NON-VIOLENCE
A STUDY of the Quran and Sunnah (sayings and deeds of the Prophet) tells us that Islam is a religion which teaches nonviolence. According to the Quran, God does not approve violence (fasad). We learn from the Quran that fasad is that action which results in disruption of the social system, causing losses in terms of lives and property. This shows that God espouses non-violence.
God abhors violent activity which results in people having to pay the price with their possessions and lives. This is supported by numerous statements in the Quran, for instance, that ‘Peace’ is one of God’s names (THE QURAN 59: 23). Those who seek to please God are assured that they will be guided by Him to ’the paths of peace’. (THE QURAN 5: 16)
Paradise, which is the final destination of the society of God’s choice, is referred to in the Quran as ‘home of peace’. (THE QURAN 10: 25) The entire spirit of the Quran is in consonance with this concept. For instance, the Quran attaches great importance to patience. In fact, patience is set above all other Islamic virtues — with the exceptional promise of ‘reward beyond measure’. (THE QURAN 39: 10)
Patience implies a peaceful response, whereas impatience implies a violent reaction. The word sabr exactly expresses the notion of nonviolence, as it is understood in modern times. That patient action is non-violent action has been clearly expressed in the Quran. According to a tradition, the Prophet Muhammad observed:
God grants to rifq (gentleness) what He
does not grant to anf (violence).
(Abu Dawud, 4/255)
The word rifq has been used in this Hadith as an antithesis to anf. These terms convey exactly what is meant by violence and non-violence in present times. This Hadith clearly indicates the superiority of the nonviolent method.
God grants to non-violence what
He does not grant to violence.
This has very wide and deep implications, embodying an eternal law of nature. By the very law of Nature, all bad things are associated with violence, while all good things are associated with non-violence. Violent activities breed hatred in society, while non-violent activities elicit love. Violence is the way of destruction while non-violence is the way of construction. In an atmosphere of violence, enmity flourishes, while in an atmosphere of non-violence, friendship flourishes.
The method of violence gives way to negative values, while the method of non-violence is marked by positive values. The method of violence embroils people in problems, while the method of non-violence leads people to the availing of opportunities. In short, violence is death, nonviolence is life.
The Prophet Muhammad followed the principle of peaceful activism throughout his life. He always adopted non-violent methods in preference to violent methods. It is this policy which was referred to by Aishah, the Prophet’s wife, in these words: “Whenever the Prophet had to opt for one of two ways, he almost always opted for the easier one.” (Fath ul-Bari, 6/654)
By the very law of Nature, all bad things are associated with violence, while all good things are associated with non-violence.
According to the Quran there are two faculties in every human being which are mutually antipathetic. One is the ego, and the other is the conscience, called respectively nafs ammara (THE QURAN 12: 53) and nafs lawwama (THE QURAN 75: 2). What the violent method invariably does is to awaken the ego, which necessarily results in a breakdown of social equilibrium. On the other hand, non-violent activism awakens the conscience. From this results an awakening in people of introspection and self-appraisal. And according to the Quran, the miraculous outcome of this is that “he who is your enemy will become your dearest friend.” (THE QURAN 41: 34)
A great advantage of the non-violent method is that, by following it, no part of one’s time is wasted. The opportunities available in any given situation may then be availed of to the fullest extent—as happened after the no-war pact of Hudaibiya. This peace treaty enabled the energies of the believers to be utilised in peaceful constructive activities instead of being dissipated in a futile armed encounter. A great harm done by violent activism is the breaking of social traditions in the launching of militant movements. Conversely, a great benefit that accrues from non-violent activism is that it can be initiated and prolonged with no damage to tradition. Generally speaking, attempts to improve or replace existing systems by violent activism are counterproductive. The truly desirable revolution is that which permits gradual and beneficial changes. And this can be achieved only on the basis of non-violence.
The Prophet of Islam fully adopted the way of pacifism or non-violence all his life. All his successes were achieved by non-violent methods. There were many issues in Makkah at that time which could have been the subject of clash and confrontation. But the Prophet avoided all such issues, strictly limiting his sphere to peaceful propagation of his message.
