Going Against the Sunnah (Way)
of the Prophet
After 1947 Kashmir was the scene of a turbulent struggle. Initially, this took the form of peaceful gatherings and peaceful demonstration, but when these efforts yielded no result, the Kashmiris turned to violence. In October 1989, they gave up peaceful methods in favour of violent methods. Now the gun and bomb culture became the order of the day.
Just a few months before the Kashmir movement took this new turn, I had gone to Srinagar, where I made a speech in the Tagore Hall on June 29, 1989. (The audio cassette of this speech is still available.)
In the course of this speech, I mentioned an incident relating to the Prophet of Islam in which an Arab Bedouin once came to the Prophet’s mosque and defiled it by urinating inside it. The Prophet’s Companions wanted to punish him but the Prophet forbade them to do so and told them just to clean the spot with water (Sahih Al- Bukhari, Hadith No. 5679).
This behaviour of the Prophet of Islam so impressed the Bedouin that he went to his tribesmen and narrated the whole story. The people were so impressed with this that shortly thereafter the whole tribe entered the fold of Islam. After narrating this incident to them, I pointed out that this was the method of the Prophet and that where the Prophet had achieved his objective by simply pouring water, they, on the contrary, wanted to achieve their objective by shedding blood. I told them that in that way they could never succeed in this world made by God.
Subsequent events have shown that the words that I spoke in Kashmir on June 29, 1989, by the grace of God, became a reality in Kashmir. The armed struggle of the Kashmiris only added to their loss: no positive gain was achieved. Now the crucial moment has come for Kashmiri Muslims to take a U-turn and, to achieve their target, engage in a peaceful dawah struggle instead of violent communal strife.
History is waiting
In Chapter 10 of the Quran, God calls mankind to the “home of peace”. (10:25) Similarly, chapter three of the Quran has this to say:
Do they seek a religion other than the religion of God, when everything in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly or unwillingly? To Him, they shall all return. (3:83)
This means that God’s desired religion is the religion of peace. The whole universe is a universe of peace. Similarly, the culture of peace prevails throughout the animal and vegetable world. It is desirable that this culture of peace be adopted likewise by man. Indeed, the objective of Islam is that human beings should adhere to this peace culture, for a full range of positive activities can blossom only in a peaceful society.
In this age of modern communications, Muslims all over the world have been engaging in an armed struggle in the name of jihad. As a result of the coverage of these negative activities by the global media, Islam has come to be regarded as a religion of violence throughout the world.
This is an extremely serious situation. The greatest need of the hour is to change this negative image of Islam. And it is the global media which should be used to project the correct image. That is, a true picture of Islam should be presented so that Islam may be seen by the people as a religion of peace instead of as a religion of violence.
Now the time has come for a group of Muslims to make an effort towards this end, so that God’s religion may be universally accepted as a religion of peace and mercy, instead of as a religion of hatred and violence. In present times this great divine mission has yet to be taken up by any group. Any Muslim group who undertakes this task will receive God’s blessing and will undoubtedly be held deserving of His greatest reward in this world as well as in the next. This great task can be effectively performed only by Muslims who belong to a place which is already in the eye of the world media. In present times there are several Muslim majority areas which are so located. But events have shown that there is only one Muslim-majority area which can be truly successful in making this a reality. My estimate of the situation is that this area is that of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. For various reasons, this region is already in the world news. But, so far, it features in the world media as representing violent Islam. Now it is for the people of Kashmir to realize how advantageous their position is, and make use of it along positive lines, for the image building of Islam.
This great blessing can be achieved by the people of Kashmir only when they throw their weapons into the river and announce to the world loud and clear – that they have abandoned the culture of violence, and that they have opted for a peaceful course of action as a well-considered initiative – something which is entirely in consonance with the method of the true Islam. This decision on the part of the people of Kashmir will immediately become breaking news for the world media. This is potentially a great source of credit which awaits any group who may be held deserving of it. And undoubtedly the people of Kashmir can earn great credit by performing this great task.
