Muqarrabun are higher in rank than the godly, virtuous ones due to their special nearness to God. This exalted title is also used for the most distinguished ones among the Prophets and angels. These blessed ones that are favored with God’s special nearness are guides on the way to God, distinguished “lions” in the quarter of the truth, mythical birds who continue their journeying at the peaks, guests who have completed the most important part of the journeying and who have resolved to remain steadfast where they are, God’s confidants in His “private lodge” who, by virtue of the truths they observe as the gifts of the horizon they have reached, have closed their eyes to fleeting things in respect of their worldly aspects. They are cavalrymen who have defeated the soldiers of carnal desires and caprices with their armies of love and yearning; they are heroes of knowledge of God who have subjected their carnal life to their heart and spirit; they are those who, by having left behind the deserts of mortality to reach the gardens of subsistence by and with God, have found utmost peace and satisfaction; they are heroes of observation and spiritual discovery who have reached the horizon of having a vision of God through God Himself; they are lovers who have appropriated the love of God as the most manifest dimension of their nature; and they are loved ones who are intoxicated with the pleasure of feeling that God loves them. Finally, they are heroes who have been perfectly favored with the compliment that God loves them and they love Him (5:54). We see and experience the true color of existence through the lens of their knowledge of God and observe the metaphysical dimension of things with the lights they shed over the face of existence.

Although some reports have been circulated among the saints concerning the number of the muqarrabun, it is not possible to say that an exact number has been agreed upon. According to some reports, the muqarrabun consist of three hundred good ones, forty substitutes, four pillars, and two leaders. According to some other reports, they consist of a spiritual pole and four thousand saints. Whatever their number is, all of these heroes of nearness to God are the noblest servants of the Ultimate Truth and they share the same spiritual profundity of the angels.

Accepting the view that the muqarrabun are composed of four thousand saints, some Sufis classify these distinguished servants of God according to their ranks as follows:

Three hundred of them are akhyar (the good ones who pursue good in whatever they do and say); forty of them are abdal or budala (the substitutes, charged with the administration of spiritual life and acting as veils in the reflection of the Divine Majesty and Grandeur); seven of them are abrar (godly, virtuous ones who have been able to make righteous deeds and sincerity a deep dimension of their nature); and there are others called by different titles.

Still others make another classification of those favored with special nearness to God, the number of which is unknown. They mention four awtad (pillars), and nujaba (the nobles, in the sense of being distinguished in the sight of God), and nukaba (the custodians, who care for people and the management of their affairs), and, superior to all those mentioned, ghawth (the helper or the means of Divine help), and qutb (the pole). Some Sufi scholars call all of those rijalu’l-ghayb (the men of the Unseen).

Abdal (The Substitutes)

Substitutes are those pure, honest saints who help people with their affairs without being seen and who function as veils in the reflection of Divine Acts. Before the Ottomans, the Iranians called them “the straightforward,” “easygoing ones,” “people of light,” or “Sufis.” Then, this term (abdal) became a name for a spiritual order. Under the Ottomans, some men who were famous for their heroic courage and fearlessness came to be called “substitutes.” In dervish lodges, the term has always been used to describe the “men of the Unseen.”

According to Sufis, substitutes are saints who avoid fame and who are unknown among people. They always hasten to do good and to help others. They are of two groups. The first group is composed of the saints who have been freed from all evil qualities and equipped with excellence and virtuousness, who resist all kinds of vices and wrongs, and who try to prevent these. The second group consists of those saints who have a particular mission and number three hundred, forty, and seven; they are also referred to by these numbers. Their numbers are not important; what is important is their place and rank in God’s sight and the duties they perform.

When one of the substitutes dies, another one from the sub-group takes his place. When one of them leaves his place for a duty, either that one sends his double or astral body to perform the duty, or that one departs to perform the duty and leaves his double or astral body behind in his place. (We should remind ourselves here that the idea of a human double or astral body is a matter frequently discussed in parapsychology.)

Some consider the pillars, the two leaders, and the pole as a superior group, separate from the substitutes: they see the latter as people of a certain spiritual state, while the former are viewed as people of a certain spiritual station. They regard the latter as travelers to God and the former as travelers in and from God.

Those who maintain that there are always seven substitutes say that they each reside in a different clime or realm, observe and acclaim the Divine Acts, and respond to God Almighty with praise and thanks as conscious representatives of the activities of unconscious beings. These seven saints have particular stations, and they are mentioned with the titles they have been given according to their station.

• The first substitute represents the reflection or projection of Prophet Abraham’s heart, and is called by the title, ‘Abdu’l-Hayy (the Servant of the All-Living).
• The second has the particular attributes of Prophet Moses’ heart, and is called by the title, ‘Abdu’l-‘Alim (the Servant of the All-Knowing).
• The third is a mirror of Prophet Aaron’s heart, and the special name of this one is ‘Abdu’l-Murid (the Servant of the All-Willing).
• The fourth reflects the attributes of Prophet Idris (Enoch)’s heart, and is mentioned with the title ‘Abdu’l-Qadir (the Servant of the All-Powerful).
• The fifth has a connection with the heart of Prophet Joseph, and is known by the title ‘Abdu’l-Qahir (the Servant of the All-Overwhelming).
• The sixth is bound to the content of Prophet Jesus’ heart and called by the title ‘Abdu’s-Sami‘ (the Servant of the All-Hearing).
• The seventh follows the heart of Prophet Adam, and is known with the title, ‘Abdu’l-Basir (the Servant of the All-Seeing).

None of these opinions or considerations is based on the Qur’an or the Sunna, but each has its source in the spiritual discoveries of some saints of discovery and is open to interpretation. For this reason, we are not obliged to accept these opinions or considerations as being absolutely true. Nevertheless, whatever their duties, titles, or positions are, and whatever blessings God favors them with, all of the saints are those who have certain degrees of knowledge of God, who are supported by God, and who, with their refined hearts and purified souls, are open to certain Divine mysteries.

Still another consideration concerning the place and duties of the saints known as substitutes is as follows:

Three hundred of them represent the reflection of Prophet Adam’s heart and are mirrors to it, forty of them have a connection with Prophet Moses’ heart, seven are affiliated with Prophet Abraham, five with the bosom of Archangel Gabriel, three with Archangel Michael, and one from among them, who is the greatest among them and represents the greatest sainthood, is affiliated with the greatest of all beings, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be perfect blessings and peace. When the last one dies, the one who is superior to all others takes his place, and when somebody from among them dies, that position is filled by another one from another group. Like the number of substitutes, the opinions about their residences and titles vary considerably.

There are nearly twenty reports from the Prophet concerning the existence of such a group of saints among the men of the Unseen [1].

According to these reports, because of their value in His sight, God Almighty sends rain, helps the believers against their enemies, and removes calamities from them. The substitutes are like a center of gravity for the earth; God employs them as a spiritual means of keeping the earth on its axis and provides for others out of their high place with Him. They forgive the wrong which people do to them; they return evil with good; and they continuously follow the path to Paradise through mildness, forbearance, and generosity. They attach special importance to the soundness and purity of their hearts and they always wish good for Muslims. They have no worldly ambitions, and they avoid quarrelling even with their enemies. They always shun exaggeration in their speech, and they represent the middle way in speech. They avoid religious innovations, and they do not go to extremes in their worship. Of whatever rank they are, they never like or approve of themselves. Resignation to whatever misfortune comes to them from God, utmost care about not committing any action that is religiously forbidden, a deep reverence for and obedience to God Almighty, and never cursing anyone—all these are mentioned among the foremost attributes of the Substitutes.

Some commentators on Hadith such as Ibn Taymiyya [2] and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya regard all those reports as fabricated and reject them. Imam Suyuti [3], another commentator, considers that since the hadiths support one another, as a whole, they may be considered as sound as the Prophetic Traditions that have been reported through many reliable chains of transmission. Hafiz Sahawi [4], following a moderate or middle way, notes that all those reports are weak in reliability and therefore open to criticism. In view of these different considerations, I leave the truth of the matter to God, saying: “God knows best.”

