Islam: a religion of peace and justice

Islam is a religion of peace in the fullest sense of the word. The Quran
calls its way "…The ways of peace…" [Quran: 5:16] It describes reconciliation as
the best policy [Quran: 4:128], and states that God abhors any disturbance of
peace [Quran: 2:205]

The root word of Islam is 'Silm', which means peace.
So the spirit of Islam is the spirit of peace. The first verse of the Quran
breathes the spirit of peace; it reads: "In the name
of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate."

This verse is repeated in the Quran no less than 114 times. It
shows the great importance Islam attaches to such values as Mercy and
Compassion. One of God's names, according to the Quran, is As-Salaam, which
means Peace. Moreover, the Quran states that the Prophet Muhammad was sent to
the world as a mercy to mankind. [Quran: 21:107]

A perusal of the
Quran shows that most verses of the Quran (and also the Hadeeth) are based on
peace and kindness, either directly or indirectly. The ideal society, according
to the Quran is Dar As-Salaam, that is, the house of peace [Quran:
10:25]

The Quran presents the universe as a model, which is characterised
by harmony and peace [Quran: 36:40] When God created heaven and earth, He so
ordered things that each part might perform its function peacefully without
clashing with any other. The Quran tells us that "It is not allowable [i.e.,
possible] for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night overtake the day,
but each, in an orbit, is swimming." [Quran: 36:40] For billions of years,
therefore, the entire universe has been fulfilling its function in total harmony
with His divine plan.

According to Islam, peace is not simply an absence
of war. Peace opens doors to all kinds of opportunities which are present in any
given situation. It is only in a peaceful situation that planned activities are
possible. It is for this reason that the Quran says: "…And settlement is best…"
[Quran: 4:128] Similarly, Prophet Muhammad has observed: "God grants to
gentleness (Rifq) what He does not grant to violence ('Unf). [Abu
Daawood]

According to Islam, peace is the rule and war is only an
exception. Even in defensive war we have to analyse its result; if the result is
doubtful, Muslims should avoid war. Stray acts of aggression are not enough for
Muslims to rush into war. They have to assess the whole situation and adopt a
policy of avoidance when war is not certain to achieve a positive
result.

In actual fact, the mission of all the Prophets from Aadam (Adam)
to 'Eesaa (Jesus), may Allaah exalt their mention, was one and the same - of
establishing the ideology of monotheism in the world, so that man might worship
the One God alone. As we know, there came a large number of Prophets in ancient
times but the message of monotheism remained at the initial stage; it could not
culminate in revolution.

In ancient times, the system of monarchy was
entrenched throughout the world. The kings, in order to secure their political
interests, adopted the course of religious persecution. These kings suppressed
all religious movements that were different from the state religion. They would
nip all 'apostasy' in the bud since they saw religion as a matter of affirming
one's loyalty to the state. If a person adhered to a religion other than the
state religion, he was regarded as a rebel.

That is why in ancient times,
prophetic movements could go no further than the state of Da'wah, or invitation
to Islam. No sooner would a movement based on monotheism arise than the coercive
political system would be activated to pull it out by its roots. The reason for
the absence of any historical record of Prophets (besides the Prophet Muhammad )
in antiquity is traceable to the intense opposition of these coercive political
systems.

All the Prophets of ancient times, historically speaking, were
like mythical beings, rather than real human beings accepted as historical
figures. Prophet 'Eesaa (Jesus) was the last link in the chain of these
persecutions faced by the preachers of monotheism. Then God decreed the
abolition of this coercive political system, even if it entailed the use of
force in order that the age of religious persecution might be brought to an end
forever, and replaced by the age of religious freedom. This Divine plan was
brought to completion through the Prophet Muhammad and his companions all. This
is the command given in the Quran: "Fight them until there be no fitnah [i.e.,
persecution] and [until] the religion [i.e., worship], all of it, is for
Allaah…" [Quran: 8:39]

Therefore, Prophet Muhammad received special
divine succour in the form of a powerful team consisting of one hundred thousand
individuals. Equipped with this team, the Prophet waged war to end this coercive
system of religious persecution, and it was in Arabia that it was first of all
overthrown. Then within a very short span of time, they advanced to abolish the
coercive system established by the Sassanid and Byzantine empires.

In
the wake of this Islamic action, the coercive system was abolished forever in
the major part of the inhabited world of the time. This war waged by Prophet
Muhammad and his companions was not a war as is commonly understood, but rather
a divine operation, which was carried out by people who possessed a high
standard of moral character.

However, this operation was certainly only
temporary in nature. Its goal was to put an end to the age of religious
persecution and usher in the age of religious freedom. This end was fully
achieved during the early period of Islam, the age of the pious Caliphs.
Afterwards the time came to keep the sword in its sheath and engage in Da'wah
work, that is, the call to God, which was the real and permanent goal of Islam.

It is no exaggeration to say that Islam and violence are contradictory
to each other. The concept of Islamic violence is so obviously unfounded that,
prima facie it stands rejected. The fact that violence is not sustainable in the
present world is enough to convince one that violence, as a principle, is quite
alien to the scheme of things in Islam. Islam claims to be an eternal religion
and such a religion cannot afford a principle in its scheme which will not be
sustainable in later periods of human history. An attempt to bracket violence
with Islam amounts to casting doubts upon the very eternity of the Islamic
religion.

No wonder then that the Prophet Muhammad so earnestly used to
entreat his Lord in his daily prayer: "O God, you are the original source of
Peace; from You is all Peace, and to You returns all Peace. So, make us live
with Peace; and let us enter paradise: the House of Peace. Blessed be You, our
Lord, to whom belongs all Majesty and Honour!"

Summarised from: "The Man
Islam Builds", by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

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