Islam is a faith in compassion. Every Muslim recites Bismillahi Rahman ni Rahim meaning I begin in the name of Allah who is Compassionate and Merciful. Never in the Muslim mind when he meets The Creator 5 times a day the thought of vengeance and respite fills his mind and soul. In true sense it is a faith of submission to the Great Will of Allah, The All Mighty.
It will be seen that Compassion is one of the names of Allah and it is among the most popular names of Allah. A Muslim, who worships Allah has to be compassionate in his own behavior else his/her worship would not be complete. There are four key values in Qur'an which are repeatedly emphasized are: Justice ('adl), benevolence (ihsan), compassion (rahmah) and wisdom (hikmah) and compassion is one of them.
The Prophet of Islam too is described in Qur'an as rahmat lil 'alamin i.e. mercy of the worlds. Since Prophet is messenger of Allah he too has to represent His virtues on earth. Allah is perfect and so His Prophet has to be a perfect human being imbibing all the attributes of Allah. So other believers (mu'minun) also must, with all their limitations, imbibe these virtues.
A believer, who is not compassionate within possible human limits, is no believer at all. A true believer has to imbibe all those values represented by Allah and His Messenger. In other words Qur'an and sunnah (Prophet's sayings and doing) are binding on all Muslims and there is complete consensus on it among all Muslim theologians belonging to all sects of Islam.
Allah chooses His prophets from among the weaker sections of society as only such persons can be value-oriented as they know importance of human values in life as against rulers and ruling classes who happen to be interest-oriented. Thus one would see in Qur'an that all prophets mentioned with the exception of David and Solomon (who were rulers) happen to be from weaker sections of society.
It is prophets from this section of society who can communicate with great conviction the divine message of truth, justice, benevolence, love, compassion, human dignity and equality. All prophets of Allah brought these values and exemplified them through their personal life. Prophet of Islam too was embodiment of these values, particularly compassion. There are numerous incidents from his life which show his compassionate approach towards fellow human beings irrespective of religion or station in life.
Let us in this month of Ramadhan show our deepest compassion to everyone muslims and non-muslim alike. Especially when we here of the great flood affecting Pakistan in 2010. It has been reported that 20 million people has been displaced without shelter, food and clothing (the basic to sustain human dignity). As Eid-ul-Fitr approaches let us remind ourselves that they will not be having the great feast. Let us remind ourselves their hearts will be filled with sadness and despair.
Start donating and help as much as you can.
Langford Islamic College is collecting donations for victims of the great flood. A donation tim will be circulating at the College. Please contact the school at
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to get donation details.
May Allah grant you Great Blessings and Reward in this blessed month of Ramadhan.
