THE CULTURE OF PEACE
Teachings of Islam
WHAT is Peace? Some scholars define peace as the absence of war. This definition is, from the dictionary or literal point of view, correct. If a society is free from violence and war, the situation that prevails may be termed as ‘peace’. Whenever there is no war or violence between individuals or groups, a state of peace begins to emerge on its own.
However, for peace to be established in any society, it is not enough that it has succeeded in ending violence or war. To define peace as the absence of violence or war is a limited definition of peace. A better way of defining peace is on the basis of the positive attributes that characterise peace. Accordingly, a society can be said to enjoy peace if positive and constructive thought and activity flourish among its members.
The establishment of peace in a society can be likened to the lifting of the gates of a dam, leading to a river being filled with plenty of water. Life is like a flowing river that seeks to surge ahead, driven by its own inner force. It stops its journey only when some artificial barrier is placed in its path. In the absence of such a barrier, life flourishes in all its dimensions, impelled by Nature.
A society can be said to enjoy peace if positive and constructive thought and activity flourish among its members.
Violence and war are barriers that seek to block the natural flow of life. In contrast, peace opens up all the barriers that seek to impede life’s onward journey.
We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. The fact is that peace is deeply linked with the whole of human life. Peace is a complete ideology in itself. It is the master-key that opens the doors to every sort of success. Peace creates a favourable atmosphere for success in every sort of endeavour. Without peace, no positive action — small or big — is at all possible.
Peace is the Religion of the Universe
The Quran tells us:
The sun cannot overtake the moon, nor can the night
outpace the day; each floats in [its own] orbit.
THE QURAN 36: 40
Referring to an astronomical phenomenon, this Quranic verse tells us about the principle on which the system of the entire universe is based. And this is the principle of peace. There are innumerable entities in the cosmos, and all of them are in constant motion. Yet, they do not clash with each other. Every entity in the cosmos carries on doing its own work in its own orbit. None interferes in the sphere of the others. This is why they never clash with each other.
This ‘culture of peace’ is also what human beings should imbibe. They should base their lives on precisely the same universal principle that conforms to the rest of the cosmos. This means they must abandon the path of violence and confrontation and tread the path of peace.
The highest attribute of the God who has sent the Quran is mercy, and this book is an expression of His mercy.
The culture of the cosmos is a ‘culture of peace’. It is because of this peace that the cosmos has been functioning for millions of years and yet has not witnessed any confrontation that has impaired its functioning. If a ‘culture of violence’ had pervaded the cosmos, by now it would have been devastated, and there would have been no possibility for human life to exist.
The same Creator who made the rest of the cosmos has created us human beings, too. The Creator wants that human beings should adopt the very same ‘peace culture’ that He has established throughout the rest of the vast cosmos. The only difference is that this ‘peace culture’ prevails in the rest of the cosmos on the basis of Nature, while humans are independent creatures and have free will. And so, God wishes that they should freely decide to adopt this ‘peace culture’ in their lives.
The Quran, a Book of Peace
The Quran is, without doubt, a book of peace. It is not a book of violence and war. All the statements of the Quran are, directly or indirectly, related to peace. The very first phrase in the Quran is: Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, which means, ‘In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.’ In other words, the highest attribute of the God who has sent this book is mercy, and this book is an expression of this attribute of His mercy.
All the verses of the Quran are, directly or indirectly, based on peace. There are 6,666 verses in the Quran. Of these, hardly 40 are about commandments of qital or war — in other words, less than 1 per cent. In fact, they amount to just around 0.6 per cent of the total number of verses.
The culture of the cosmos is a ‘culture of peace’.
Those who regard the Quran as God’s Book can be considered to be momins or true believers only when, abiding by the teachings of the Quran, they become fully and completely peace-loving. Under no conditions whatsoever should they take to the path of violence.
In this regard, one needs to stress the need for people to distinguish between Islam, on one hand, and Muslims, on the other. They must not label the actions or behaviour of Muslims as ‘Islamic’. The fact is that the behaviour of Muslims must be judged on the basis of Islam; and not Islam sought to be understood on the basis of Muslim behaviour. Islam is an ideology. A person can be truly considered to be a Muslim only if he follows the teachings of Islam. Those who do not follow Islam’s teachings do not have anything to do with Islam, even if they claim to be its champions.
