are only but a few references to show what great importance Islam attaches to peace. In fact, Islam cannot afford not to be in a state of peace because all that Islam aims at—spiritual progress, intellectual

and above all da’wah— can be achieved only in an atmosphere of peace and harmony. According to Islam, peace is not simply an absence of war. Peace opens doors to all kinds of opportunities

took place between the Banu Hashim and the Banu Umayyah. This stopped the advance of Islam for a period of ten years. What set this process in motion once again was the voluntary withdrawal of Hasan ibn Ali

practical form of non-violent activism. This peaceful move on the part of Hasan ibn Ali re-opened to Islam the locked doors of progress. 5. During the last days of the Abbasid caliphate Mongol tribes attacked

The history of Islam had apparently come to a standstill. At that moment the spirit of da’wah work was born within the Muslims. As a result, the majority of the Mongols converted to Islam. And that miracle

and cannot by any stretch of the imagination be construed to mean that doing battle in the name of Islam is a guarantee of one’s admission to Paradise. It only signifies that when Muslims are attacked, they

utmost steadfastness. Then they can be sure of Paradise as their reward. ✳ ✳ ✳ RELIGIOUS HARMONY What the world needs today—perhaps more than anything else—is an acceptable formula for the attainment

shall attempt to present here, in brief, the Islamic viewpoint. Let us begin with a verse of the Quran which reads: He that chooses a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him, and in

it was led not by his companions but, rather, by what could be called ‘community leaders’.. If the Kashmiri Muslims want to make their movement an Islamic one, it is incumbent on them that, first of all

struggle. They must admit that they have been carrying on what is an entirely national or communal movement to which they have wrongly given an Islamic label. Accordingly, they must completely distance themselves

are started by what seem to be good people, but later on, wrong or bad people inevitably join in, because they find in these movements a convenient shelter—in the name of, say, ‘Islamic jihad’ or ‘national

earnestly claimed that religion has been rendered old-fashioned and redundant by modern civilization. But what actual contribution has western civilization made to humanity? New modes of travel, novel architectural

luxurious, more glamorous, and more effective than ever before. The question we must ask ourselves is what the existence of such amenities has to do with belief in God and religion. Does the possession of

importance and utility of modern technology and its resultant amenities, we fail to comprehend in what way these things verify or negate religious truths. The relevance of religion is its concern with

that Islam had ushered in would have witnessed its continuation in the Muslim world instead of in Europe. And then, just as the credit for the beginning of the modern scientific age goes to Islam, the

culmination of that age would have accrued to Islam as well. Needless to say, if that had happened, human history would have taken a course very different from what it did. SHAH WALIULLAH OF DELHI It is sufficient

deeper understanding of the times and the capacity to engage in ijtihad, creative interpretation of Islamic sources and their application in changed circumstances. Another phase in the role of the Ulama is

every endeavour. Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible. POLITICAL EXTREMISM AND ISLAM THE Quran teaches us not to be extremist in our religion. Its exact words are: ‘People of the Book

to be morally acceptable, it is to the spirit of these acts rather than their external form that Islam attaches real importance. Ghulu, meaning extremism, is engendered in a religious community when it

Muslims will be divided into 73 sects.” There are innumerable cases of ideological extremism in Islamic history. But we also find among Muslims another kind of extremism which probably never existed in

to engage in the replanning of the Islamic mission in modern times in the light of modern facts. Now any member of the mission does not need to complain or protest. What is required is for man to understand

changes in the times, make concession to them and then go about the peaceful re-planning of the Islamic mission. It is this changed course of action which is called re-planning. The Guidance of the Quran

bring it into being. That is easy for God to do; so that you may not grieve for what has escaped you, nor be exultant over what you have gained. God loves neither the conceited nor the boastful.” (The Quran

all occasions. It is desirable in Islam that everyone should be imbued with the spirit of charity. On all occasions he should be ready to give alms. The Prophet of Islam once observed that every Muslim is

rest to others. Then again he was asked what the person should do if he was unable to earn. The Prophet said, then he should help the needy. Again he was asked what he should do