when news came that ‘Ikrimah was coming to accept Islam, the Prophet told his companions not to insult ‘Ikrimah’s father, “for abuse of the dead hurts the living.” It was magnanimity such as this, after

after the conquest of Makkah, that turned Islam’s most implacable foes into staunch custodians of faith.NOTES1. Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihay’ah. 2. HadIth, Zad al Ma ‘ad, lbn Qayyim. 3. Hadith

PICTUREhonour in Islam. He was chosen as the first Caliph after the death of the Prophet. It was a critical time, for many tribes whose faith was not yet strong were rebelling to the point of leaving Islam. Abu Bakr

brief, show that Islam has a great role to play in countering the deadly challenges, namely violence and conflict, which are faced by the world of today. I would add that this scheme of Islam is not based

based on mere ideology but has a genuine history of practical success to back it. The history of Islam shows that its message of peace is not just a dream of utopia but is a fully practicable programme. It

sides. This number is comparatively so low that his revolution can rightly be termed bloodless. Islam, in short is the science of strife-free living, supported by a factual history of peaceful co-existence

would normally be ready to part with—he will not hesitate to do so in the service of God.MARCH 23 Islam and PeaceIslam aims to build a peaceful society at all cost. It is because higher human objectives

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

take others for lords besides God. (3:64) This shows that Jews have been accorded special status in Islam. So Jews and Muslims, more than anyone else, must live together in amity and harmony. And history

witness to it. With the exception of conflicts between Jews and Muslims during the early fifty years of Islam and the recent fifty years, both the communities have lived together harmoniously for more than one

fourteen hundred years Jews have been coming closer to Islam. Abdullah ibn Salam, a well known Jewish scholar provides an example in the early phase of Islam, and Mohammad Asad is one such example in the recent

rather than branding him as an incorrigible enemy and declaring war against him. It is true that Islam does give permission to engage in war in some situations, but this is only when all efforts to avoid

Messenger? They were the first to attack you. (9:13) It must be clearly understood that according to Islamic teachings, war may be resorted to, not against all enemies or opponents but only against aggressors

and should do is to engage in peaceful dawah work. Islam does not permit them to do anything other than this. While defensive war ispermitted in Islam in the wake of violent aggression by others, this can

Companions of the prophet. These Companions, fully aware of their limitations, followed the Prophet of Islam. This made it possible to bring about a revolution in the 7th century Arabia. This revolution was

was unparalleled in its allembracing scope. The Belgian historian Henri Pirenne observed: The Islamic revolution changed the face of the globe: the traditional order of history was overthrown. Youth form

this. The palaces of the Iranian kings are a symbol of the victory of Islam. Seeing them increases the belief in the greatness of Islam in our people. Moreover, the cost of demolishing it is more than the

on-going conflict, we must ask why so great a contradiction has arisen between the principles of Islam and the practices of Muslims. At least one root cause may be traced to historical exigency. Since

latter phase of Islam’s history. With the automatic accord in Muslim society of a place of honour and importance to the heroes of the battlefield, annalists’ subsequent compilations of Islamic history have

writings on Islamic history followed the same pattern of emphasis on militarism. The Prophet’s biographies were called ‘maghazi’, that is ‘The Battles fought by the Prophet,’ yet the Prophet of Islam in fact

Another important aspect of Islam is that it does not advocate belief in the manyness of reality; on the contrary, it stresses reality’s oneness. That is, according to Islam, reality is one, not many. That

The fact that certain religious thinkers believe in the manyness of reality is of no concern to Islam. With oneness as its ideal, it cannot accept manyness even as a hypothesis. Both of the above points—(a)

and (b) Salvation as the prerogative of the true believer in this oneness— form a major part of Islamic ideal. Just being born into a certain group or community, or associating oneself with others of similar