Peace versus Violence
Peace is a well-planned effort or action, while violence is a passiondriven,
aggressive action. A peace-loving person thinks first and then
acts. On the contrary, a violence-loving person first acts and then
thinks, if at all. Peaceful action is based on hope, in the beginning as
well as at the end, while violent action is based on false hopes in the
beginning and frustration in the end.
A peace-loving person is established in truth. A violence-loving person is established in falsehood. Peace and positive constructive work go hand-in-hand, while violence is wholly destructive. Peace ends in success, and violence in utter failure. Peaceful action abides by the law, while violent action is lawlessness.
A peace-loving person overlooks problems and uses the opportunities available, while a violence-loving person ignores the opportunities available and gets entangled in a useless battle against problems. The path of peace cultivates a garden bursting with flowers, while the path of violence creates a thorny jungle of hatred and enmity.
In peace, one fulfils the obligations one owes to God as well as those one owes to God’s creatures, including other human beings. Violence, on the other hand, is a violation of the ‘rights of God’ as well as the rights of people. If peace is heaven, then violence, in comparison, is sheer hell. Choosing peace is making the right choice. On the other hand, if one chooses war, it proves that he has failed in the test of making a choice.
The behaviour of Muslims must be judged on the basis of Islam; and not Islam sought to be understood on the basis of Muslim behaviour.
In this world, there are many things that are not desirable, but they exist for the purpose of testing us — for instance, alcohol. Alcohol exists not so that people should drink it, but, rather, so that they should avoid it and thereby prove that they can distinguish between good and bad. The same thing holds for war, too. War is something that can be resorted to, but the right thing for human beings to do is to desist from it.
In the ancient past, considering the then prevailing conditions, permission was given for defensive war. This permission was in accordance with the law of necessity. But now, in the changed conditions of today, this necessity no longer exists. And that is why there is now no need at all for war.
Reconciliation is Best
The Quran (4: 128) describes a particular natural law in the following
words: ‘Reconciliation is best’ (as-sulh khair). The word sulh means
reconciliation. In the event of a conflict between two parties, they can
engage in violent confrontation. But there is another method they can
choose: to immediately come to an agreement and end their conflict.
This is what reconciliation is about.
It is very rare for this sort of reconciliation to be equally in accordance with the desires of both parties. In most cases, this reconciliation happens on a unilateral basis. That is to say, one of the two parties sets aside its desires and agrees to settle the dispute according to the desires of the other party.
Why is this sort of unilateral reconciliation termed as ‘best’? The reason for this is because a situation of conflict puts a halt to constructive activity. The benefit of agreeing to reconciliation is that one is thereby spared the need to waste one’s time, strength and resources on useless confrontation and one can focus on constructive efforts instead. A course of action that is opposed to reconciliation is always and inevitably a course of destruction. The method of reconciliation is always, and in every case, a beneficial one.
Those who do not follow Islam’s teachings do not have anything to do with Islam, even if they claim to be its champions.
History is witness to the fact that whenever people have attained any kind of success following conflict, it has only been after adopting the method of reconciliation. Not a single person has ever achieved any real success through confrontation and fighting. The importance of reconciliation lies in the fact that it provides an opportunity to fully exercise one’s right to use the available opportunities. On the other hand, the path of confrontation leads one to waste one’s energies in trying to destroy others; as a result of which, one can engage in no constructive work whatsoever. The secret of success lies in stabilising and building up oneself, and definitely not in the destruction of imaginary enemies.
No to ‘Corruption in the Land’
The Quran describes a certain form of behaviour in the following words:
When they are told, ‘Do not cause corruption in the land,’
they say, ‘We are only promoters of peace,’ […]
THE QURAN 2: 11
This Quranic verse refers to people who, on the face of it, are engaged in some reformist efforts but whose method is not proper. Their method is such that, in actual practice, it causes fasad, or ‘corruption’ in the land. Here, ‘corruption in the land’ means that as a result of their method, people start clashing with each other. Their method leads to stirring up hatred between people, weakening their moral sensibilities and engendering negative thinking. All these are forms of fasad fil ardh or ‘corruption in the land’ which this Quranic verse talks about, because they destroy social peace, leading to violence and confrontation.
