An Analysis of Traditions Restricting Benvolence (Ihsan) to the Noble and Religious

In Shiite and Sunnite hadith collections, a tradition with different isnad and variant versions has been quoted, while the following wording is one of its most important ones:»The benevolence is not righteous unless to the noble and the religious«. according to this tradition the extent of benevolence is limited to one of the two cases: noble ancestry (nobility) or being religious. However, according to Islam and religious texts, either Holy Quran or the Imams’ traditions, kindness and benevolence comprises all human beings, regardless of their cult and religion, and even more it embraces all creatures. Therefore it seems that this hadith does not intend to restrict kindness to a group of people, but it actually means to negate initial generosity to them. This restriction is in fact due to the characteristic and behavior of non-honorable men/women and in part some unbelievers (or non- practicing believers) i. e. ungratefulness which is one of the most prominent behaviors of these groups of persons.