The original Arabic term translated as substitutes is abdal, which is the plural of badal. The term badal has another plural form: budala. This term is used by the Sufis for seven important figures among the “men of the Unseen.” They can change places with unusual speed and can be present in many different places at the same moment. It is not clear whether this occurs by the separation of their double or astral bodies from their original bodies so that they can be manifested in many places at the same time, or by their unusually speedy movement and because they are able to be present in many places, one after the other, within a short time. It sometimes happens that the substitutes are not aware of this mysterious transportation. The author of Futuhatu’l-Makkiyya (“The Makkan Conquests”), Muhyi’d-Din ibnu’l-‘Arabi, considers that the substitutes (budala) observe the Acts of God Almighty in each of the seven climes. They both observe the Acts of the All-Glorified and appear to be curtains for their reflections, acclaiming them. They receive their spiritual training as Uwaysu’l-Qarani [5] did, that is, without being trained by a spiritual master.

Notes

1. As for further reference, see Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad, 1:112, 5:322; at-Tabarani, al-Mu‘jamu’l-Kabir, 10:181, 18:65; al-Munawi, Faydu’l-Kadir, 3:167–170. (Tr.)
2. Taqiyyu’d-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328): A very famous Muslim scholar who was born in Harran in southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border. As a member of the Hanbali School of Law, he defended “return to the Qur’an and the Sunna,” being very critical of new developments in thought within Islam over centuries. (Tr.)
3. ‘Abdu’r-Rahman ibn Kamal Jalalu’d-Din as-Suyuti (1445–1505): The mujtahid imam, one of the foremost hadith masters, jurist, Sufi, philologist, and historian. He authored works in virtually every Islamic science. He lived in Egypt. (Tr.)
4. Hafiz Muhammad Shamsu’d-Din as-Sahawi (d. 1498): A great muhaddith, who lived in Egypt. He was a student of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. His famous work is Maqasidu’l-Hasana. (Tr.)
5. Uways ibn Amir al-Qarni or al-Qarani (d. 657): He was born in Yemen. Toward the end of his life, he left for Kufa, in modern-day Iraq. He was one of most outstanding figures of the generation succeeding the Companions. Some regard him as the greatest Muslim saint of the first Islamic century. (Tr.)

One of the important concepts in Abrahamic faiths is thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a profound sense of gratitude that involves recognizing aspects of our biological structure for which to be thankful. According to research, it has various positive effects on both physical and emotional well-being. “Whoever is grateful, it is for the benefit of his own soul” (Qur’an 31:12). Throughout history, religious leaders and philosophers worldwide have expressed ideas about the essence of thanksgiving. One of the primary reasons many believers inquire about each other’s well-being is to create an opportunity to express gratitude to God. In this way, those who ask and express gratitude engage in an act of worship together, preparing the ground to benefit from material and spiritual blessings.

The feeling of gratitude, at the heart of thanksgiving, helps us turn to God wholeheartedly; it gains the value of worship through the acknowledgment of its true source. In recent years, particularly in the fields of neuroanatomy and genetics, various studies have begun to highlight the biological influences and outcomes of feelings like gratitude.

Brain structure and gratitude

One aspect of gratitude’s connection to healing, satisfaction, and happiness is that it serves as a reward for both our worldly life and our state of mind. True gratitude occurs with the full recognition of the blessing, as appreciating the giver of the blessing is largely dependent on recognizing the blessing itself.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of brain tissue have shown that people with a developed sense of gratitude have more gray matter. Gray matter, responsible for processing information, functions more effectively in learning and decision-making mechanisms for those who are consistently in a state of gratitude. According to studies, the limbic system, responsible for emotional experiences in the brain, helps control challenging emotions such as sadness, anger, and anxiety when gratitude is felt. Those with a strong sense of gratitude have healthier nervous systems, as gratitude suppresses problem-producing mechanisms and activates problem-solving systems. Gratitude is an active form of thinking that disables most of the negative emotions of the ego. Many negative emotions lying in the subconscious, such as jealousy, greed, hatred, ambition, laziness, and arrogance, are related to ingratitude. Gratitude cleanses these layers of negative emotions, but it requires serious effort to recognize and appreciate the blessings we have received.

The prefrontal lobes of the brain contain regions involved in empathy, decision-making, and self-control. Research has shown that feelings of gratitude stimulate these areas of the brain. The hypothalamus, which plays a significant role in regulating sleep cycles, is also activated when we feel gratitude. Feeling gratitude for the blessings received activates the hypothalamus, leading to better quality sleep with positive thoughts. Studies show that even recognizing simple acts of kindness can activate the hypothalamus, thus regulating all body mechanisms it controls. Being in a state of gratitude and recognizing blessings contribute positively to brain health.

Psychological effects

Neurotransmitters—the chemical substances secreted by the brain that transmit stimuli between neurons—affect human emotions. Conversely, human emotions also influence the secretion of these substances. Dopamine and serotonin are two of the most important neurotransmitters responsible for regulating mood. Those who deeply and sincerely feel gratitude secrete more dopamine and serotonin, which have happiness-inducing effects. Dopamine, often called the “motivation molecule,” contributes to feelings of motivation, happiness, and focus. Serotonin, often referred to as the “happiness chemical,” plays a critical role in feelings of well-being and happiness.

When the brain receives enough positive neural signals through gratitude and thanksgiving for endless blessings, these neural pathways strengthen, leading to feelings of happiness and satisfaction that develop with constant and conscious gratitude. Studies show that gratitude, which acts as a natural antidepressant, serves as a bridge between past happy moments and future hopes.

One should not wait to be happy to be grateful; every moment of gratitude increases happiness. (Thanksgiving itself is a blessing and requires its own expressions of gratitude). It is understood that thanksgiving activates the brain’s memory center and the amygdala, reduces the secretion of stress and anxiety-inducing hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline) and improves mood. This leads to stronger heart function and greater resistance to emotional negativity. Long-term research shows that those with a sense of thanksgiving cope better with stress and toxic emotions. Various studies support the fact that recognizing blessings is a significant factor in leading a less stressful life. Recognizing blessings increases feelings of sufficiency, which leads to a decrease in symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Effects on physical health

While reducing stress hormones, gratitude also helps to better manage autonomic nervous system functions. Neurochemical hormones secreted by the nerves contribute significantly to our physical health. Dopamine plays a role in regulating blood vessel function and heart rate, while serotonin is involved in sleep and the digestive system. Although serotonin is primarily found in the intestines, it affects the brain by crossing the blood-brain barrier.

A study evaluating the impact of gratitude on physical well-being showed that patients who kept a gratitude journal experienced a 16% reduction in pain symptoms and were more willing to collaborate with doctors for treatment. Studies have also shown that thanksgiving regulates dopamine levels, increasing vitality and thereby reducing perceived pain.

People with a well-developed sense of gratitude experience slower neurological deterioration. Additionally, inflammation decreases in grateful individuals, making it easier to regulate blood pressure. The feeling of gratitude, formed by recognizing received blessings, leads to the secretion of the hormone oxytocin, which dilates blood vessels, lowers blood pressure, and protects the heart. Through these physiological processes, gratitude has a pain-relieving effect.

The promise in the verse “If you are grateful, I will increase My blessings upon you” (Qur’an 14:7) may also indicate that the blessing of healing readily comes into play through various physiological pathways that affect our physical health, beyond just psychological channels. It also refers to the otherworldly rewards associated with gratitude and thanksgiving.

I join you in mourning the passing of Hocaefendi, known to the world as Fethullah Gülen. It is with a deep sense of respect and reverence that I share my impressions of his profound impact on those who met him and studied his works. Through this reflection, I hope to offer words of consolation and to inspire hope as we look to the future.

As a Rabbi devoted to healing relations between Jews and Muslims, I have found in Gülen a foremost leader in this historical process. Gülen’s approach is deeply rooted in the Quran and Hadith and expands beyond tolerance to embrace the “Other” as a blessing from God—each person valued and seen through the divine perspective. These principles of humility and respect resonate deeply in my own tradition and personal mission.