All activities undertaken in the name of reform that disturb social peace and cause loss of life and property are wrong.
From this Quranic teaching we learn that for an action to be considered proper, it is not enough that it appears to have started for a good cause. In addition to this, it is necessary to keep in mind the sort of results activities undertaken in the name of reform produce. If these activities give birth to hatred, tension, violence and so on and so forth amongst people, then, despite claiming to be reformist activities they are definitely not so. Rather, they are destructive activities, leading to fasad or ‘corruption’ in the land. Those who engage in such activities should be considered criminals and enemies of humanity, and certainly not reformers or servants of humanity.
An action can be considered a genuine reformist effort only if it is carried out within the limits of peace and humaneness. All activities undertaken in the name of reform that disturb social peace and cause loss of life and property are wrong. Efforts in the name of reform must also necessarily bring about true reform in terms of their results. If, instead, they result in what the Quran refers to as fasad or ‘corruption’ in the land, then they are actually themselves a form of fasad, irrespective of the beautiful words used to describe them.
Ending Conspiracies
The Quran tells us:
If you persevere and fear God, their designs will
never harm you in the least.
THE QURAN 3: 120
This Quranic verse indicates a very important fact of life. The real issue for individuals or groups is not whether they might have enemies who are conspiring against them. Rather, it is whether or not they have sufficient sabr or patience and have adopted the necessary precautionary measures to cause any conspiracies against them to fail. If conspiracies can be likened to the rain, patience and God consciousness are like a strong roof. Rain is a problem only for those who have not bothered to make a firm roof over their heads.
Restrain yourselves from committing excesses (ghulu) in religion.
The world runs on the principle of competition. And that is why it is but natural that sometimes rivalries will develop between individuals and groups, which may later assume the form of conspiracies against each other. Whenever something like this happens, one should consider it not as an enemy’s conspiracy but, rather, as an expression of a basic law of Nature. To think of a conspiracy as an action of an enemy takes one towards violence. In contrast, if one takes it to be a result of a basic law of Nature, one will nurture a way of thinking that will lead one to take wise measures to avoid falling prey to such conspiracies — just as a wise man does not protest against the rain; but rather, builds a roof over his house to save himself from getting wet.
No To Extremism
The Quran tells us:
Do not go to extremes in your religion.
THE QURAN 4: 171
The same point is made in a Hadith report, according to which the Prophet declared:
‘You should restrain yourselves from committing excesses (ghulu) in religion. For it was due to their having gone to extremes in religion that the previous communities were destroyed.’
This Hadith is recorded in the collections by Al-Nasai and Ibn Majah, and in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad.
The same point is made in a Hadith report, according to which the The word ghulu means extremism. Ghulu or extremism in every matter is wrong. It is the very antithesis of the essential spirit of religion. Ghulu can easily escalate into violence and confrontation. Those who have fallen prey to the psychological malady of ghulu refuse to accept moderation. They scorn peace and moderation, thinking them to be inferior, and that is why they are very easily attracted to violence. In the name of attaining some lofty objective, they unleash deadly violence. The opposite of ghulu or extremism is moderation. If you are moderate in your thinking, you will think in terms of peace. All your efforts will be through peaceful means. Moderation and peace are very closely interlinked. Where there is moderation, there will be peace. Likewise, where there is peace, there will be moderation.
In contrast, the ghulu-psyche always drags one towards extremism. And extremism very easily turns into violence and confrontation. Ghulu and violence are thus very closely linked. This is why ghulu in religion is looked at with great disfavour in Islam. Inclination towards ghulu is another name for addiction to violence. And abstaining from ghulu is another name for cherishing moderation.
.....to be continued.
It is a fact that intellectual discovery is the most thrilling experience.
A discovery made by Archimedes while he was bathing gave
him such a thrill that he leapt out of his bath,
shouting: Eureka! Eureka!
And such a thrill is great food
for the intellect.
This process staves off intellectual starvation,
thus making the discoverer permanently
alive and young.