FROM MAULANA’S DESK
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life has been the establishment of worldwide peace. He has received the Padma Bhushan, the Demiurgus Peace International Award and Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Peace award for promoting peace in Muslim societies. He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world’ and is recognized as one of its most influential Muslims . His books have been translated into sixteen languages and are part of university curricula in six countries. He is the founder of the Centre for Peace and Spirituality based in New Delhi.
THE PROPHET WANTED PEACE
THE Prophet of Islam, Muhammad ibn Adbullah ibn Abdul Muttalib, was born in Makkah in AD 570 and died in Madinah in AD 632. The divine book revealed to him is known as the Quran, while his teachings are preserved in the Hadith in the original Arabic. A study of both shows that there are two basic Islamic principles: worship of God and compassion to others.
The Prophet said, “A true Muslim is one from whose hands and tongue people are safe.” This means a Muslim is a peaceful, harmless member of society. This oft-recited invocation reflects his sentiments: “O God, let us enter into the Home of Peace”. Living in peace himself, he longed for a society where the culture of peace prevailed. The Prophet gave a workable formula for peace in a multi-religious society: “For you, your religion and for me, mine”. It simply meant: “Follow one faith and respect all”.
The Prophet never engaged in war of his own volition. He would say: “Don’t wage war against your opponents; always ask God for peace”. His concept of peace and war was based on sulh khair, that is compromise and adjustment. Aggressive war, undeclared war, guerrilla war, proxy war or any other war is prohibited in Islam. Only defensive war is permitted. Moreover, only a state may go to war. No other organization is permitted to do so. If Muslims were unable to elicit good conduct from others, they had nevertheless to refrain from acting against wrongdoers.
The Prophet thought it essential to differentiate between an aggressor and an enemy. A defensive war might be waged against those who attack them. His followers were not allowed to fight against passive enemies. The problem of enmity had to be solved through love and tolerance. In other words, he wanted Muslims to learn the art of peaceful enmity management.
An atmosphere of peace enables normal relations to be established between people. Feelings of love and friendship prevail. In a favourable atmosphere constructive activities flourish and the existing resources can be used for development and progress.
According to a Hadith, “God grants to gentleness what He does not grant to harshness.” That is to say, peaceful activism is distinctly superior to violent activism. There is nothing mysterious about the point made in this Hadith. This is a simple and a well-known fact of life. In a situation of war and violence, feelings of hatred and enmity flare up between the two sides and, in the process the existing resources are destroyed. People from both sides get killed and the entire society is pervaded with a jungle of negative feelings. It is quite obvious that in such an atmosphere, no constructive and consolidated work can be done. There is nothing to be achieved in war and violence apart from death and destruction.
On the contrary, an atmosphere of peace enables normal relations to be established between people. Feelings of love and friendship prevail. In a favourable atmosphere constructive activities flourish and the existing resources can be used for development and progress. A positive bent of mind will prevail which will help developmental activities. The greater ill-effect of war is that it limits opportunities whereas the greatest benefit of peace is that it opens up opportunities to the ultimate extent. War invariably results in further loss, while peace invariably results in further gain. That is why Islam teaches us to avoid war and confrontation at all costs and commands us to establish peace to the greatest possible degree.
I want to narrate an incident relevant to the subject under discussion here. I visited Jerusalem for the first time in August 1995. As you know, Jerusalem is a well known place of conflict in the world. I was walking around the Arab sector of the city. At one place I saw that some Palestinian children were singing this Arabic song in chorus: Let’s make war, let’s make war. For war is the way to success. I went up to them and told them that it would be much better for them to sing their song like this:
Let’s make peace, let’s make peace. For peace is the way to success. The children smiled at this. One child about ten years of age got so excited that he rushed to offer me an olive branch which is considered to be a symbol of peace. Needless to say, I accepted it with gratitude. It was indeed the response of nature represented by an innocent child. It is my firm belief that nature loves peace and that if we appeal to human nature the response no doubt will be greatly positive.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
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Police Force personnel on February 14,
2019 was a dastardly act of cowardice. I
am a 94 year old man, I have spent my life
studying Islam and can say with conviction
that this kind of violent ideology, while
being a permanent threat to world peace,
has nothing to do with Islam.