Compassionate Islam

Compassionate Islam (Arabic:الإسلام الرحماني, al-Islām al-Raḥmānī) is an interpretation of Islam based on mercy, kindness, and the avoidance of violence and extremism. According to its proponents, Islam's approach to opposing thoughts is flexible, establishing the principle of dialogue, valuing freedom, and avoiding exclusivism, dogmatism, and narrow-mindedness. Among the proponents of Compassionate Islam, there is disagreement regarding whether mercy is an intrinsic part of Islam or was added later, and whether it is compatible with an Islamic government. Muhsin Kadiwar and Abdu l-Karim Surush are considered advocates of Compassionate Islam.

From the viewpoint of Sayyid Ali Khamenei, a Shi'a Marja' and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Compassionate Islam is eclectic and influenced by liberal foundations. He and Abdullah Jawadi Amuli, in contrast to Compassionate Islam and violent interpretations, propose Pure Muhammadan Islam, which, while emphasizing rationality and not surrendering to the enemy, also rejects violence and takfir of fellow Muslims. Critics of the so-called "compassionate Islam" argue that this perspective reduces religion to a purely otherworldly concern and promotes excessive leniency, permissiveness, and moral relativism.

The perspective of Compassionate Islam exists among thinkers of various Islamic denominations. However, it is said that due to the formation of the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, this thought has become more prominent in Iran and Shi'ism. The emergence of this idea as an epistemological-social current dates back to the late 1980s.

Compassionate Interpretation of Islam

Compassionate Islam is a title for an interpretation of Islamic beliefs which, according to its theorists, emphasizes dialogue, pluralism, freedom, and tolerance of opponents. In contrast, it characterizes other interpretations of Islamic teachings as suffering from exclusivism, dogmatism, and narrow-mindedness. These researchers describe many interpretations of Islam as violent and extremist. Muhsin Kadiwar contrasts Compassionate Islam with fascist Islam, Taliban Islam, Umayyad Islam, black Islam, and dogmatic Islam.

Islam is Intrinsically Compassionate

According to Muhsin Kadiwar, one of the theorists of Compassionate Islam, Islam has a compassionate essence, but over time, due to the sedimentation of harsh Jahili customs and traditions and lack of attention to its spirit and main goals, it distanced itself from its compassionate dimensions. It is also said that from the words of individuals such as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Sayyid Muhammad Khatami, and Hassan Ruhani, it can be inferred that the essence of Islam is compassionate. However, Abdu l-Karim Surush believes that Islam did not initially have a compassionate aspect, but over time, with the intellectual developments that took shape among Muslim thinkers, compassionate aspects emerged in it. Soroush presented this approach in the theory of "Religion and Power," relying on the two theories of Expansion of Prophetic Experience and Theoretical Contraction and Expansion of Shari'a.

Compassionate Islam versus Historical Islam

Believers in Compassionate Islam divide Islam into two types: historical and spiritual. Historical Islam is based on the exigencies of time and place, while spiritual (compassionate) Islam relies on the original principles and goals of religion, regardless of temporal and spatial conditions. According to Muhsin Kadiwar, to understand Islam correctly, one must distance oneself from historical readings and pay attention to the original truth of religion by relying on rationality. According to Sayyid Muhammad Ali Ayazi, in the reading of Compassionate Islam, the main principles and laws of religion and most religious and transactional rulings remain valid, but some rulings and rituals that were understood in temporal and spatial conditions different from the time of the Quran's revelation, and have thus distanced themselves from their compassionate essence, need new interpretation.

Fundamental Characteristics

The book Islam-i Rahmmani: Tahlili bar mabani wa mu'allifa-ha in Persian, by Hassan Ali-purwahid

Foundations of Understanding Religion

Apart from God's satisfaction and mercy, which Muhsin Kadiwar considers the main foundation of the theory of Compassionate Islam, he strongly emphasizes the authenticity and validity of reason in understanding religion. He believes that no irrational proposition can be valid and every ruling must be compatible with common sense. Kadiwar also emphasizes the necessity of utilizing science and knowledge in understanding and interpreting Islam. He believes that Modern Humanities, alongside Islamic Sciences, can help better understand Islam.

