In every religion including Islam, God is described as a Being Who is the source of peace. In the Quran, we find a number of names for God which are descriptive of the divine attributes. One of these is As-Salam (59: 23), meaning Peace.
This name for God which specifically denotes peace occurs only once in the Quran. But there are many other names that indirectly connote peace. For instance, the words Rahim (Most Merciful) and Rahman (Most Compassionate) occur more than two hundred times in the Quran.
As represented in the Quran, God is All Peace. He is peace in His very being and He desires that His servants live peacefully in this world. They should have peace in their hearts and extend that feeling to everyone. That is why one of the teachings of Islam is that when Muslims meet one another, they should greet each other by saying “As Salam u Alaikum,” May peace be upon you.
Besides the Quran, the books of Hadith contain many sayings which tell us of the importance of peace in Islam. For instance, the Prophet of Islam said, ‘Peace is from Islam’. On another occasion, the Prophet of Islam observed, ‘God is peace’. We also learn from traditions that the wording of the conclusion of the Prophet’s prayer included the eulogy: ‘O God, You are Peace and Peace is from You.’
A tradition in Sahih al Bukhari is related by a companion, Ammar ibn Yasir “There are three actions, the performance of which is equal to possessing the whole faith. These are doing justice, doing one’s utmost for the peace and well-being of the world, and spending on others in spite of a lack of means.”
This part of the Hadith, exhorting one to do one’s utmost to bring about peace in the world, is extremely important. This shows the real Islamic spirit—a kind of special awareness that Islam wants to inculcate in human beings—that of becoming a peaceful member of society and doing the very best to bring peace to the world.
The truth is that the maintenance of peace is the most important of God’s laws. It is on the basis of this law that the entire universe is able to function. If its various elements did not follow this law, the whole universe — its systems thrown into disarray — would simply collapse.
The greatest success of the human being in this world lies in his intellectual development, in his spiritual advancement, in the production of the divine soul — the ultimate goal of man. And the struggle towards this goal can be carried on only in an atmosphere pervaded by universal peace. Without peaceful conditions, it is impossible to achieve any worthwhile goal.
The many communities living in different parts of the world are dissimilar in a variety of ways. But in one characteristic way, they are alike: they all want to set out on the journey of progress. But this can be undertaken only in peaceful circumstances. It is vital, therefore, to give the topmost priority to the establishment of peace at the international level.
