TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE
We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is
a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace is
deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is
a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion
for both—man and the universe. It is the master-key
that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a
favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour.
Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible.
THE PROPHET: A MAN OF PEACE
Peace in Islam
THE very word Islam (from the Arabic root silm) implies peace, and
all the teachings of Islam are based directly or indirectly on this
principle. There are teachings of the Prophet that say that ‘Peace
is Islam’, and that, ‘God is peace’ (Sahih al-Bukhari). Similarly, there is
another Hadith (teachings and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad)
that says that a Muslim is one from whose tongue and hands, people
are safe. One of the attributes of God described in the Quran is ‘AsSalaam’, which means ‘peace and security’. That is to say that God’s
Being itself is a manifestation or embodiment of peace. In the Quran,
divine guidance is likened to the ‘path of peace’ ( 5: 16 ).
In Islam, Paradise, the eternal ideal and the ultimate objective of every
human is called the ‘Home of Peace’ ( 10: 25 ). It is also said that the people
of Paradise will wish peace for one another, which is another indication
of the importance of peace in the ideal society.
Peace is the norm in Islam; war is an exception. All the teachings of
Islam and the life of the Prophet of Islam testify to this. There is a
Hadith that says that God grants to gentleness what He does not grant
to harshness. That is to say, a peaceful approach is distinctly superior
to violent approach.
Peace in the Quran
The Quran is undoubtedly a book of peace, not a book of war
and violence. This can be seen from the fact that all of the Quran’s
pronouncements are directly or indirectly related to peace. Its opening
invocation is—“In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most
Merciful”, and this verse is repeated in the Quran 114 times. This is an
indication that the greatest attribute of the Supreme Being who sent
this book to us is His mercy. We could say that the theme of this entire
book is God’s all-embracing compassion.
Judging by its consequences, the way of peace is far better than
confrontation or conflict. According to the law of God for humankind,
“Reconciliation is the best.” ( 4: 128 )
God has decreed success only through reconciliation, and not through
violent courses of action. The Prophet’s wife Aisha said that the Prophet’s
general policy was always to choose the easier (non-confrontational)
path (Sahih al-Bukhari).
This means countering aggression with aggression is a hard option
and countering aggression with patience and forbearance is an easier
option. A radical approach is more difficult than a gradual one. Peace is
always the easier option in achieving the desired results.
The Prophet of Peace
Due to the intolerance and violent extremism
of small groups of people who call themselves
‘Muslims’, Islam is currently widely perceived
to be a religion of violence, with objectives
that appear to be achievable only through
terrorism. This, however, is untrue.
Islam is not the name given to the behaviour
or the actions of a particular group of people
who call themselves ‘Muslims’. Islam is a
religion which has certain beliefs and ethics,
and people who say that they hold those
beliefs and value those ethics are called
Muslims. It follows, then, that the behaviour
of Muslims must be judged by the principles of Islam and not vice
versa. Islam cannot be evaluated based on the actions of Muslims.
The Quran is
undoubtedly a book
of peace, not a book
of war and violence.
This can be seen
from the fact that
all of the Quran’s
pronouncements are
directly or indirectly
related to peace.
If individuals calling themselves ‘Muslims’ adopt terrorism, then the
responsibility for their actions lies with them, not with the religion they profess. In spite of their professed Islamic agenda, the actions of such
people cannot be deemed Islamic.
Islam is the name of the revealed religion professed by the Prophet
Muhammad, and exemplified in his life. The Prophet Muhammad was
a prophet of peace, not a prophet of violence. In the Quran, he is called
a ‘mercy to humankind’.
He was a peace-loving personality in the complete sense. His peaceloving nature was so heightened that he did not even like to hear the
name Harb, which meant war, and guided the parents of the child to
change it to Hasan which meant goodness. He believed in cultivating a
peaceful character. He wanted his followers to do good works for the
people, giving them the message of peace and prosperity and not of
death and destruction.
The battles that took place during his life were only incidental and
under exceptional circumstances, rather than being the main feature
of his life. However, most of the Prophet’s biographers have painted an
altogether different picture. Instead of presenting him as a prophet of
peace they have portrayed him as a prophet of violence.
The battles which were fought during the
Prophet’s time were related to the culture
then prevailing amongst the Arab tribes.
Before the Prophet’s birth there was an
ongoing conflict between two major tribes of
Madinah. It is said that this war continued for
120 years and thousands of people perished
in these battles, the prominent one of which
was known by the name of Battle of Bu’ath
between Aws and Khazraj tribes.
Islam is the name of
the revealed religion
professed by the
Prophet Muhammad,
and exemplified in
his life. The Prophet
Muhammad was a
prophet of peace, not
a prophet of violence.
In the Quran, he is
called a 'mercy to
humankind'.
The Prophet Muhammad was born at a time
when Arabia was divided into many different
tribes, each with several clans, all vying for
domination. Fights between tribes and clans
over trivial issues were common. Due to this
culture, there were skirmishes between the
Prophet’s followers and their opponents. Most of the incidents that
have been presented by the biographers of the Prophet as battles can
be better classified as minor skirmishes instead.