Justice, Ethics, and Human Rights

It is said that in the compassionate reading of Islam, justice and ethics are the foundations of understanding Islam, and any fatwa or ruling that conflicts with Social Justice is invalid; similarly, every ruling and fatwa must be compatible with ethical principles. Accordingly, Compassionate Islam is based on human freedom and choice. Furthermore, it is said that Islam emphasizes the preservation of life, property, honor, and freedom of all human beings regardless of their religion and sect, and any kind of compulsion or coercion in religious matters is rejected.

Relationship between Religion and Politics

Theorists of Compassionate Islam consider Democracy the best method for governing society in the realm of government and politics. They believe that in a democratic society, sovereignty belongs to the people, and the government must be formed based on the will and wishes of the people. Kadiwar considers the independence of the religious institution from the political institution as one of the pillars of Compassionate Islam and believes that any government interference in religious affairs is invalid. According to him, the religious institution and the political institution must operate independently of each other. However, it is said that in other readings of Compassionate Islam, the institutions of religion and politics are not necessarily separate; according to interpretations of the words of individuals like Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Sayyid Muhammad Khatami, and Hassan Ruhani, Islam and the Islamic Revolution are built upon the compassionate principles of Islam and oppose violence and dogmatism. It is also said that presenting authentic Islam as compassionate helps the global community understand Islam correctly and is effective in advancing the goals of the Islamic Republic in international relations.

Historical Course

Although the reading of Compassionate Islam is seen among thinkers of various sects and countries, it is said that the main center for fostering this approach has been Shi'a and Iran after the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This reading of Islam took the form of an epistemological-social current in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

It is said that early signs of the compassionate interpretation of Islam can be observed in the words of Mahdi Bazargan, Ali Gulzada Ghafuri, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Muhammad Mujtahid Shabistari, Abdu l-Karim Surush, Mustafa Malikiyan, Sayyid Mohammad Khatami, Muhsin Kadiwar, and Hassan Rouhani. Nevertheless, Muhsin Kadiwar is considered to have a special role in promoting this discourse. Muhsin Kadiwar has considered the thoughts of Fadl al-Rahman, a Pakistani-American intellectual, as inspiring and regards himself as the innovator of this idea.

According to researchers, one of the most important compassionate readings of Islam is the social Islam of Fethullah Gülen in Türkiye, known as Anatolian Islam, which is said to be influenced by Sufi tendencies. Highlighting themes such as love and affection, Gülen presents Islam as a religion free of violence and compatible with Modernity and Secularism.

Critics' View

Sayyid Ali Khamenei

Sometimes slogans are raised, slogans that are seemingly Islamic but inwardly not Islamic; including... "Compassionate Islam"; well, it's a beautiful term, both "Islam" is beautiful and "Compassionate" is beautiful; but what does it mean? ... This Compassionate Islam is a keyword for teachings originating from liberalism...

According to critics of the Compassionate Islam reading, this view attempts to reduce the scope of jurisprudence and limit religion to worldliness, permissiveness, and tolerance. They argue that Compassionate Islam is an intellectual reading of Islam that, in seeking to reduce violence, has ignored part of the main rulings and laws of religion. It is said that the notion of Compassionate Islam is influenced by the atmosphere of Protestantism in Christianity, which offered flexible readings of religion.

Based on research regarding the view of Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the compassionate reading of Islam is an eclectic interpretation because it is formed under the influence of an incorrect worldview and foundations such as Humanism, distancing from Tawhid, Religious Pluralism, and limiting the scope of religion to the afterlife. Accordingly, in Sayyid Ali Khamenei's belief, the output of the correct interpretation of Islam, Pure Muhammadan Islam, is comprehensive and complete. This Islam does not need completion from other schools of thought, and one must be committed to all its teachings.

It is said that the concept of Compassionate Islam, introduced by Muhsin Kadiwar, also faces problems regarding justice, because Kadiwar argues that we must refer to custom (urf) to understand real justice, while collective reason cannot replace revelation. Also, human dignity in Compassionate Islam, which is based on humanism, conflicts with the rights of God, which is incorrect.

Furthermore, an article states that a prominent dichotomy has formed in the type of commitment to political Islam: on one side are the defenders of Compassionate Islam, and on the other are takfiri and violent interpretations of Islam, known as Islamic extremism. In between, Sayyid Ali Khamenei and Abdullah Jawadi Amuli propose a third approach against extremism and laxity, which is the Imam Khomeini's view on political Islam. Accordingly, its main feature is emphasizing rationality, vigilance, and not surrendering to enemies, while rejecting any irrational confrontation based on violence and takfir.