Compassion is a main feature of the Prophet’s method of education, yet it is often overlooked by educators. Indeed it is rarely mentioned in the books included in the curricula of institutes and colleges of education.
Yet compassion was a main characteristic of the Prophet, easily noticed in his manners by all who knew him. Malik ibn Al-Huwairith reports: "We, a group of youths of similar age, visited the Prophet and stayed with him for 20 nights. He thought that we might have missed our families, so he inquired after our relatives whom we had left in our hometown, and we answered his questions. Caring and compassionate as he was, he said, ‘Go back to your families and teach them and tell them to do (what is obligatory). Pray as you have seen me pray. When it is time for prayer, let one of you make the call for prayer (i.e. the athan) and let the eldest among you lead the prayer’." (Related by Al-Bukhari)
A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said: "Do you kiss children? We do not." The Prophet said to him: "What can I do for you if God has deprived you of compassion?" (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim). "The Prophet was attended by Al-Aqraa’ ibn Habis, the chief of the Tameem tribe, when he kissed his grandson, Al-Hasan ibn Ali. Surprised, Al-Aqraa’ said, ‘I have ten children and I never kissed any of them.’ The Prophet looked at him and said, ‘A person who is not compassionate may not receive compassion’." (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Another Hadith also related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim quotes Abu Qatadah’s report: "The Prophet came to us carrying Umamah bint Abu Al-Aas on his shoulder, and he prayed. When he bowed in his prayer, he would put her down, and then would carry her again when he stood up to complete his prayers." Hadith scholars point out that the Prophet’s action is indicative of his genuine compassion. The little girl, Umamah, was his granddaughter, born to his eldest daughter Zainab. Indeed, the Prophet’s Sunnah, whether verbal or practical, is full of statements and actions confirming the great importance he attached to compassion as an essential element in education and upbringing.
Compassion is not merely a fine quality to have or a means to earn God’s pleasure and people’s love or admiration. It is an effective method of educating the young and upbringing, leaving its distinctive mark in the character of those who benefit by it in their childhood. They continue to enjoy its great benefits in their adult life.
It is such people who have been reared with compassion that we find to be loving, caring and sociable when they are adults. They receive you warmly, with a welcoming face. Hence, when you deal with such a person, you are sure of a friendly relationship. Moreover, people reared with compassion are the ones who maintain good relations with their relatives. Thus, they discharge their duty toward God, and toward their relatives. No wonder, for such is their upbringing.
When people grow up in an atmosphere of compassion, they are not hard to their friends and acquaintances. On the contrary, they try to find excuses for others when they fall short of their expectations. They try to sort out any dispute or disagreement amicably, preferring that to any method involving the severance of relations. When such people are in a position of power, or seniority at work, they look at their subordinates as friends with whom they have a mutual, caring relationship. Hence, we find them highly successful in their work, able to progress and influence those with whom they deal.
People brought up in a compassionate atmosphere are found to be sensitive, sound in their thinking and appreciation, calm and peaceful. All this is highly helpful when one is met with misfortune, because in such a situation one feels that God’s grace is never far away. And with God’s grace, one is always reassured even when misfortune is exceedingly hard, continues for a long time or seems unending.
Compassionate upbringing produces the most generous people in times of need. They are of the type God describes in these words: "Those who are saved from their own greed are the ones that will be successful." (59: 9). They give preference to others over themselves, even though poverty be their own lot. They feel that the needy have a rightful claim to some of the blessings God has favored them with. Hence, they do not retain what is surplus to their needs and requirements. Rather, they often pay generously out of what they themselves need, so as to be kind to others, be they their relatives, neighbors, friends or strangers. In all this, they feel that they do no more than fulfill their duty, as outlined by their compassionate upbringing which makes hardness very repugnant to them. Miserable indeed and deprived of much goodness is the one who feels no compassion toward others. The Prophet says: "Be merciful to those who live on Earth so that the One in Heaven may be merciful to you." He is also quoted as saying: "God is most compassionate to those of His servants who are themselves compassionate."
Those who are responsible for the education and upbringing of the young, be they parents or teachers in all educational stages, need to understand the role of compassion in education, and what bearing it has on the molding of human character. They should also realize the risks that accompany hardness and cruelty, and their devastating results on those who are deprived of even an occasional touch of compassion.
An educator is compassionate only if he is caring and loving. If he does not love those under his charge and does not care for them, he will not be able to benefit them in any way. A human soul is very sensitive. It receives messages in the same spirit of the sender. If the sender has a caring and loving soul, then his message is received promptly and it produces the desired, beneficial result. But when the sender has a careless, unloving or fed-up soul, his message may not reach the person to whom it is sent, or if it reaches that person, it remains of no benefit. In fact, it may even produce a negative or harmful effect which may rebound on the sender or the one who caused it. He will then repent, but alas, repentance is of no use. He may have to account for it on the Day of Judgment, when every shepherd is asked about his or her folk. On that day, the ones who do well receive a reward far better than what they had done, while those who do badly hope not to be held to account for their misdeeds. The whole community is responsible for the spread of compassion among all its social strata. The believers are the ones who "counsel one another to be steadfast, and enjoin mercy on one another." (90: 17). On the Day of Judgment these shall be the winners, while the others end up with the opposite result.
Although good upbringing and education start with parents and teachers, the responsibility for ensuring it includes all social institutions and all people in authority. For these are the ones who have the greatest influence on the public. They are looked upon as setting the example to follow. Moreover, they have a direct influence on those who are under them. Such influence spreads fast until it reaches ordinary people. Wise was the one who said: "People follow the example of their kings." The Prophet says: "A ruler is a shepherd, and he will be accountable for his folk."