Last year, I had the honor of visiting Gülen at his home. Though unwell, he graciously accepted the visit. I brought with me a copy of the Torah translated into Arabic, symbolizing a bridge between the Torah and the language of the Qur’an. He lifted the Torah with joy, signifying he was accepting the gift both with appreciation and humility. It was a gesture reminiscent of the Hadith (Sunan Abu Dawud 40), in which Muhammad (PBUH) rose to honor a Torah scroll brought to him, an expression of profound respect.

Later that day, one of his students presented me with a beautiful calligraphic rendering of a verse from the Book of Psalms, inspired by Gülen’s teachings. The Quran, after all, acknowledges Psalms’ unique place among the sacred books: “To David We gave the Book of Psalms” (Surah Al-Isra 17:55). The selected verse, Psalms 145:10, reads: “All Your works shall praise You, O LORD, and Your pious shall bless You.” This, too, reinforced the shared heritage of reverence and respect for sacred texts and a universal vision for the world.

When I met with Gülen, I had many questions regarding the status of Jewish people, Judaism, and the Torah within Islam. These inquiries lie at the heart of my work as Director of the Ohr Torah Stone’s Blickle Institute for Interfaith Dialogue. In our shared story, I believe it is God’s will that Jews and Muslims, in mutual respect and fraternity, fulfill the vision of Zephaniah 3:9: that humanity, united, will call upon the name of God and serve together. I was advised to submit my questions in writing, and I received a comprehensive, respectful response on October 4, 2023. This document, I believe, will stand as a historic testimony to our shared values and aspirations.

Religion is often cited as a cause of conflict, but it must also be part of the solution. Our religious identities, rather than dividing us, should be a source of connection. This connection flourishes when we understand and feel that the God we worship is the same God loved and served by others.

In closing, I offer words of hope for the millions of Hizmet followers. The letter “H” at the beginning of Hizmet holds special significance for me, as I have experienced firsthand the virtues of Hospitality, Humility, Hope, Healing, Heart, and Humanity within this movement. I would add an additional “H” as a precedent for a path forward: Habad.

Habad, an Orthodox Jewish movement rooted in service and spiritual engagement, resonates with Hizmet’s ideals. Its last leader, the Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is remembered for his profound spirituality and vision. Though he passed away in 1994, his movement continued to grow, sustained by his ideas, his messages, and his vision. In a similar way, Hizmet, inspired by the teachings of Gülen, has the potential to grow and continue impacting humanity, spreading his message of service and unity.

May Gülen’s memory be a blessing and may Hizmet continue to bring blessing to the world.

When crime happens, it usually involves two kinds of stakeholders: primary and secondary (McCold 2000). The categorization is based on who is affected the most, ranging from the victims and offenders as the most affected, to the community and the state as the least affected. Currently, conventional criminal justice systems around the world are still heavily punitive, resulting in the state, instead, becoming the primary stakeholders. This is because in most parts of criminal processes, the state acts as the main decisionmaker, often making the victims and offenders feel unheard.

To address this, various scholars argue for an alternative justice process that re-centers victims and offenders as primary stakeholders. Restorative justice, as one kind of alternative justice process, redirects the assumption that crime is a transgression against the state—which is the secondary stakeholder as it is indirectly affected by crime—to the view that crime is a transgression against the primary stakeholders, or the ones directly affected by the crime: the victims, the offenders, and their respective families (Fritz 2005, Wolhuter, Olley and Denham 2009). Programs of restorative justice include mediations between the victims and offenders, family group conferences, and community service.

Restorative justice is beneficial to both parties as it allows the criminal processes to be less punitive and more rehabilitative and nurturing. The benefits of restorative justice are extensive. For the victims, their satisfaction increases thanks to the platform allowing them to express their feelings related to their victimization (Latimer, Dowden and Muise 2005), and their fear of crime decreases (Umbreit, Coates and Kalanj 1994). For offenders, it has been documented that restorative justice reduces the likelihood of reoffending (Bradshaw, Roseborough and Umbreit 2006) and increases compliance with the outcome of criminal processes (Latimer, Dowden and Muise 2005).

These benefits are said to result from the nurturing components of restorative justice (Azman and Mohammad 2012). These components emphasize human interactions such as face-to-face meetups between the victims and the offenders, having an open dialogue, focusing on restoration rather than punishment, and underscoring community-based processes. Furthermore, rather than sidelining the victims, restorative justice encourages their participation, which also directly benefits the offenders due to increased empathy from the interactions.

Restorative justice and spirituality

Restorative justice is a form of social justice. Social justice has been the cause of many renowned spiritual individuals, such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. (Bazemore and Schiff 2001). Although not usually mentioned by many restorative justice advocates and scholars, restorative justice has inherently spiritual elements.

It would be helpful to understand what I mean by spirituality. Spirituality is defined as a person’s relationship to the unknown (Senreich 2013). A bit differently, Zehr (1990)—considered a father of restorative justice—saw spirituality as universal principles and natural laws which cannot be ignored, such as the human need of connectedness. Another scholar defines spirituality with an emphasis on the process of a person’s development of a sense of meaning and purpose (Zastrow 2013).

Regardless of the many definitions, spirituality is agreed upon by various scholars to be different from religiosity (Koenig 2008). This is due to the existence of individuals who do not hold any relationship with God. These people can still be spiritual in ways, such as seeking the meaning and purpose of life with connectedness through other transcendental elements such as nature and the universe. Commonly, regardless of the existence of a belief system, seeking a high level of spirituality is often associated with fostering positive relationships with oneself, others, and the environment (Senreich 2013).

Human relationships are highly valued in restorative justice. In a typical restorative justice encounter, participants—often comprising victims, offenders, and, optionally, their family members—are encouraged to talk and listen to each other (Bender and Armour 2007). This process seeks to encourage empathy. Victims can understand why offenders committed the crime, and offenders understand what victims truly experience after being a victim of their crime. Criminal processes that lack this element of dialogue lack empathy—and often produce frustrated victims, and offenders who are ignorant about the true nature of their crime. This has negative impacts on the well-being of both the victims and the offenders.

Therefore, one of the ultimate goals of restorative justice is healing relationships. Literature points to the common characteristics of offenders who recidivate: their relationships with other people, such as their family members, community members, and others, are often broken (Cochran 2012, Wright and Wright 1993). Although their victim may not be an individual connected to the offender’s life before crime, a healed relationship between an offender with their victims may also be therapeutic for both. As a result, rather than having the mentality of “us vs. them,” restorative justice unites these separate individuals into one healing network.

Another concept associated with spirituality that has a parallel with restorative justice is the search for meaning. After their victimization, victims often require answers to many questions (Wemmers 2002) that are often unanswerable through conventional criminal justice systems. In a way, this can be viewed as victims searching for the “meaning” of their victimization. Furthermore, Umbreit (1989) argued that victims do not want revenge and want fairness that may be achieved in the form of direct accountability. One of the definitions of spirituality presented above sees spirituality as one’s search for meaning and purpose in life (Senreich 2013). This definition is in line with a philosophy of restorative justice that practices transparency and accountability among its participants through dialogues and exchanges of insights.

The concept of direct accountability in restorative justice is achieved in many ways. After a crime, victims often seek answers to many questions very personal to the victimization, such as “Why me?” and “How did you do it?” These questions seem simple, but they represent the victim’s deeper need for resolution and well-being. Not getting the answers to these questions brings the victims to dark places, including often demonizing the offenders. Conventional criminal processes are not able to provide the answers to these questions due to their impersonal and punitive approach to justice and their assumption that when a crime is committed, it is a transgression against the state, not the victims.