In Makkah when the Quraysh leaders were set to wage war against the Prophet, instead of opting for the way of reaction and retaliation, the Prophet secretly migrated to Medina.
Migration, by its very nature, was a clear example of non-violent activism. This peaceful strategy enabled the Prophet and his followers — about two hundred in number — to form a powerful centre of Islam in Medina. Had they adopted the path of confrontation instead of peaceful migration, the history of Islam might have been buried right there in Makkah shortly after its inception.
The truly desirable revolution is that which permits gradual and beneficial changes.
A study of the Quran and Seerah (life of the Prophet) tells us that the actual goal of Islam has been, from beginning to end, to change people’s hearts. But in accordance with the creation plan, everyone has been given total freedom. It was as a result of this freedom that certain people turned against the Prophet of Islam; some even went to the extent of taking up arms in order to put an end to his mission by force. It was in situations such as these that the Prophet and his companions had to temporarily resort to arms, in self-defence. In this context, it would be correct to say that peace in Islam is the rule rather than the exception.
The Prophet Muhammad lived for 23 years after attaining prophet-hood. During these 23 years, the Quran was revealed at intervals and according to the circumstances. If this period is divided up under the headings of war and peace, we will find that one part of the Quran, covering a span of twenty years, relates to peaceful teachings on the subjects of faith, worship, ethics, justice, humanity, etc., whereas the verses relating to war were revealed during a period of only three years, when the believers were faced with armed aggression.
There are 114 chapters in the Quran, containing about 6500 verses. There are hardly 40 verses which relate directly or indirectly to war. This means that the verses dealing with war represent barely 0.6 per cent of the entire text.
This kind of difference can be found in the constitutions of every country as well as in all religious books. For instance, while the Bible enshrines many teachings on the subject of peace, it also includes this saying of Jesus Christ:
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Similarly, while the Bhagavad Gita holds forth at length on wisdom and ethics, it also contains passages where Krishna insists that Arjuna should go ahead and fight. It is obvious that these injunctions in the Bible and the Gita are intended to cover only exceptional cases.
One important aspect of Islam as regards its peace-loving policy is that it differentiates between the enemy and the aggressor. According to the teachings of lslam, if a group unilaterally attacks, thus opening hostilities, war can, as a matter of necessity, be waged in self-defence. The Quran states:
Permission to fight is given to those who are attacked.
(THE QURAN 22: 39)
But so far as engaging in combat with the enemy is concerned, the Quran does not allow military action just on account of enmity. There is a verse in the Quran which gives clear guidance in this regard:
And good and evil are not alike. Requite evil with what is best.
Then truly he between whom and you there was enmity,
will become your dearest friend.”
(THE QURAN 41 :34)
This verse teaches us not to regard our enemies as objects of everlasting hostility, for a potential friend could be hiding in the guise of an enemy. Discover this friend and turn the potential into the actual. Then you will have no cause for complaint.
It is clear that there are two ways of settling an issue — one violent and one peaceful. When we compare the two, we find that in any controversial matter, opting for violence is the harder course while opting for non-violence is the easier one. The general rule in Islam is that whenever there is any controversy, we have to choose to tread the path of peace rather than that of violence. In present times, when freedom has been accepted as an irrevocable right of man, peaceful methods should invariably be adopted.
It would be appropriate to add here that, during the life of the Prophet, if certain wars of a limited duration took place; such engagement only reflected the conditions of those times. The wars that took place in the first half of the seventh century are explainable in terms of it being an age of religious coercion and religious persecution. The atmosphere of religious tolerance that prevails today was not to be found in those times, so that the opponents of monotheism, by initiating hostilities, forced the Prophet to fight. Today, religious tolerance has become an established right of every individual and every group. That is why the question of going to war to secure religious rights should never arise.
No enemy is everlastingly hostile. For in every enemy there lies a potential friend.
