The advent of the Prophet was an expression of God’s mercy for the whole of humankind. Through him, God informed us about the principles on the basis of which human beings can come to inhabit what the Quran (10: 25) refers to as dar us-salam or ‘the Home of Peace’, an abode of peace and security for its inhabitants. Through the Prophet, God conveyed to us teachings that can make for a peaceful society. The Prophet presented humankind with a complete ideology of peace. He provided us with a formula that can enable us to abstain from hatred and violence and lead a healthy life. He ushered in a revolution that made it possible for humanity to avoid confrontation and war and nurture a peaceful society.

Because of certain compelling circumstances, the Prophet had to fight some battles, but these were so minor that they can be more appropriately called skirmishes, rather than wars. The great revolution that the Prophet wrought can, therefore, definitely be termed as a bloodless revolution.

The Prophet gave peace the status of a complete and comprehensive way of life. He taught us that violence leads to destruction, while peace leads to construction. He termed patience as the highest form of worship, which means remaining fully established on the way of peace. He termed strife, the disrupting of the peaceful system of Nature, as the biggest crime. He gave complete importance to peace in accordance with the Quranic teaching that equated the killing of a single individual with the slaying of the whole of mankind.