Forgiveness is another element of spirituality that is integrated into restorative justice (Bender and Armour 2007). Forgiveness is essentially finding values in others due to several reasons such as humanity and altruism, and this has been succinctly captured by Elkins et al. (1988), who stated that spiritual individuals usually have a mission in life that may include the idea of saving humanity. Furthermore, Elkins et al. denoted that a spiritual person is “tragically aware” in that they realize the flaws of human life. This includes other realities such as death, suffering, or even crime.

Victims who forgive in restorative justice encounters are reported to want to maintain their view that offenders are still human (Ezeihuoma 2018). Victims who forgive also experience a higher level of satisfaction, better mental health, and a lower fear of crime. However, to garner all these benefits, victims have to forgive voluntarily (although the platform to give forgiveness has to be provided). This is where restorative justice comes into the picture. Forgiveness is often an outcome of restorative justice encounters, and most victims and offenders want it to happen.

Achieving spiritual wellness through restorative justice

While restorative justice is a philosophy often discussed in the context of crime and criminal justice, restorative justice undoubtedly offers valuable insights for achieving spiritual wellness in everyday life, too. Social workers, as professionals whose ultimate goal is to achieve an optimal quality of life for their clients, often see spirituality as a gateway to tranquility and well-being. According to Elkins et al. (1988), spirituality has to be humanistic not just for its universality, but for its association with subjective human experience.

On an individual level, spiritual wellness may be achieved through a deep reflection towards connectedness with the self, others, and the environment. To achieve this, restorative justice proponents advocate for human interactions that can provide an individual with a multitude of perspectives which can increase understanding and empathy. Psychologists and social workers often integrate human interactions in various parts of their interventions such as family therapy and community service. Only through these human interactions can individuals be provided with resources for meaning and purpose via the perspectives of others. Therefore, an individual who finds meaning and purpose is an individual who is spiritually well.

Furthermore, restorative justice emphasizes the unconditional view that humanity is flawed. In this regard, the simplest phrase that can be used is “everyone makes mistakes.” This transcendental view of humanity accepts that flaws and mistakes do not demonize a person but humanize them. Appreciating this perspective is a difficult task as it is easy for humans to be struck by the realities of tragedies and is why forgiveness is valuable and can help individuals seeking spiritual enlightenment turn over a new leaf.

Conclusion

Spirituality is increasingly acknowledged as one of the basic human needs. Ignoring spirituality in human development can threaten comprehensive wellbeing. This article explains restorative justice as an alternative approach to justice and shows how the success of restorative justice may be explained partly through its spiritual elements such as forgiveness and human connectedness. However, there is much to learn from the philosophy and practice of restorative justice which can be useful for everyday life. Integrating restorative justice into everyday life, even in the smallest ways, can help foster wellbeing, especially in the spiritual sense.

References

Azman, Azlinda, and Mohd Taufik Mohammad. 2012. “Crime victims support system and restorative justice: Possible implementation in Malaysia.” Journal of Arts and Humanities 1: 18-26.

Bazemore, Gordon , and Mara Schiff. 2001. Restorative community justice: Repairing harm and transforming communities. London: Routledge.

Bender, K, and M Armour. 2007. “The spiritual components of restorative justice.” Victims & Offenders 2: 251-267.

Bradshaw, William, David Roseborough, and Mark S Umbreit. 2006. “The effect of victim offender mediation on juvenile offender recidivism: A meta-analysis.” Conflict Resolution Quarterly 24: 87-98.

Cochran, J C. 2012. “The ties that bind or the ties that break: Examining the relationship between visitation and prisoner misconduct.” Journal of Criminal Justice 40: 433–440.

Elkins, D N, L J Hedstrom, L L Hughes, J A Leaf, and C Saunders. 1988. “Toward a humanistic-phenomenological spirituality: Definition, description, and measurement.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology 28: 5-18.

Ezeihuoma, O P. 2018. “The therapeutic role of forgiveness in restorative justice.” Journal of Law and Criminal Justice 6: 47-54.

Fritz, David. 2005. “A vital Christian presence in social work.” North American Association of Christians in Social Work Convention. Connecticut: North American Association of Christians in Social Work (NACSW).

Koenig, H G. 2008. “Concerns about measuring “spirituality” in research.” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 196: 349-355.

Latimer, Jeff , Craig Dowden, and Danielle Muise. 2005. “The effectiveness of restorative justice practices: A meta-analysis.” The Prison Journal 85: 127-144.

McCold, Paul. 2000. “Toward a mid-range theory of restorative criminal justice: A reply to the Maximalist model.” Contemporary Justice Review 3: 357-414.

Senreich, E. 2013. “An inclusive definition of spirituality for social work education and practice.” Journal of Social Work Education 49: 548-563.

Umbreit, M S, R B Coates, and B Kalanj. 1994. Victim meets offender: The impact of restorative justice and mediation. Victoria: Australia: Criminal Justice Press.

Umbreit, Mark S. 1989. “Crime victims seeking fairness, not revenge: Toward restorative justice.” Fed. Probation 53: 52.

Wemmers, JoAnne. 2002. “Restorative justice for victims of crime: A victim-oriented approach to restorative justice.” International Review of Victimology 9: 43-59.

Wolhuter, Lorraine, Neil Olley, and David Denham. 2009. Victimology: Victimisation and victims’ rights. Oxon: Routledge-Cavendish.

Wright, K N, and K E Wright. 1993. “Family life and delinquency and crime.” National Criminal Justice Reference Service. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/140517NCJRS.pdf.

Zastrow, C H. 2013. The practice of social work: A comprehensive worktext. Brooks/Cole-Cengage Learning.

Zehr, H. 1990. Changing lenses: Restorative justice for our times. Herald Press.

Many of us must have watched a video in which a mother antelope is sacrificing herself when she saw a crocodile was approaching from behind her fawns.

Such incidences in the animal kingdom draw our attention to the innate feeling of compassion in humans and its effects on other emotions. A human whose feeling of compassion has dried up cannot show the sacrifice that the antelope has shown to her little fawns—not toward others, not even to their offspring. Studies in the field of psychology have established important facts about compassion and its effect on other emotions, especially forgiveness. When internalized, the feeling of affection plays a central role and positively influences other feelings. When this feeling dries up, a person becomes more susceptible to evil or cruel acts. American psychologist Kristin Neff gives the example of a battery when describing compassion toward our beloved ones and friends. She asserts that acquiring this emotion is a way of emotionally recharging our batteries and says that compassion strengthens our tendencies to forgive the wrongdoings of our friends.

It is striking that Ms. Neff considers forgiveness and compassion from the point of one’s close circle of friends. According to her, an internalized compassion makes forgiving easier and, to an extent, gives us the opportunity to heal the emotional wounds caused by others. However, by stressing that forgiving doesn’t mean giving up defending our rights, Neff also points out the need to keep balance between compassion, forgiveness, and justice [1]. When a criminal act is committed, a personal or public right is violated. People tried and found guilty by an independent, just, and impartial court must be penalized.

Source of bad intentions

Psychotherapist Beverly Engel, who has written books on emotions, draws attention to the complications that a lack of compassion can cause in human psychology. According to her, the source of every evil desire in individuals is a deficiency of compassion. Beverly Engel states that reinvigorating the feeling of compassion can help healing other emotions that have been damaged [2]. For Tara Brach, to be compassionate means to be courageous—to love ourselves, each other, and the whole world [3].

Norwegian Theologians Einar Berg and Oddbjørn Leirvik, who conduct research about Islam, investigate the religious grounds that compassion can blossom upon and link this feeling with the Holy Qur’an and its unequalled representative Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Leirvik compares Prophet Muhammad’s forgiveness to Prophet Joseph (peace be upon him); just like Joseph forgave his brothers who had treated him cruelly, Leirvik reminds us that Prophet Muhammad forgave his enemies when he conquered Mecca [4]. According to Berg, compassion and forgiveness are what the Holy Qur’an often emphasizes [5]. Berg sheds light on the feeling of compassion by highlighting the following verse: “Inform My servants that I am the Forgiver, the Merciful” (Surah Hijr – The Rock- verse 49).

