Page 58 - Justice and Compassion in the Qur'an

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JUSTICE AND COMPASSION IN THE QUR'AN

the Qur'an. He approached the people in the conquered lands
with great love and compassion, and was thus remembered
by them with respect. The Armenian historian Mateos of Urfa
describes the Great Seljuk Empire as follows:
The reign of Malik Shah was blessed by Allah. His sovereignty
extended to the remotest countries and gave peace to Armenians.
His heart was full of compassion for Christians. He treated the
people of the lands he passed through like a father. Many towns and
provinces came under his control of their own free will; all Roman
and Armenian towns recognized his laws. 18

All objective historians refer to the justice and compassion
of Malik Shah in their works. His compassion also kindled
feelings of love towards him in the hearts of the People of the
Book. For this reason, unprecedented in history, many cities
came under Malik Shah's rule of their own free will. Sir
Thomas Arnold also mentions Odo de Diogilo, a monk of St.
Denis, who participated in the Second Crusade as the private
chaplain of Louis VII and refers in his memoirs to the justice
administered by Muslims, regardless of the religious
affiliation of the subjects. Based on the graphic account of Odo
de Diogilo, Sir Thomas Arnold writes:
The situation of the survivors would have been utterly hopeless,
had not the sight of their misery melted the hearts of the
Muhammadans to pity. They tended the sick and relieved the poor
and starving with open-handed liberality. Some even bought up the
French money which the Greeks had got out of the pilgrims by force
or cunning, and lavishly distributed it among the needy. So great
was the contrast between the kind treatment the pilgrims received
from [them] … andthe cruelty of their fellow-Christians, the