|
submit
articles |
| Islam & Peace Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Islam aims to build a peaceful society at
all cost. It is because higher human objectives cannot be achieved in the
absence of peaceful circumstances. The spiritual as well as moral progress
of the individual is possible only in peaceful atmosphere. Hence the
atmosphere of peace is essential for the building of good society.
Academic research too is possible only in peaceful circumstances. The task
of the propagation of truth too can be performed only in peaceful
atmosphere. That is why one of the teachings of Islam
is ‘reconciliation is the best’ (4:128). In this regard Islam enjoins
us to establish peace even at the cost of unilateral sacrifice and
patience. An event of the first phase of Islamic history provides us with
an example of this unilateralism. This is known as Sulh Hudaibiya (Hudaiybiya
Treaty). This was in actual fact a no-war pact that was secured by
accepting all the demands of the rival group. To bring about an atmosphere of peace
within the society Islam has given a number of commandments. For instance,
the Prophet of Islam observed ‘A believer is one from whom people feel
secure as regards their lives and property (At-Tirmizi). Another hadith
has this to say: By God, he is not a believer from whose nuisance his
neighbor is not safe. (Al-Bukhari) Islam aims at making all individuals
peace-loving to the ultimate extent. That is why we are enjoined to greet
one another by saying ‘Assalam-o-Alaikum’ that is, peace be upon you.
According to another saying of the Prophet, the best Islam is to greet
everyone you come across, whether or not you are acquainted with the
person. (Fathul-Bari 1/103). The frequent reiteration of this phrase
‘peace be upon you’ is in actual fact an external manifestation of the
desire for peace within. Islam wishes to inculcate this feeling within
every individual that he should become a true lover of peace, to the point
that this feeling starts welling up in his heart, finding expression
whenever he meets a person. Islam is a peace-loving religion from
beginning to end. And it is but natural that it should be so, as all the
best results it aims to achieve, can be achieved only when an atmosphere
of peace is maintained at both national and international level. This path of peace is followed by the
entire universe. It is known in science as the law of nature, which is
imposed upon it by God. Whereas man has to adopt this path of peace of his
own free will. This has been expressed in the Qur’an in these words:
"Are they seeking a religion other than God’s, when every soul in
heaven and earth has submitted to Him, willingly or by compulsion? To Him
they shall all return" (3:83).When peace is the religion of the
entire universe, it should, therefore, be the religion of man too, so
that, in the words of Jesus Christ, the will of the Lord may be done on
earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10) In a similar vein, the Qur’an tells us
that: "The sun is not allowed to overtake the moon, nor does the
night outpace the day. Each in its own orbit runs." (36:40) When God created heaven and the earth, He
so ordered things that each part might perform its function peacefully
without clashing with any other part. For billions of years, therefore,
the entire universe has been fulfilling its function in total harmony with
His divine plan. Peace is no external commodity to be artificially imposed
upon man. Peace is inherent in nature itself. The system of nature set up
by God already rests on the basis of peace. If this system is not
disrupted, it will continue to stay the course set for it by the Almighty.
It is true that the only condition to maintain the human system on the
path of peace is to keep it free from the elements of corruption. That is
why the Qur’an states: In order to preserve the peace established
by nature, from disruption, two important injunctions have been laid down
by Islam. One at the individual level, stresses the exercise of patience,
and the other, at the social level, forbids taking the offensive. Negative reaction on the part of the
individual is the greatest factor responsible for disrupting peace in
daily life. It repeatedly happens that in social life one experiences
bitterness on account of others. On such occasions, if one reacts
negatively, the matter would escalate to the point of a head-on collision.
That is why Islam repeatedly enjoins us to tread the path of patience. The
Qur’an says: Surely the patient will be paid their wages in full without
measure. (39:10) The reason for the rewards for patience
being so great is that patience is the key factor in maintaining the
desired system of God. In the words of the Qur’an the patient man is the
helper of God. (61:14) The other injunction, designed to maintain
peace in human society is to forbid the waging of an offensive war. No one
in Islam enjoys the right to wage war against another. There are no
grounds on which this could be considered justifiable. (2:190) There is only one kind of war permitted in Islam and that is a defensive war. If a nation by deviating from the principles of nature wages war against another nation, then, a defensive war, with certain conditions, may be waged by the country under attack. To sum up, Islam is a religion of peace. The Arabic root of Islam is ‘silm’ which means peace. The Qur’an states: ‘…and Gods calls to the home of peace’ (10:25). It is thus God’s will that men and women should jointly establish a society of peace in His world. Peace is basic to all religions. Let us all strive then to establish peace in the world, for that is the bedrock on which all human progress rests. Source: http://www.alrisala.org/Articles/tolerance/islamnpeace.htm |