Al-īthār is the practise of putting other people's needs ahead of your own. It is the direct antithesis of al-atharah (egoism). Humans practise this virtue so that others can share in what is right and beneficial without receiving the same reward from other individuals. As a result, they value the wellbeing of the populace as a whole over their own. One of the pillars of the philosophical foundation of peace and security is al-īthār. The French theorist Auguste Comte was the first to coin the term altruism in the Western perspective, which has a similar meaning to al-īthār. His principal arguments were that teaching people to live for others instead of themselves will put an end to societal conflict and that the main issue facing humanity is "subordonner l'egoʼnsm à l'altruisme," or giving egoism less weight than altruism. In contrast to al-īthār from an Islamic standpoint, altruism has been heavily criticised as a Western ethical philosophy. They might be worried about finding common ground across various religions when it comes to altruism, but they all concur that doing good deeds is a virtue. The aim of this article is to examine al-īthār from an Islamic viewpoint and compare it to altruism in Western theories, highlighting the distinctions between the two and their role as a source of peace and security. Additionally, it aims to establish al-īthār's status as a fundamental element of the philosophical framework supporting peace and security education in Islam.

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