Constructive Islamic activities are possible only in a peaceful and normal atmosphere. The importance of peace in Islam is, therefore, so great that we are commanded to ensure peace by bearing with all kinds of unpleasant situations. Even when countering persecution by opponents, the ways of peace and avoidance must be adopted, and peace must at all costs be unilaterally maintained: that is an important principle of Islam. There is only one exception to this rule, and that is in the case of physical aggression by opponents.
The Prophet of Islam began his prophetic mission in ancient Makkah, where he lived for a period of thirteen years after receiving his prophethood. During this period, his opponents repeatedly indulged in acts of persecution and violence. But the Prophet of Islam and his companions unilaterally tolerated all such acts of gross injustice. The emigration from Makkah to Medina was also a form of tolerance and avoidance, resorted to by the Prophet in order to avoid clashing with his opponents.
One example of this avoidance of armed confrontation is that of the signing of the Hudaibiya peace treaty. When a pitched battle seemed imminent between the Prophet of Islam and his opponents, the Prophet successfully defused the situation by the initiation of peace negotiations, which continued for two weeks. During these negotiations, which took place at Hudaibiya near Makkah, the Prophet of Islam found the other party clinging obstinately to its demands. Therefore, the Prophet unilaterally accepted all the conditions of the enemy in order to arrive at a peaceful conclusion.
The purpose of this pact was to end tensions between the two parties and to maintain a normal atmosphere in order that the work of peaceful reconstruction might be performed — the actual goal of the mission of Islam. Immediately after the conclusion of the Hudaibiya peace treaty, the atmosphere did return to normal and all the constructive activities of Islam were resumed in full force.
The present world is so structured that conflicts inevitably occur between individuals. On such occasions, Islam tells us not to allow the conflict to escalate to the point of a violent confrontation. This is a policy of patience and avoidance. As a permanent principle, the Quran says:
Reconciliation is best.
(THE QURAN 4: 128)
That is, at the time of mutual conflict reconciliation should be resorted to in order to end the conflict. This is for the simple reason that, by adopting the path of conciliation, we can find opportunities to prevent our energy from being wasted in confrontational actions and to devote all this energy to constructive activities. It is this advantage of a conciliatory course which the Prophet of Islam recommended to his followers thus: “You should not desire confrontation with the enemy; you should ask God for peace.” There is a verse in the Quran that says:
Whenever they kindle the fire of war, God puts it out.
(THE QURAN 5: 64)
It was in this spirit of Islam that when the Prophet came into power in Medina he did not start waging war in order to force people to surrender to him. Instead, he negotiated with tribes all over Arabia and ultimately brought about unity among them with a series of peace treaties. If we make an in-depth study of the teachings of Islam we find that Islam wants to root out all those factors which lead to war. Why is war waged? There are two main causes. One, an attempt to annihilate the enemy. Second, to attain political power. There is no justification for war in Islam, to achieve either of these goals. With regard to the enemy, Islam teaches us to try to eliminate enmity — not the enemy.
The importance of peace in Islam is so great that we are commanded to ensure peace by bearing with all kinds of unpleasant situations.
According to the Quran, no enemy is everlastingly hostile. For in every enemy there lies a potential friend. Therefore, what the believer ought to do is to reach out through unilateral good behaviour to the man hidden within. By requiting good for evil, he should convert this enemy into a friend.
The Prophet of Islam was born in Makkah in 570 A.D and he attained prophethood in 610 A.D. During his 23-year period as a Prophet of God, he spent the first 13 years in Makkah and the last 10 years in Medina. Some verses of the Quran were revealed in Makkah and some verses were revealed in Medina. Now, what were his activities during this prophetic period?
He taught people by reciting verses of the Quran which said: ‘Read in the name of your Lord…’ and other such verses which were peaceful teachings, being non-militant in nature and ethical in value. He taught people how to pray, and to practice patience and tolerance even in the face of oppression and thus avoid conflict. He was a role model in that he showed that it was possible for a human being to work for the wellbeing of others without any ill-feeling, in spite of highly provocative circumstances.
All the tasks performed by the Prophet throughout his life were marked by the greatness which comes from always choosing a non-violent course of action. Setting this kind of example formed the greater part of the Prophet’s actual mission.