Prosocial behavior = actions by individuals that help others with no immediate benefit to the helper
Why people help?
(The motives of prosocial behavior)
1) Empathy-Altruism: It feels good to help Others
Empathy = the capacity to be able to experience others' emotional state, felling sympathetic toward them, and taking their perspectives.
Empathy-altruism hypothesis = The suggestion that some prosocial acts are motivated solely by desire to help someone in need. Such motivation can be sufficiently strong that the helper is willing to engage in unpleasant, dangerous, and even life-threatening activity.
2) Negative-State Relief: Sometimes, helping reduces unpleasant feelings
The proposal that prosocial behavior is motivated by the bystander's desire to reduce his or her own uncomfortable negative emotions of feelings. In other word, we do a good thing to stop feeling bad. The knowledge that others are suffering, witnessing those in need can be distressing. To decrease this distress in ourselves, we might help others.
3) Empathic Joy : Helping as an accomplishment
The view is that the helpers respond to the needs of a victim because they want to accomplish something, and doing so is rewarding in and of itself.
Here, we can see that why people helping each other. If we can see, people help people is because of many reasons. But, we never ever judge their intentions because it is not our job. Only Allah knows what's in their hearts.
All people whatever their religions n beliefs are, they will agree that helping people is a very good deed. Although, during Jahaliyyah's period also, Meccan very like to help Musafir by giving nice accommodation and also helping their relatives in need (they were very Assobiyyah).
In the western countries for example, although they are not Muslims, but they agree that helping people is prosocial behavior and very accepted. We can see their charities foundation help people so much and very active in it. But, why they help people and they are not Muslims (yet)? Some people might say, it will give them a positive mood and also satisfaction, and also any other positive reasons.
In Islam, helping people is very parallel with IKHLAS. Maybe we can give the meaning of ikhlas is sincerity, but I think it is more than that. Ikhlas is the secret of Allah, because only Allah can judge our heart, but we can feel it by heart or by observing the actions (i.e. whether the action is Istiqamah or not).
If someone is Ikhlas in helping people (of course, helping people in a good way only!), they will never easily to give up as well as never asking the rewards yet REDHA from Allah only. Maybe the psychologist define it as ALTRUISM (as mentioned above), but we as a Muslim will feel it in the heart or Iman, not only by 'physical' only.
The effects of Ikhlas can be seen automatically, without any force to 'create' it, just because the power of heart (Qalb) that is controlling the self (nafs).
