Extend Compassion to All

Fulfilling one’s own need is to respond to one’s own natural urges. Fulfilling others’ needs is a form of worship and demonstrates the highest form of human values.

A tradition reported in different books of Hadith has been recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari under the title, ‘Mercy to man and animal’. According to this tradition, “A man was once walking along a path and because he was extremely thirsty, when he saw a well, he got down into it and drank water from it. Then when he came back up, he saw a dog there who was panting with severe thirst and eating wet mud. The man saw that this dog was also suffering in the same way as he had been suffering. So he again went down into the well. Once down, he filled his shoe with water which he caught hold with his teeth. He then came back up with the water and offered it to the dog to drink. God accepted his deed, and gave him salvation and forgave him. People asked, ‘O God’s messenger, is there any reward for serving animals as well?’ The Prophet said, ‘Yes you will be rewarded for serving any animate thing.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2363)

When a person’s body is in need of water he naturally feels thirsty. That leads him to drink water and fulfil the need of the body. The same is true of feeling cold or hungry. This is a call from nature telling a person that now he has to eat, or use woollen clothes, or drink water and thus fulfil his needs.

Animals also have such feelings but animals are aware of them only within themselves. The case of a human being is different. It is required of humans to extend these feelings to others. Just as he feels his own need and makes arrangements to fulfil it, he should feel the need of others and also of animals, and try to fulfil their needs.

Fulfilling one’s own need is to respond to one’s own natural urges. But fulfilling others’ needs is a form of worship and demonstrates the highest form of human values.