As also mentioned by Berg, in Islam a great emphasis is placed on compassion and forgiveness – for forgiveness is a manifestation of compassion. God introduces Himself to us with His divine names al-Rahman (the Gracious) and al-Raheem (the Merciful). Many verses of the Qur’an mention God’s blessed name, al-Rauf (the most Benevolent, most Compassionate) [6]. Manifestations of these divine names can be seen to the utmost level in Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who is described as “the Sun of Compassion” and “the Prophet of Mercy.”

Al-Ragheb al-Isfahani and Al-Jawhari (two prominent Muslim scholars) state that compassion and mercy are the most significant attributes of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). They explain that the word “Rahma” in the verse, “We did not send you except as mercy to mankind” (Surah Anbiya -The Prophets- verse 107), means deep affection and kindness which require being tender-hearted, forgiving, and beneficent [7]. For this reason, Muslim scholars often refer to the following Hadith of Prophet Muhammad: “God the Gracious treats with mercy and kindness those who treat each other with feelings of mercy. (So) you act with mercy and kindness toward those on earth so that those in heavens shall show you mercy” [8].

Real chivalry

Fudayl bin Iyadh, too, addresses forgiveness relating to close friends and says that real chivalry is to forgive the faults of one’s companions. Wahb bin Munabbih mentions compassion together with benignity and states that, “Compassion is the twin sister of benignity” [9]. According to Imam Ghazali, one believer forgiving another believer’s mistakes is one of the rights of brotherhood [10].

In the teachings of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, compassion has an important place. For him, compassion is one of the “fastest and safest” ways leading us to truth, and it is also one of the principles among the laws established in nature. He states that compassion has an all-comprehensive truth and acts as a mirror for the divine name al-Rahim (The Merciful). A person whose senses and emotions have gained integrity and wholeness, begins showing affection, not only to his or her own offspring but to all innocent beings. Bediuzzaman draws attention to the point that compassion is a sincere, pure, and gratuitous feeling that does not expect any return, and shows animals’ adorable and self-denying affection toward their little babies as evidence for this fact [11].

When we consider the mercy and compassion of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, we see that correctly and properly fulfilling the duty of conveying and instructing the divine message is strongly linked with earnest compassion and tender mercy. No matter when they live, it is absolutely fundamental for the conveyors of this divine message to never deviate from this path [12]. Scholar Fethullah Gülen reminds that Islam advises forgiving by any means possible, not to surrender to the urges of grudge or hatred, and to never be possessed by the feeling of revenge [13].

References

1. 1. Kristin Neff, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, 2011.
2. Beverly Engel, It Wasn’t Your Fault, New Harbinger Publications. 2015.
3. Tara Brach, Radical Compassion, New York: Viking, 2019.
4. Oddbjørn Leirvik, Islams Etikk, Universitetsforlaget, 2002, p. 45.
5. Einar Berg, Islam: Fra konfilikt til dialog, Universitetsforlaget, 1982.
6. Nur 24:20; Nahl 16:47; Tawbah 9:128.
7. ar-Ragib al-Isfahani, al-Mufradat, p. 191; al-Jawhari, as-Sihah, V, 1929; al-Munjid, “rhm,” p. 253. Bukhari, Janaiz 32, Ayman 9, Tawhid 25; Muslim, Janaiz 9, 11; Abu Dawud, Janaiz 24.
8. Tirmidhi, Birr 16; Abu Dawud, Adab 58.
9. Imam Ghazali, Ihya-i Ulumi’d-Din, Edited by: Dr. Mehmet Yavuz Şeker, Işık Yayınları. 2015.
10. Ibid.
11. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Mektubat, Istanbul: Şahdamar Yayınları, 2014, p. 29.
12. www.herkul.org/kirik-testi/sefkatle-acilan-kapilar/
13. M. Fethullah Gülen, “İnanmış İnsanın Nitelikleri”, Çağlayan, Ağustos 2020.

For human society, the last few centuries have been one turmoil after another. In response, we are still searching—sometimes in a disciplined manner, sometimes not so much—for the ways and methods to rise, once again, as ourselves: as human. We continue our search on diverse fronts—in educational activities, charitable works, media organizations, and places of worship. If we had only been able to commit ourselves, centuries ago, to the knowledge from the Divine and the morality of love spread by the Infinite Light; if we could have committed to humanity’s destiny to eternity and turned to God, then we would stand today, without doubt, as the “inheritors of the world” and could have a say in maintaining its direction.

During a period when the world was immersed in darkness, the civilization introduced and the renaissance kindled by the believers enlightened the world. This was an outcome of their Divinely inspired knowledge and the morality of love they embodied in their time. If we are to expect a similar civilization or renaissance in the future, we need to know they are dependent on these very dynamics. Embracing knowledge from the Divine and “morality of love” was a gift of faith; however, the true worth of this gift was not grasped well enough, thus, at certain times, it failed to shine forth as bright as it could have. Instead, the materialistic worldview and crude power were mistaken for truth. To a great extent, this is still the case today.

The world, however, keeps spinning, and it is our hope that it will eventually reorient itself to the orbit that the Almighty has set forth. We can see that there are people among us who are more determined than ever to find their own essence and return to their true values. This is an attempt to revive our true human spirit.

During a rather unfortunate period, we have followed the rest of humanity down the rabbit hole of materialism only to demolish in our minds the essential values that make the humankind unique. As a result, we have not only dethroned humans from their status as the “most perfect creation” but also pushed them down to the level of any animal. Supposedly in the name of questioning old ideas, we disgraced humans and humanistic values. Alas, we were not even aware of what we were doing while committing this grievous mistake. We are still broken under the influence of that shock; standing at the crossroads, we cannot decide which way to go.

Yet, the human—this noble being—has inviolable rights. Our liberties are untouchable, and we are adorned with qualities that are more precious than every glorification and praise. In the words of the late poet Akif:

“Humankind; their nature is loftier than the angels
Therein hidden are the worlds, folded are the realms.”

Debasing humanity is mocking the ultimate purpose of being; holding humanity in contempt is tantamount to believing that the spirit of creation is worthless. The human is an exceptional being that is too sublime to be devalued and mocked; a human bears certain characteristics and qualities that cannot be compromised. The freedom of people cannot be taken away, and we cannot be subject to oppression. Humans cannot be tyrannized nor abused. All of these are insults to the meaning of humanity, injustice to the human spirit, and the greatest immorality.

Given the circumstances today, we need to once more revisit what we consider “human values.”

First and foremost, the sources of knowledge and our fundamental thoughts that make us who we are command us to respect humanity. These sources value humans above everything else as the best of creation and honor our free will, inviolable rights, and freedoms as the dynamics upon which we are supposed to weave our lacework of happiness, both in this world and in the next.  

Indeed, from the perspective of faith, divine knowledge, love, and spiritual delights planted in our potential, humanity is above the angels. Loving humanity is a manifestation of one’s connection to the Creator, and, of course, disrespecting humanity is a grave disrespect towards our Owner. The first thing, therefore, that we must do is give back to humanity the values that have been taken from us and work hard to raise new generations that will cherish and protect these values for eternity.

Secondly, the notion of community is also very important. We must foster communities around noble ideals to which feelings, thoughts, and spirits of individuals are rationally and spiritually committed. Morality, in its truest sense, will manifest itself when individuals become a part of such a prosperous and flourishing community. The morality or immorality of individuals who have secluded themselves from society is irrelevant (for the way they live is binding on themselves only). Islam, for instance, encourages living as a community and considers it a holy struggle to endure problems that may arise from it. After all, a truly moral society is one that promises bliss both in this world and the next and is comprised of individuals who, with their free will, dedicate their lives to lofty ideals. In such a society, the unifying power of faith, the softening effect of love, and the sublimity of purpose do not give way to wrongdoings caused by one’s ego; thus, immorality, which originates from egoism, cannot thrive.

