The meaning of jabr al-khawatir is mending someone’s heart: steadying them, lifting their spirits, easing their hardship and taking their hand until they stand on their feet again, with a kind word or a simple deed. Its virtue is great. Among the deeds most beloved to Allah is “a happiness which you bring to a Muslim, or you take him out of a difficulty, or you pay off his debt, or you feed him when he is hungry” (At-Tabaraani), as cited in the fatwa The best righteous deeds.
A sincere smile, gentle words and simple acts can mend broken hearts and weary souls and leave an indescribable mark, especially in our time, when crises, the risk of disasters and the pressures that come with them have grown, and affected families face greater hardship. This article looks at the bright sides of jabr al-khawatir that make it a companion to doing good and an effective part of psychosocial support for people in distress.
How many people sitting in the darkness of their problems find their way lit by a few encouraging words, and how many trembling in life’s storms see their spring return with a tender smile.
What does jabr al-khawatir mean?
Jabr al-khawatir means steadying another person, lifting their spirits, easing their hardship, overlooking their slip and taking their hand until they stand on their feet again, whether by a word or by a deed.
It carries a strong positive energy that reaches both the one who is comforted and the one who comforts. One of Allah’s names is Al-Jabbar, and among its meanings is that He mends the weak and every broken heart, a mending whose reality is setting the servant right and turning harm away from him, as explained in the fatwa On the supplication “O Jabbar of the heavens and the earth, mend me” (in Arabic). Among the Prophet’s supplications between the two prostrations is “and mend me” (wajburni), in the narration of At-Tirmidhi. And Allah comforted His Prophet with the words: “And your Lord is going to give you, and you will be satisfied” (Ad-Duha 93:5).
Everyday ways to mend hearts
Even in ordinary circumstances, how beautiful it is to:
- Choose to buy from a street vendor earning his living in the heat of the sun.
- Smile at the street cleaner in the morning.
- Accept an apology from someone who wronged us, and forgive.
- Buy our family what they need before they ask.
- Look in on a family that keeps its hardship to itself, and give it a share of our charity, food and clothes.
- Comfort someone who has lost a loved one.
- Lift the spirits of someone worn down by illness.
- Thank someone for a kindness and praise what they achieved, however small.
What is the virtue of jabr al-khawatir?
Mending hearts is among the deeds most beloved to Allah, because it benefits people and relieves their distress. The Prophet said that anyone who relieves a Muslim in distressed circumstances, Allah will facilitate matters for him (Muslim).
See the fatwa Virtue of helping other Muslims. The hadith “The most beloved of people to Allah are those most beneficial to people” is graded hasan by Al-Albani, as in the fatwa The virtue of meeting Muslims’ needs (in Arabic). To learn how giving affects the giver, read Doing Good and Its Impact on the Individual and Society.
Mending hearts in psychosocial support
We hope that specialists, researchers and everyone working in mental health and psychosocial support, especially in emergencies, will gather the heritage of our Islamic culture on mending hearts and use it in humanitarian work in crisis and disaster areas and deprived communities.
It can help improve the wellbeing of people living through severe hardship: displaced people, refugees and victims of disasters and wars, as well as the sick, people burdened by debt and affected families.
