Qur’an and Social Sciences

Qur’an and Social Sciences

Individual and Social Impediments to Benevolence from the Perspective of the Holy Qur’an

Document Type : Original Article

Author
shahaboaldin vahidi mehrjardi
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology, Meybod University, Meybod, Iran.
10.22034/arq.2025.480367.1387
Abstract
The manner of addressing social and public issues is among the priority topics in the field of applied research. Benevolence is one of the esteemed concepts that, within religious teachings—particularly in the Holy Qur’an—has been emphasized and enjoined. According to the explicit statements of the Holy Qur’an, true believers are those who constantly strive to adorn themselves with the qualities of benevolence and righteousness. Benevolence, understood as the performance of virtuous deeds, encompasses a wide range of manifestations, and in Islamic sources it is referred to as iḥsān. Examples of such instances include financial and material assistance as well as the construction of public and charitable institutions. Thus, the concept of benevolence has extensive functions in individual, social, cultural, and spiritual domains. Nevertheless, there are always factors that hinder the performance of virtuous acts. These deterrent factors sometimes assume an individual aspect and at other times a social one. The findings of the study indicate that in religious teachings—particularly in the Holy Qur’an—factors such as miserliness, arrogance, and baseness are identified as individual obstacles to benevolence. Likewise, factors such as the misdefinition of benevolence, the absence of a culture of trust among individuals and within social institutions, as well as social and religious disputes and divisions, are identified as societal obstacles. In the present article, this issue is examined as a fundamental question with reference to the Qur’an. The study has been conducted through library sources and by employing a descriptive-analytical method, with the aim of examining the individual and social obstacles to benevolence from the perspective of the Qur’an.
Keywords
Benevolence؛ Iḥsān؛ Righteous Deed؛ Qur&rsquo
an؛ Individual Impediments؛ Social Impediments

Subjects

Holy Qurʾan
Nahj al-Balāgha
Ṣaḥīfa Kāmila Sajjadiyya
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  • Receive Date 29 September 2024
  • Revise Date 08 June 2025
  • Accept Date 18 August 2025