The transcendent power of faith and living with a sincere purpose melts the individual’s specific characteristics into society. Though they are still true to themselves, they virtually become one with the community with which they attain such immensity and prosperity that come, as it were, by way of transforming from a mere drop into an ocean, from a single particle into the sun, and from nothing into everything. The road to existence passes through nothingness; wealth is fed by poverty; power opens up and sprouts in the arms of weakness; tribulation becomes a blessing; and gratitude transforms into a delightful zeal. Serving on this path is the noblest of duties and is for those whose sole purpose is to seek the good pleasure of the Creator; the end result is eternal bliss in the hereafter. Indeed, if this purest of pure thoughts is contaminated by even the smallest conflict of interest at a personal or group level, then the connections that bind both the individual and the community to the Divine will break. These disruptions will cause the individual—and eventually the community—to stray from the true path.

Yes, in a group which ties its every action to God, there should not be any mention of individual desires or personal ambitions and worries; nor should one have any ultimate goals and ideals that are not bound to eternity. A true community is a blessed gathering of individuals who have submitted themselves to the eternal. In the words of Bediuzzaman, they do for God’s sake, start for God’s sake, speak for God’s sake, and meet for God’s sake. They act within the domain of God’s good pleasure, by way of which every second of their lives expand as immense as the years, branding, as it were, mortal things with the seal of immortality. Indeed, all their endeavors are exceptionally genuine, pure, and directed towards that which is Eternal.

Not all crowds can be considered a community. In fact, in certain masses when individuals are opposed to one another, their multitude is a means of decrease, not increase, for they diminish the whole, just as fractions do to whole numbers when they are multiplied. Since the friends of God’s messengers were blessed with the spirit of a true community, they were able to fulfill what is expected of a powerful community, although they were small in number. Many individuals among them, like Abu Bakr and Umar—the two prominent companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)—can be considered each as great as a community or a nation by their own credit; this would not be an exaggeration at all. Apostles of Jesus, the Messiah (peace be upon him), who were only a handful, can be considered more powerful than the most powerful of armies. Throughout all of history, groups that were small in quantity but excellent in quality have proved to be much more superior and fruitful than masses that were plenty in numbers.

Just as the love of morality is the most important way of disciplining one’s spiritual world, it is also the most significant component of stability and the most vital principle of harmony within a society. Truthfulness, ensuring security, being fair to all, honoring one’s word, engaging with others with confidence and respect, and commitment to spirituality—these are the essences of morality and the fundamental dynamics of the soul.

The understanding of morality we inherited—excluding perhaps the shiny rubbish of the last few centuries—is essentially a very rich and strong one. It can carry us forward from where we are now if we can lead our lives according to this understanding. Then we will automatically overcome many of our societal problems; then, we will be able to think more clearly, work more efficiently, and walk at a faster and more harmonious pace, making up for the time we have wasted. If we can accomplish this task, the future of our society will be brighter, more vibrant, and more colorful than ever.

Spirituality

Articles

The spirit constitutes human’s deepest otherworldly aspect, which is open to the heavenly realms. It is like a mysterious wing that helps one remain human while also extending to the realms further beyond this one. Realizing the peak of one’s human potential is a divine grace promised when that wing is alive and spiritually alert. Its paralysis, however, means paralysis of the anatomical system of the human spirit; we briefly refer to this as the “poisoning of spirit.”

Treating the poisoning of spirit is rather difficult, and in some cases, it is nearly impossible, for most of the time one does not feel aches and pains. The person does not wish to visit a physician for it. Therefore, such a person is almost like the dead, at least in terms of liveliness of the heart and spirit. Worst of all, they fail to realize the gravity of the issue. In spite of undergoing deformations in their inner world, the person further degrades their spirit, failing to see the dark end that awaits. One fails to see the true nature of things, for they are being poisoned in spirit and experiencing a blindness of insight. As for what such a person claims to see, they cannot make sense of what underlies them. How can they make sense while their system of cognition is paralyzed? While their spiritual anatomy is broken? While their reasoning and judgment fail to function? Consequently, they fail to soundly judge what happens, to tell right from wrong, for the poison incapacitates their abilities of cognition and discernment. They see poison as an antidote, and like one attempting to quench thirst with sea water, they burn further as they drink and continue to drink as they burn.

Factors that poison a human’s spirit are too many to count. Even only one of these bears the potential to make one lose their human character. When a few of them are found together, it becomes an incurable disease. The primary of these diseases are arrogance, pride, boastfulness, seeking fame, passion for authority, desire for applause and appreciation, ambition for amassing wealth, captivity to the carnal soul and its fancies, weakness for selfish interests, and the insolence of being nouveau riche. Due to their egotism, ostentation, spoiled behaviors, and arrogance, those who are prone to these diseases behave so erratic that they drift toward a waterfall of egocentrism. Unless graced with a Providential help, they will not reach the safest coasts or most convenient ports. Instead, they end up in the whirlpools where Nimrod, the pharaohs, and their likes perished. They fail to foresee and sense the disastrous end, and the fact that they will be remembered as an accursed one.

Impoverished in thought, poisoned in spirit, and paralyzed in reasoning and judgment, such persons lead a life under the influence of animal pleasures and the drives of carnal desires; deviants who substituted worldly pomp for the feeling of righteousness. They are blind, deaf, and heartless who have preferred transient enjoyments to the eternal bliss of the Hereafter and good pleasure of God. They are senseless ones who fail to see tomorrows, under the impulses of their animal passions. A relevant verse describes such a person as one enchanted with passionate love for women, children, (hoarded) treasures of gold and silver, branded horses—and their contemporary counterparts—armored luxury cars and further worldly pomp and splendor. Under the influence of such mean things, they become unable to see the dizzying enjoyments of the Hereafter and the blissful end promised by God.

If the vitriolic areas of one’s spiritual life are vulnerable to material and carnal desires, such a person’s conscience will inevitably perish. When this most important system, which is supposed to flourish with God-consciousness and the ensuing awe, is paralyzed, such persons cannot make sense of themselves and cannot understand the immense purpose behind the blessing of being created with the best of stature. They cannot see the dizzying human anatomy as an index of all realms and forms of existence. They cannot correctly determine their place vis-a-vis phenomena. They are sometimes even taken by the whirlpool of causality and start humming tunes of naturalism philosophy. Sometimes, under the influence of impossible theories, they sing of materialism. And sometimes they take on a guise of religiosity, which is actually in conflict with the spirit of true religion. They outwardly project as believer; In my opinion, this presents a hypocritical form of behavior, one more dangerous than any other deviation.

A poisoned spirit continually goes through interwoven miseries and sufferings. The person is always restless with apprehensions of losing what they have obtained. With the ambitions of retaining what is in hand and also adding new things, this person runs from one worldly objective to the next. And from time to time, they are delirious with delusions of immortality. When their mind trips over impossibilities, then they begin to wheeze with fear of death. And in almost all of these episodes of thought, or rather delirious processes, they feel surrounded from all sides by multi-layered darkness. The situation of such a person resembles that of the unfortunate one depicted by the Qur’an. In terms of feelings and thoughts, their state is, “…like veils of darkness covering up an abysmal sea down into its depths, covered up by a billow, above which is a billow, above which is a cloud: veils of darkness piled one upon another, so that when he stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it…” (Nur 24:40).

This is how they always see the general atmosphere. With successions of grievous nightmares, they feel as if in an abyss of Hell. Such a person, who poisoned and paralyzed their spirit with vices of worldliness, resembles an inexperienced hunter out in the forest. While seeking preys, they shake with the fear of being prey to others and seek comfort by yelling and shouting. In fact, they are already hunted by their emotions and caprices but are not aware of that. Their doors are shut with respect to metaphysical realms. They neither understand anything from the depths within human nature, nor do they feel the harmonious tunes of the five hundred billion galaxies and billions of constellations in space. Since they extinguished a brilliant torch shining within, the splendid order and poetic beauty of phenomena, the All-Encompassing knowledge, overwhelming power, and the manifest Divine will underlying all things, are meaningless to them. And in this spiral of absences, a cycle of nothingness goes on and on. So, by poisoning their soul, they also paralyze their mechanisms of seeing, hearing, and assessing. The Qur’an depicts such people with its exquisite style as follows: “They have hearts with which they do not seek the essence of matters to grasp the truth, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle (following only their instincts) – rather, even more astray…” (Araf 7:179).

