therefore, to the organizers of this conference for giving me the opportunity to share my views with you. What strikes me as being of prime importance is to fully understand the reasons for the stockpiling of

mistrust has caused the proliferation of nuclear armaments, and an increase in other related activities. What I believe to be mainly responsible for this mistrust is the lack of spirituality in modern times.

revive the true spirit of religiosity. I would like to mention an example from Islamic tradition. We know that the Prophet of Islam was born in Makkah and later on migrated to Madina. In those days, there

their prayers regularly. Daily he would spend some time with them to help them memorize the basic Islamic creed kalima and the verses of benediction from the Quran. He would attempt to impart to them such

the moral values of Islam. All one needs to do is to gather enough information from books on the subject and, of course, it helps to have an extensive vocabulary. But practising what one preaches is a different

shortcomings. It is all too easy to recount anecdotes relating to the acknowledgement of truth by Islamic personalities of bygone days, because the telling of such tales does not in any way detract from

misconstrued as war, with all its connotations of violence and bloodshed. However, in the Islamic context, and in literal sense, the word jihad simply means a struggle—doing one’s utmost to further

actual Arabic equivalent of war is qital, and even this is meant in a defensive sense. According to Islamic teachings, jihad is of two kinds. One is with the self (jihad bin nafs), that is, making the maximum

jealousy, greed, revenge, anger, etc. The psychological efforts to lead such a life of restraint are what jihad bin nafs is about. In social life, it happens time and again that all sorts of base, negative

to Islam series. It comprises excerpts from the Qur’an, arranged in a special sequence under relevant headings. No interpretation or commentary has been added. It provides an introduction to Islam which

a verse of the Qur’an, the full text of which is: Be they men or women those, who believe and do what is right We shall surely endow with a good life: We shall reward them according to their noblest actions

THE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGEThe Prophet of Islam once observed, “Seek knowledge, even if you have to go as far as China.” (Shuabul Iman, Hadith No. 1543) This shows that there should not be any kind of

every difficulty towards this end. Nothing should be taken as an obstacle in this matter. Knowledge is what converts man’s state of ore to steel. This tradition shows the importance of undertaking travel for

move from the limited local sphere to the unlimited global one.THE GIFT OF KNOWLEDGEThe Prophet of Islam said: A father cannot give his children a better gift than a proper education. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi

interact and mix freely in a secure environment. The result was that many people from Makkah embraced Islam as they gained knowledge about it. Finally, in 630 AD, when the Quraysh broke away from the peace

conducted a peaceful march to Makkah, leading to the city with its inhabitants coming under the fold of Islam. The Teachings of the Prophet

described as being of “sublime character.” Here are two sayings of the Prophet, which throw light on what this “sublime character” consists of:

misconstrued as war, with all its connotations of violence and bloodshed. However, in the Islamic context, and in literal sense, the word jihad simply means a struggle—doing one’s utmost to further

actual Arabic equivalent of war is qital, and even this is meant in a defensive sense. According to Islamic teachings, jihad is of two kinds. One is with the self (jihad bin nafs), that is, making the maximum

jealousy, greed, revenge, anger, etc. The psychological efforts to lead such a life of restraint are what jihad bin nafs is about. In social life, it happens time and again that all sorts of base, negative

not necessary now for the followers of Islam to wage war for the sake of capturing political power. Irrespective of who wields political power, the followers of Islam can now, under all conditions, establish

institutions and thereby access all the desirable benefits. This does not mean that the followers of Islam must wash their hands off politics. Rather, it means that while gaining the benefits that accrue through

response to gentleness what He does not in response to harshness. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2593) From this we learn that peaceful activism is clearly superior to violent activism. What this hadith relates

had to in ancient times. The scientific revolution of modern times is in fact a by-product of the Islamic revolution of the Prophet’s time. Through the revolution brought about by the Prophet, God brought

onset of the Islamic era, God also created factors, which would in later times enable monotheism to triumph once more, this time over atheistic and agnostic thought. Before the coming of Islam, polytheistic

polytheistic thought had reigned supreme the world over. What polytheism really comes down to is worship of forms. The polytheistic urge in people used to make them turn in worship to any particularly striking

had to in ancient times. The scientific revolution of modern times is in fact a by-product of the Islamic revolution of the Prophet’s time. Through the revolution brought about by the Prophet, God brought

onset of the Islamic era, God also created factors, which would in later times enable monotheism to triumph once more, this time over atheistic and agnostic thought. Before the coming of Islam, polytheistic

polytheistic thought had reigned supreme the world over. What polytheism really comes down to is worship of forms. The polytheistic urge in people used to make them turn in worship to any particularly striking