel compassion towards people but not towards animals. Others only feel compassionate towards people from their own country or religious group. Many seem to draw lines somewhere. Compassion requires us to make sacrifices, to invest, in order to create the softness and kindness so we can use this in our efforts towards others.
Sacrifice is always of the selfAs one decides to serve the greater good,
Crossing in one's heart an inner gulf,
Replacing what one wants with what one would.
It is an act of faith sustained by love,
For faith or love alone is not enough.
Islam teaches us to deal with each other through rahmah. It does not teach us to be arrogant or to look down upon others, to gossip about others or cause others injustice.
‘Iyaad ibn Himaar narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Allaah revealed to me that we should be humble among ourselves and none should show pride upon the others.”
[Muslim: Book 40: Hadeeth 6856]
Many Muslims reject the one who is different compared to them. They disrespect him and judge over him in advance. They forget that he Prophet (peace be upon him) was sent as a rahmah for everyone and not just for the Muslims. We should take him as an example in the way he treated non-Muslims.
Peace is not a passive attitude; it is an active state.
It requires having constant attention and determination,
in order to live and to respond as a peaceful being to any upset in life.
You need to be brave and vigilant.
The most powerful form of teaching is by example.
What you see through your eyes creates great impact.
The heart accepts it and it does not need many words.
You can't impose peace through force but you can be peaceful
and create a peaceful environment.
Empathy
Knowing the difference between empathy and sympathy might be difficult for some people, because the difference between them is small. For example: if your friends’ father dies due to a car accident, you feel sympathy for her because you can imagine it must be very difficult for her to deal with this, but by losing your own father in a car accident you learn how hard it is to lose a loved one. This is empathy.
In this case you can instinctively relate to the other person. For the most part, empathy flows from the knowledge you have about your own self. If you have a good understanding of your own emotional life, then it will be easy for you to feel for the other and you will be able to relate to the other easily. Empathy is an emotional feeling of concern and understanding of the situation of the other. Empathy is also having the capacity to experience and having the imaginative power to relate to someone’s situation, or to have a feeling of total identification towards someone’s situation and feelings.
We define empathy as a deed of understanding and experiencing the same feelings and experiences someone else has had just at that moment or before.
It is usually not expressed in words, but it is usually more of an attitude:
an intuitive way of dealing with the other.
Our behaviour
In Islamic communities, we see that people occupy themselves more with rulings,
laws and rituals than with behaviour and morals. It is against the nature of the spirituality of Islam when people do not give this any attention. Unfortunately, this is the reason why others do not learn about the richness of Islam, because how do you reach its richness if the followers of that way of life do not take you there themselves?
In our daily lives, in our conduct with young and old, with men and women,
with Muslims and non-Muslims, our behaviour should be filled with good manners, because what else will we do with the words of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him):
“There is nothing heavier than good character put on the scales of a believer on the day of resurrection.”
[Abu Daawood: Book 41: Hadeeth 4781]
Many among the Muslim youth say that their partner in marriage should be a Muslim and has to pray five times a day. The youth should receive insights from the elders and the people of knowledge. They should teach them that good character and someone’s manners are the reasons for a healthy relationship and the basis of a Muslim who has truly understood Islam. Someone who has a heart filled with rahmah, shows warmness towards others, wants to serve others, help others, honour others and be less selfish.
Islam gives the mother as an example of having a lot of rahmah in a natural way.
My hope is that more and more people will realise the value of compassion, and in this way will take the path of rahmah, just as the Prophet (peace be upon him) did.
In these times of materialism, loneliness and depression the road to compassion is the only remedy for the heart. The real compassion is not based on our own views or understandings, but it is based on the needs of others, regardless of whether the person is a close friend or a distant enemy. Compassion lets us realise suffering, and recognise it as a part of life. As the scholar ibn Qayyim al-Djawziyyah said:
“Pains are one of the features of someone’s development, from which no human or animals can be saved. If a man were without pain, he would not be human but an angel or other type of creature.”
[Miftaah Daar al-Sa’aadah 2: 230-231]
It allows us to point out any injustices and to stand up against them strongly with all our ability.
"No matter what is going on, never give up. Develop the heart. Too much energy in your country is spent on developing the mind instead of the heart.
Develop the heart; be compassionate. Work for peace in your heart and in the world. Work for peace and I say again: Never give up, no matter what is happening,
no matter what is going on around you; never give up."
Do his words not mean the same as the words of the Prophet Muhammad:
“Verily, Allaah does not look at your bodies nor at your faces but He looks at your hearts.”
[Muslim: Book 32: Hadeeth 6220]
And:
“Beware, there is a piece of flesh in the body; if it is sound the whole body is sound
and if it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt. And that is the heart.”
[Bukhaaree: Book 1: Volume 2: Hadeeth 39, Muslim: Book 10: Hadeeth 3882]
The da’wah in the Islamic community is filled with knowledge, but lacks rahmah,
and that is why it does not change the people the way it should. Allaah says in the Qur’aan that He will not change the situation of a people unless the people change themselves. How can we carry out the message of Islam without knowing the inner meanings of it ourselves? Shaykh al-Albaanee said:
“There is a saying by one of the callers to Islam, which I hope all his followers will adhere to:
“Establish the Islamic state in your heart, and it will be established for you on earth.”
This means that a Muslim with the correct beliefs, based on the Qur’aan and Sunnah will definitely improve his worship, his behaviour and manners because of this.