From past to present, there have been many people of this type. In the future, also, there will be such devilish figures. On the other hand, there will be those with lustrous faces who take their physicality under control, who overcome their animal side and become oriented to the life of the heart and spirit. They have always been there and will always be here. What falls to us in this case is letting our shadow remain behind us, walking on the Divine path with sincerity, seeking to gain God’s good pleasure, and yearning for reuniting with Him. For it is an unchanging Divine principle that care engenders care. Muhammed Lütfi Effendi voices this fact so beautifully:

If You truly love the Lord, do you think He will not love you?
If you seek His good pleasure, will He not let you attain it?
If your tears turn to a stream, if you cry like Job did
If your heart truly grieves, will He not show any sympathy?

May God Almighty bless us with that special blessing, as a grace out of His Providence.

The interplay of both factors in determining one’s development has been agreed upon by many Muslim scholars who have contended that factors such as genetic predispositions, education, and spirituality play complementary roles in behavior. For instance, reports from the early Islamic period records Prophet Muhammad to have advised many times about making wise decisions when choosing a partner, as a marriage will influence the development of a newborn (Abdullah, 2011). On the other hand, the Prophet has also been cited regarding his emphasis on the role of the environment around a newborn and how this will impact them later in life.

Related to spirituality, the concept of the soul is important in the Islamic debate of nature vs. nurture (Abdullah, 2011). In Islam, humans are comprised of both the physique and the soul. The soul (nafs), according to the religion, is what differentiates humans from animals; it allows humans to use reason and intellect, whereas animals can only follow their natural instincts. Humans are capable of higher cognitive functions, which may result from education and spirituality, and are made possible by the existence of the soul.

In Christianity, the debate of nature vs. nurture does not end at just two divisions. The more Biblically accurate contextualization of human behaviors, according to the religion, comprises four divisions (Powlison, 1995). These divisions are creation-nature, sin-nature, sin-nurture, and grace-nurture. Basically, these divisions acknowledge that nature can be created by God (creation-nature) and by humans’ tendency to sin (sin-nature), while sinning can also be encouraged (sin-nurtured), just like behaviors that comply with what God wants (grace-nurture) can be encouraged.

While semantically Christianity’s stance in relation to the nature-versus-nurture debate is complex, it is practically similar to Islam, where spirituality (as in the concept of God) is one of the vital pillars in understanding the roots of human behaviors.

In Buddhism, spirituality is also seen as the focal point of human behaviors (The Neurobiologist’s Guide to Buddha, n.d.). However, spirituality, as conceived by Buddhism, comes from one’s mind, and it seems that very little of the Buddhist philosophy is associated with the image of God (Olson, 2002). This is how the concept of spirituality in Buddhism differs from the one in Christianity and Islam: Buddhism emphasizes the role of the mind, especially in the state of enlightenment, which is when worldly characteristics such as desire, anger, and passion are eliminated.

The interaction between nature and nurture is explained in one disease model called the Diathesis Stress Model (Zuckerman, 1999). This model asserts that every individual is born with a certain level of vulnerability to certain diseases (though this level does not mean they have the disease). This level can be high or it can be low. Then, the influence of the environment – or the interaction between person and surroundings – will influence the likelihood of a person actually getting such diseases. Mental health experts have attempted to explain schizophrenia, depression, and other diseases through this lens. Some scientists claim that everyone is born with a risk to become schizophrenic. If their tendency towards schizophrenia is low, then a high degree of influence by stressful external factors is required for the symptoms of schizophrenia to manifest, and vice versa.

Crime is another important issue in the nature versus nurture debate. When discussing crime, we can rarely escape discussing aggression. Aggression is a trait in almost all individuals, and it can be influenced by both nature and nurture. Some factors leading to aggression are levels of aggression-related hormones, such as testosterone, or the existence of certain forms of genetic code that are deviant from normal structures. Various studies have shown that there are particular genetic codes that are more prevalent among arrested offenders (e.g. McDermott, Tingley, Cowden, Frazzetto, & Johnson, 2009; Tiihonen, et al., 2015). This shows that some people can be born with the inclination towards being aggressive, but it is also undeniable that aggression can be developed through external influences.

In a well-known experiment, Bandura, a psychologist, tried to explain that children can be taught to be aggressive (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1961). The experiment involved putting children in a room with a television where the television showed a model doing something to a doll named Bobo. The children were split into three groups: in group one, the children watched the doll being hit; in group two, the children saw the doll being played with non-aggressively; and in the last group, the children saw nothing (this served as a control group). Then, all three groups were led to a room where there was a similar doll, and the researchers observed what the children did to the doll.

The findings showed that aggressive imitation was observed to be high in group one, suggesting that behaviors could be learnt upon observations. This group’s behaviors were similar to how the aggressive models behaved towards the doll, while the other groups manifested little aggressive behaviors towards the doll. This study supports the theory that environmental, or external, factors shape the development and acquisition of at least certain behaviors.

Intelligence is another hotly debated subject in the nature vs. nurture debate. Earlier presumptions favored the role of nature in being the most influential factor in determining an individual’s intelligence (Leahy, 1935). However, as scholars further investigated the topic, they found that intelligence is not as simple as once thought. While some argued that both nature and nurture have an equal level of influence (Holzinger, 1929), others observed that external factors such as culture may play a bigger role (Kan, Wicherts, Dolan, & van der Maas, 2013).

One of the most important implications of the debate about nature vs. nurture is the implication of accountability. While accountability can be a different issue altogether, many have argued that determining the root cause of human behavior entails determining if humans are accountable for their actions. Take the example of an offender who has the genetic markers prevalent among offenders: does this make the offender not accountable for the crime he/she has committed? Is someone with low intelligence doomed to possess that level of intelligence for the rest of their life?

In conclusion, nature and nurture both influence how humans work and acquire certain characteristics and behaviors. Since science has spent a considerable amount of effort in resolving the debate, it can be concluded that the answers are not simple. Just as human dynamics are variegated, the issue of nature and nurture also reflects the complexity of the human world. Further systematic research into the issue should be conducted, as the debate has implications for many aspects of life. Further studies could provide invaluable benefit to humanity.

References

• Abdullah, F. (2011). Human behavior from an Islamic perspective: interaction of nature, nurture and spiritual dimension. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 28, 87-105.
• Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-82.
• Engel, G. L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: A challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196, 129-136. Holzinger, K. J. (1929). The relative effect of nature and nurture influences on twin differences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 20, 241-248.
• Kan, K., Wicherts, J. M., Dolan, C. V., & van der Maas, H. (2013). On the nature and nurture of intelligence and specific cognitive abilities: The more heritable, the more culture dependent. Psychological Science, 24, 2420 –2428. Leahy, A. M. (1935).
• Nature-nurture and intelligence. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 17, 236-308. McDermott, R., Tingley, D., Cowden, J., Frazzetto, G., & Johnson, D. (2009).
• Monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) predicts behavioral aggression following provocation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, 2118.
• Olson, R. P. (2002). Religious theories of personality and sychotherapy: East meets West. Psychology Press. Powlison, D. (1995).
• Anger part 1: Understanding anger. The Journal of Biblical Counseling, 14. Rowland, J. H., & Baker, F. (2005).
• Introduction: Resilience of cancer survivors across the lifespan. Cancer, 104, 2543–2645.
• The Neurobiologist’s Guide to Buddha. (n.d.). Nature or nurture? Retrieved from The Neurobiologist’s Guide to Buddha: http://www.biojuris.com/buddha/topics.html
• Tiihonen, J., Rautiainen, M. R., Ollila, H. M., Repo-Tiihonen, E., Virkkunen, M., Palotie, A., . . . Paunio, T. (2015). Genetic background of extreme violent behavior. Molecular Psychiatry, 20, 786-792.
• Zuckerman, M. (1999). Vulnerability to psychopathology: A biosocial model. Washington: American Psychological Association.

