Furthermore, compassion is extremely broad. Because of the compassion a person feels for his child, he may well feel compassion for all young and all living beings even, and act as a sort of mirror to the comprehensive name of All-Compassionate. Whereas passionate love restricts its gaze to its beloved and sacrifices everything for it. Or else while elevating and praising its beloved, it deni­grates others and in effect insults them and abuses their honour. For example, someone said: "The sun espied my beloved's beauty and was embarrassed. Not to see it, it veiled itself in cloud." Lover, fine sir! What right do you have to impute shame to the sun, which is a light-filled page of eight Greatest Names?

Moreover, compassion is sincere and wants noth­ing in return; it is pure and seeks no recompense. The self-sacrificing, unselfish tenderness of animals towards their young is evidence for this at the lowest level. Passionate love, however, desires remunera­tion and seeks return. The weepings of passionate love are a sort of demanding, a desiring remunera­tion.

Thus, Jacob's (Upon whom be peace) compas­sion, the most brilliant light of Sura Yusuf- the most brilliant of the Qur'an's suras - points to the names of Merciful and Compassionate. It informs us that the way of compassion is the way of mercy. And as a salve for the pain of compassion, it causes a person to utter:

For God is the Best of Protectors and He is the Most Merciful of the Merciful.²