He began his mission of conveying God’s guidance to humankind in a
peaceful manner. There was never any act of violence by the Prophet against those who objected to his teachings or oppressed him and his
followers during the entire thirteen years of his life as a prophet in
Makkah. While he was in Makkah, his teachings were always those of
patience, tolerance and avoidance.
The Prophet and his followers had to face the hardships of a three
year social boycott by the opposing Makkan tribes, and they faced
this patiently enduring harshest difficulties. His opponents plotted to
kill him, so he quietly left Makkah with a few of his Companions to
Madinah. He gave the same advice to his followers.
Even in Madinah, his opponents did not leave the Prophet and his
followers in peace. They did everything possible to make life miserable
for them. At such a time the following verse was revealed:
Will you not fight against those who have broken their oaths and
conspired to banish the Messenger? They were the first to attack you.
Do you fear them? Surely God is more deserving of your fear, if you are
true believers. ( 9: 13 )
These hostilities resulted into the two battles
of Badr and Uhud.
After these battles when the Prophet got
to know that his opponents were marching
towards Madinah with an army of 10,000, he
employed a strategy of avoidance by creating
a trench outside Madinah because of which
an armed conflict was averted.
If we compare the
Prophet's battles
with other battles in
history, we will find
that the mission of
the Prophet was a
nonviolent mission;
and the battles
that happened
were defensive
in nature and
under exceptional
circumstances
The Prophet was on a divine mission to
present God’s message to humankind.
Any mission of communication can only
be successful when the circumstances are
harmonious and peaceful. For an atmosphere
of peace, though, a price has to be paid, and
that was in the form of perseverance in the
face of all obstacles; in ignoring the problems
whilst availing of the opportunities. The Prophet’s opponents were
constantly provoking him and his followers to engage with them in
battle over petty issues, but the Prophet and his Companions always
chose the divine teachings of patience and forbearance to circumvent
every conflict. The Quran says: “Whenever they kindle the fire of war,
God puts it out.” ( 5: 64 )
Further we have the example of the Peace Treaty of Hudaibiya where
the Prophet unilaterally accepted all the conditions of the opponents.
This treaty was broken by the opponents resulting in their surrender.
The Prophet, in spite of the atrocities they had done did not even allow
them to be insulted and, instead, announced a general pardon in the
following words: “Go, you all are free”.
If we were to objectively study the entire 23 years of prophetic life, it
would be absolutely clear that the Prophet Muhammad was a prophet
of peace. If we compare the Prophet’s battles with other battles in
history, we will find that the mission of the Prophet was a nonviolent
mission; and the battles that happened were defensive in nature and
under exceptional circumstances.
The number of people killed in these battles was very few when
compared to the casualties of many other battles in history.
In comparison to the above sampling of battles from history, the
defensive battles fought by the Prophet were those at Badr, Uhud and
Hunain. The combined total duration of actual fighting was equivalent
to only 1½ days. The total number of casualties in all these battles was
1,018.
Because of a lack of objective understanding of the Prophet’s life,
Muslim biographers have misrepresented the facts by ignoring the
prevailing customs and culture of the time. Due to this, their writings
about the Prophet’s life show a war-like pattern.
On the other hand, non-Muslim biographers of the Prophet have
adopted a different approach. These people have largely ignored the
main events of the Prophet’s life choosing to focus on a few, exceptional
incidents that they have used as the basis of a picture of the Prophet’s
life they have painted, that portrays him as a warrior prophet.
They have also been unable to see the Prophet’s life as different from
Muslim culture, which has led them to assume that terrorism in the
name of Islam is an outcome of the teachings of the Prophet of Islam.
The true modest personality of the Prophet appeared to many of his
biographers as deficient in some way or the other. This image of the
Prophet appeared to them as falling short of the standards of leaders
of other peoples of the time, who were great conquerors and warriors.
Hence these biographers tried to present an image of their Prophet as
a warrior, which, in their eyes was a superior image.
However, this picture of the Prophet is totally baseless and selfassumed. In truth, the Prophet’s was a peace-loving personality.
The example of the Prophet was not one of overpowering people by
fighting with them; rather it was by winning the people over with love
and compassion.
The Quran says:
Believers, obey God and His Messenger when
he calls you to that which gives you life. ( 8: 24 )
It is obvious from an understanding of the
Quran that the mission of the Prophet was
different from that of emperors and kings.
The mission of kings is one of conquests and
wars. On the other hand, the mission of a
Prophet is not to rule over people, but to bring
about a spiritual transformation in them and
to teach them God-oriented living.
The mission of
the Prophet was
different from that of
emperors and kings.
The mission of kings
is one of conquests
and wars. On the
other hand, the
mission of a Prophet
is not to rule over
people, but to bring
about a spiritual
transformation in
them.
From the above analysis, it should be obvious
that the Prophet Muhammad was a prophet
of peace, and not a prophet of violence. The
approach to the biography of the Prophet by
both Muslim and non-Muslim biographers is
not correct.
We, the members of CPS International founded by Maulana Wahiduddin
Khan are working for the mission of the Prophet. Maulana Wahiduddin
Khan, the recipient of many peace awards has dedicated his entire life
for this cause. He has been re-engineering the minds of the people
towards peace and positivity. Maulana often says, ‘Terrorism is an
ideology of violence and we have to counter it with the ideology of
peace’.
