An Analysis of the Role of “Compassion” as the Guide to Morality in Persuading the Audience

A moral guide is someone who instructs others to do good/right things and abandon bad/wrong things. The present research aims at providing an analysis of compassion as a guiding character which convinces the audience. The method of the research is analysis of data and logical analysis. The statistical population consists of students of Islamic doctrines and audiences of enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong. The sample consists of 55 people purposefully selected. Coding and logical analysis of the data show that compassion is distinguished by five behaviors, leading to the persuasion of the audience in central and peripheral ways. The central way points to the great importance of the message and informs the audience of his undesirable condition, directing his attention to the content of the message. The peripheral way gives the audience a good sense of himself, creates a pleasant feeling toward the guide and trust in him, and encourages a sense of compensation, thus directing the audience's attention to the person who sends the message.