People of our age are the victims of living without a purpose or ideal. With no aspiration to follow, they have at times allowed their willpower to decay; at other times, they have unleashed it, but only to cause destruction to the values they once held dear, like peace and human dignity. When they were in a state of lethargy this has led them to self-destruct from within, and when they sprang into action, it was to raze to the ground values such as faith, ethics, and justice. So, both their withdrawal and involvement have always caused trouble.

These carnal beings are guided by the whims of desire instead of the wisdom of conscience. They are constantly piqued emotionally, but their hearts prefer daily gossip and small talk. They have no perspective, no new ideas, no code of conduct, and no significant projects for the future. At their times of weakness, they remain silent regarding almost every subject. But when they attain power, they attempt to express themselves through various means of destruction; and just like leaves scattered around with the coming of autumn, they are continuously swept from one place to another according to the direction of the winds; and occasionally those who pass by tread on these piles of leaves.

For many years, this dark and gloomy atmosphere virtually became a part of the nature of today’s people. Indeed, ever since this society willingly restricted its emotions, thoughts, and objectives, it was either overcome by an inferiority complex, or it raved with delirium. In both cases, it was a war waged against its distinctive identity. Unfortunately, even today this battle continues at full speed, just in a different dimension. While one half of the world pursues new projects in contemplation of a new age, the other half is still suffering amidst the vicious circles of old crises. Our thoughts are confused, our emotions repressed, our behavior inconsistent, and our hearts uncompassionate. The masses are mere puppets in the traps of the meaningless tides; the society pursues a different path, changing direction every day, and the guides are reckless. Each and every institution we study corrodes from within, and this makes us shudder. Indeed, it is almost impossible to observe a life of thought—or its morals, culture, art, politics, or law—without feeling the pangs of sorrow.

There are many nations that have shared a similar fate of oppression and injustice. They persist in competing among each other in undesired behavior.  They secretly cause destruction amongst one another, and are constantly at war. The fate of this vast world might be a perpetual state where power dominates justice, and countries try to imitate one another in a race to the bottom. But in all honesty, it would be wrong to expect sparrows to win a victory lost by eagles…

This society is like a ship taking on water, and being damaged from within. To prepare this ship for the long journey ahead, we need courageous individuals who have been successful in protecting their faith, determination, and hope. They possess high ideals, their lives are devoted to permanent service, and they are prepared to make both material and spiritual sacrifices. They are determined individuals capable of eliminating oppression of the sorts suffocating society over the last few centuries. These brave souls bind their own salvation to being in the service of others, disregard their stability, and spread it like soil on the path of others’ happiness. They circulate in people’s veins as air and blood to give life to others. They overflow as waterfalls to subdue the scorching heat of those burning with longing. Their actions arise out of a sense of responsibility that lies as an aspiration deep in their soul. Their mercy goes far beyond the borders of personal accountability and their compassion is vast enough to embrace all of humanity.

With these qualities they will remind humanity of the spiritual essence it has lost. They will serve as an example to those idle souls who have whittled away the last few centuries bearing no ideals. The fate of humanity is unity, not division. Even if we close our eyes and ignore certain things, by embedding the common aspects between us into our minds, events attract us more towards the communal atmosphere of pleasure and sorrow rather than individual emotions. We are reminded in our consciences of our social collectiveness. Indeed, just as our every move involves everyone in one way or another, any incident occurring, even in the most remote corner of the earth, involves us, too. This solidarity is due to our universal humanity, our shared emotions and thoughts. We were destined to live together with others, and we were created to share and sympathize. Principally, if mankind could perceive that its nature has been programmed for this solidarity, then, by taking advantage of this fate, we can change the course of our world together.

Once synchronized with our intentions and willpower, this natural flow will be enriched with new dimensions of reason, common sense, and free will. This will reveal the uniqueness of being human and will reward us for our choice and good intentions. Our willpower will be key that unlocks the ideal of an everlasting life.

Therefore, those who seek an everlasting life must bear the ideal of embracing others, so that they in turn may be embraced on the path towards eternity. On the contrary, just as the selfish, overly ambitious, and uncompassionate souls whose salvation depends upon the destruction of others were never capable of loving these “others,” they were themselves never loved. In addition, the pain of the injured and the devastation of the aggrieved have a greater effect on those who actually suffer these afflictions. An individual who is privileged enough to sacrifice for others is respected by all, even those besieged by loss and sorrow.

Those who behave selfishly and without compassion are condemned to remain prisoners in their individual worlds; they will never experience the vastness of true collectivity. These selfish humans are little more than living corpses who suffer nothing but misery between the course of life and death. They are only deceiving their own souls and consciences by eliminating the true values of being human.

The true life is planned for the generations of today and the future; an ideal life lived for noble causes, a life lived for others. Every step of this life is suffused with this collective awareness. The reflection of this kind of life is a full-length mirror of the characteristics that define a real human; it is the peak of perfection. Those who can look with wisdom can easily see behind this reflection a profound and intimate connection with the whole of existence. In this reflection, one observes both himself and others with the eyes of the heart and perceives with the appreciativeness of the conscience. Therefore, just as individuals have a sounder connection with their own spiritual worlds, they also attain the ability to observe and grow familiar with their surrounding environments; they see that everything appears to be kinder and more reasonable.

However, it is impossible to achieve this transformation overnight. This is the manifest of compassion which emerges following a long fermentation process within the depths of our souls, and a call to humanism in the language of the heart. This call surges from spiritual souls, spreading its own colors into the environment; over a period of time, it begins to ensure that everything speaks in its own language. As this emotion ascends directly from the heart, it can never be affected by exterior influences and parasites which pollute the entire environment.

This call is most fitting to be welcomed in the heavens and the earth, for it is faith-inspired and grace-filled. One day, the residents of spiritual realms will honor this call and the gates to the heavens will be opened to usher it in with praise and courtesy. Then, all the hearts will beat with compassion, think with compassion, speak with compassion, act with compassion, and embrace the whole world with compassion… And I believe on that day, when the earth has become a radiant reflection of compassion, we will embrace life and encourage others to embrace life with more sincerity. By completely escaping miserliness in showing others the path to eternity, by observing the inner spirits of both ourselves and others, we will have reached the spiritual capability of perceiving from a much different angle. By not being satisfied solely with the good ideas we are capable of accomplishing, we will also strive to attain the goodness and kindness beyond our capability. And when the inaccessible becomes accessible, it will roar with the gratitude of benefaction; and those transcendent ideals will inspire us with hope and anticipation.

A spiritual level like this, which asserts an individual’s own limits through the devotion of kindness, must be the deepest, most remarkable aspect of a person. In the eyes of God, and in the eyes of other people, these individuals will reach an esteem of exceptional superiority, and will undoubtedly gain the favor of being the perfect creation due to this depth. Their affection felt towards everyone is a result of their sound relationship with God and it is an ideal at the personal level. It is a sublime ideal at the national level to pray for the nation’s glory even at the cost of one’s own life. And it is a transcendent ideal to utter the words, “I am ready to burn in the hellfire if only I could see the faith of my nation has been ensured.”[1] It is an ideal founded upon an all-encompassing sense of responsibility, mercy, and universal compassion to say, “My Lord, forgive my people, for they do not know,” to those who have even gone as far as to threaten to kill.[2]

Our present society needs courageous individuals of such noble ideals. It needs brave idealists capable of holding their hands out with a sense of compassion to their own nation, and then to the whole of mankind. We need these courageous idealists who pray for the good of others every time they hold their hands up in supplication. And as nobody else can, or will fulfill such a major demand, it is our duty to voice and enforce this amongst ourselves…

[1] A quote from Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (d. 1960).

[2] A prayer of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, after the pagans of Mecca wounded him during the Battle of Uhud.