Emotional Empathy in Light of the Sunnah

Abstract

The study aims to explore the concept of emotional empathy in light of the Prophetic Sunnah which fully considers human feelings in all their conditions and stages, and even extremely cares for sympathizing with others and feeling for them, such as relieving distress, covering faults, forgiving mistakes, wishing good for others, and feeling what befalls them of good or bad. Because emotional empathy is deeper than just sympathy for others, this emotion as a term was born in the modern era, so Western studies began to explore, and research it, and develop its theories. Since Islamic studies and research revolve around emotional intelligence and did not address this precise concept in its meaning, the research came to clarify this concept in psychology and Western studies, clarify its meaning, shed light on the Sunnah of the Prophet and link the term to it. The research establishes this topic in light of the Sunnah of the Prophet, and shows that this term has found its roots in our tolerant Sharia since the dawn of Islam, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, applied it with his companions, wives and Muslims, but with other terms in different contexts. The great importance of this research also lies in examining the Sunnah of our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and extracting what is related to emotional empathy from a reliable methodology, unlike the theories that are human-made. The study also contributes to linking the Sunnah of the Prophet to educational psychology, and showing the close connection between them. The research adopted two methodologies: the inductive-deductive methodology and the descriptive-analytical methodology. The researcher then concluded that the concept of emotional empathy means something commendable, which is caring for others, that is you imagine how you would feel if you were in someone else’s situation, and experience this situation from their perspective. The concept of emotional empathy came in the Sunnah with several terms: such as fear, love, fear of hardship, familiarity, etc., and in different contexts for several purposes such as correcting wrong actions, leaving the more preferable for what is less preferable in order to make things easier for the nation, speaking on behalf of the addressee when he is in difficulty, taking into account the conditions of the subjects and issuing a ruling that suits their circumstances and conditions, and to ward off corruption even if there is an interest...