No. 73 of 124 · A Name of God · The Long Healing Prayer
The Compassionate with all
In a universe held together by divine mercy, this name reminds us that compassion is not something God offers selectively, it flows toward every soul, every creature, without exception.
I call on Thee O Thou Kind to all, O Thou Compassionate with all, O Most Benevolent One! Thou the Sufficing, Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One! Bahá'u'lláh, The Long Healing Prayer · read the full prayer
Plain meaning · Compassionate
1. Having a temper or disposition to pity; sympathetic; merciful. There never was any heart truly great and generous, that was not also tender and compassionate. South. 2. Complaining; inviting pity; pitiable. [R.] Shak. Syn.
Definition from Webster's Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain). When these Writings were translated into English, the translator relied on Webster's New International Dictionary, 1934 edition, of the same Webster's tradition. source
What “The Compassionate with all” means
The meaning above is the plain dictionary definition of the word. What follows reflects on it as a name of God, offered for your own contemplation, and not as an authoritative interpretation of the Bahá'í Writings, which rests with ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi alone.
The phrase 'The Compassionate with all' points to something quietly radical: that the compassion of God is not rationed. It does not diminish as it spreads. It is not reserved for the devout, the healthy, the fortunate, or the deserving. The word 'all' in this name carries real weight, it stretches across every condition of human life, every species of created being, every moment of need. When Bahá'u'lláh weaves this name into a prayer for healing, He is inviting the one who prays to rest in that truth, not merely to acknowledge it as theology.
Compassion, in its deepest sense, is more than sympathy felt from a distance. It is an active, responsive tenderness, a movement toward the one who suffers. To call God 'The Compassionate with all' is to say that this movement never stops, that no cry goes unregistered, no wound is beneath divine notice. Many spiritual traditions use the root sense of the word 'compassion', to suffer alongside, and while we hold carefully to the mystery of what that means for an infinite God, the name itself assures us that our pain is met, not ignored.
There is also something humbling in this name for those of us trying to live spiritually. If God's compassion extends to all, to those we find difficult, to creatures we overlook, to people on the far side of our sympathies, then this name quietly calls us to widen our own circle of care. Sitting with this name in prayer is not only an act of receiving comfort; it can also become a gentle prompt toward greater kindness in our own lives.
Calling on The Compassionate with all for healing
When illness arrives, whether in the body, the mind, or the deeper chambers of the spirit, it can bring with it a particular kind of loneliness. We may feel singled out by suffering, cut off from the ordinary flow of life. Calling on God as 'The Compassionate with all' in those moments is a way of gently loosening that isolation. It reminds us that we are not forgotten, not abandoned at the edge of our difficulty. The same tenderness that holds the whole of creation is present with us in the specific texture of our own pain. That is not a small thing to hold onto.
Of course, how healing unfolds, when it comes, in what form, through which means, rests in a wisdom far beyond our own. Medicine, skilled physicians, and proper care remain essential, and turning to God in prayer is never a substitute for seeking competent medical help. But prayer and treatment need not be strangers to each other. Calling on the Compassionate One while also caring responsibly for the body or mind can be a way of honoring both the visible and invisible dimensions of our wellbeing. The outcome belongs to God; the reaching out belongs to us.
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Living the Word
Applying The Compassionate with all in your life
A name of God is a virtue to grow into. Where is The Compassionate with all being asked of you right now, and how will you practice it? Keep a short note each time you return, and watch your own path with this name take shape over time. It stays on this device.
In the Bahá'í Writings
“God Is the Great Compassionate Physician Who Alone Gives True Healing October 19th All true healing comes from God! There are two causes for sickness, one is material, the other spiritual. If the sickness is of the body, a material remedy is needed, if of the soul, a spiritual remedy. If the heavenly benediction be upon us while we are being healed then only can we be made whole, for medicine is but the outward and visible means through which we obtain the heavenly healing. Unless the spirit be healed, the cure of the body is worth nothing. All is in the hands of God, and without Him there can be no health in us! There have been many men who have died at last of the very disease of which they have made a special study. Aristotle, for instance, who made a special study of the digestion, died of a gastric malady. Avicenna was a specialist of the heart, but he died of heart disease. God is the great compassionate Physician who alone has the power to give true healing. All creatures are dependent upon God, however great may seem their knowledge, power and independence.”
Read in full at bahai.org →“Briefly, it is not only their fellow human beings that the beloved of God must treat with mercy and compassion, rather must they show forth the utmost loving-kindness to every living creature. For in all physical respects, and where the animal spirit is concerned, the selfsame feelings are shared by animal and man. Man hath not grasped this truth, however, and he believeth that physical sensations are confined to human beings, wherefore is he unjust to the animals, and cruel.”
Read in full at bahai.org →“15.3O handmaid of God! The prayers which were revealed to ask for healing apply both to physical and spiritual healing. Recite them, then, to heal both the soul and the body. If healing is right for the patient, it will certainly be granted; but for some ailing persons, healing would only be the cause of other ills, and therefore wisdom doth not permit an affirmative answer to the prayer. 15.4O handmaid of God! The power of the Holy Spirit healeth both physical and spiritual ailments. Acquiring Divine Virtues”
Read in full at bahai.org →Questions about The Compassionate with all
- Why does the prayer call God 'The Compassionate with all' rather than simply 'The Compassionate'?
- The addition of 'with all' seems deliberately inclusive, it leaves no one outside the reach of divine mercy. Whether this reflects a particular grammatical form in the original Arabic or Persian, or a deliberate emphasis by Bahá'u'lláh, the effect in prayer is the same: the one reciting these words is invited to understand that God's compassion is not partial or conditional. It extends to every soul, including the one praying.
- Does praying with this name guarantee that I or my loved one will be healed?
- No, and it is important to be honest about that. The Bahá'í writings themselves indicate that healing, when it is right for a person, will be granted, but that wisdom sometimes sees what we cannot, that a particular outcome might carry its own complications. Turning to God as 'The Compassionate with all' is an act of trust and openness, not a formula that compels a specific result. Please continue to work with qualified physicians and healthcare providers alongside any spiritual practice.
- Can this name of God offer comfort even if physical healing does not come?
- Many people find that it can. The compassion this name points to is not limited to curing illness; it speaks to a presence that accompanies us through whatever we face. Even when circumstances do not change as we hope, the sense of being held by something that is genuinely 'with all', present to our full experience, can be a real and sustaining comfort. This is something each person discovers in their own way through prayer and reflection.
- Is the compassion of God in the Bahá'í teachings only for human beings?
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke warmly and explicitly about the importance of extending loving-kindness to all living creatures, not only to other people. The name 'Compassionate with all' seems consonant with that broader vision, a divine mercy that is not species-specific. Reflecting on this can deepen both our sense of being cared for and our sense of responsibility toward the wider world around us.
Listen to, recite, and reflect on the whole prayer, its more than one hundred names of God.
Hear the Long Healing Prayer