The Times of India

I was once told by a successful businessman that he lived in an area adjacent to a locality inhabited by people of another community and was very concerned about protecting himself and his family from these people if they attacked him. And so, he bought every member of his family a licensed gun. "Now I think my family and I are safe,” he said. ‘I have no fear of riots now.’

I replied to him, saying, ‘You may know the principles of business, but you are unaware of the principles of social existence. You cannot protect yourself with a gun or revolver. The way to protect yourself in society is to become a good neighbour to the people around you. Let your neighbours be safe in your presence. And then, inevitably, you will find that you will also be safe living among them. If you hate them, you will only receive hate from them in return. If you are genuinely concerned about their well-being, you will, in turn, receive the gift of love and concern from them.’

I went on, ‘Suppose a crowd of people from another community gathers outside your house, and you stand on your balcony and start shooting at them with your gun. Do you really think that matters will end there? Not at all! You should know that firing on people is a cognizable offence. And so, if you fire on them, the police will immediately arrive, and of course you can’t fight with the police!’

‘You should also know,’ I added, ‘that there is a fundamental difference between your having a gun and the police having guns. Despite having a gun, you do not have the legal right to use it to shoot anyone. But the police do have this right. Fighting with another community may seem like two equal parties fighting each other, but it is an entirely different thing if you fight with the police. In the event of such a confrontation, the two parties in the confrontation would be completely unequal. In such a situation, for you to use your gun would, in terms of results, be like inviting an angry bull to attack you. Obviously, then, this sort of step is no protection at all. Rather, from the point of view of its results, it will only cause your devastation.’

Source: Islam and World Peace