In the situation that prevailed after the death of the Prophet (632 AD) the image of Islam became different from what it had been during the time of the Prophet of Islam. At that time, Abu Bakr Siddiq, the first rightly guided Caliph of Islam, rose to the occasion and asked: “Will people make holes in the religion and I am still alive?” (Hadith No. 3031). Then God’s succour came in full force and a situation that had deteriorated was normalized. Now the time has come for the people of Kashmir to rise and say – we cannot tolerate Islam being regarded as a religion of violence. We will make every effort to tell the world that Islam is a religion of peace and mercy. The day the Kashmiri people are united in their resolve upon this, God’s succour will be showered upon them and Islam will regain its place as a religion of peace at an international level.
The Kashmir Explosion
The Prophet of Islam emigrated from Makkah to Madinah in 622 AD. Before this emigration, he said to his companions: “I have been commanded to migrate to a town which will lead all towns. It is known as Yasrib, that is, Madinah (Sahih Al Bukhari, Hadith no. 1748).
In other words, it was destined by God for Madinah to become a flash point for the divine call. This did become a reality. After the Prophet’s emigration to Madinah, Islam, the religion of monotheism, very soon became a global religion.
In present times, the image of Islam has become one of violence. This negative image spread all over the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. Now the time has finally come in the 21st century for the peaceful image of Islam to be brought before the world. In the age of the media, “breaking news” is required for this purpose. It is only a piece of superlative “breaking news” which can once again turn the spotlight on Islam as a peaceful religion in the eyes of the world in the 21st century.
If we give this matter serious thought, we shall come to the conclusion that Kashmir is the only place which can be the point from which this “breaking news” can emanate.
The last two decades saw in Kashmir a violent movement in the name of Islam. However, there is a positive aspect to this, because of which Kashmir has come to the fore in the world news in this age of the media.
Now, if the call of the peaceful Islam is raised in Kashmir, within no time, Kashmir will again become a serious issue in world news. Kashmir will become the point from which Islam will be introduced to the world as a religion not of violence, but of peace. Circumstances tell us that this is what is destined for Kashmir. Today, Islam is in urgent need of a peaceful explosion. This is without doubt an event which history has awaited far more than any other event.
The Importance of Peace
Chapter four of the Quran states: “Reconciliation is the best.” (4:128) What is reconciliation? It is another name for the peaceful resolution of a potentially inflammatory situation: where there is reconciliation, there is peace. Where there is no reconciliation, there is no peace. This being , it would be quite correct to say that peace enjoys the position of the summum bonum in Islam.
Generally, people hold justice to be greater than anything else. Justice is indeed an ideal. But the real question is how to achieve this ideal in our practical life. There is only one answer to this and that is through peace. The advantage of peace is that it opens up opportunities. One does not, however, receive justice automatically. Any given group will receive justice only when it recognizes opportunities and avails of them wisely.
In present times, there are many such places where people are fighting for justice, but they have failed to find it. The sole reason is the choice of a wrong method of achieving it. It is a fact that in this world it is method to which the greatest of importance is attached. Even a right goal cannot be achieved by a wrong method. There is no exception to this principle, be it the people of Kashmir or any others who are concerned. Any group which desires justice should first of all make efforts to establish peace. The importance of peace is so great that it has to be established, whatever the cost. Peace is seldom established on a bilateral basis. It is almost always established on a unilateral basis. And it is the latter which is the best method of approach.
The system of nature is based on opportunities of which, as a rule, there is an abundance. But the environment of hatred and violence acts as a nullifying factor for these natural opportunities. It is the demand of nature that man should first of all rid the situation of all hatred and violence. The moment this is done, one will see the emergence of innumerable opportunities, both secular and religious. The optimal secular use of opportunities would be for people to engage in such constructive fields as education and economic uplift and, in so doing, achieve all kinds of progress. The best religious use of opportunities would be for the believers to engage in dawah work. And by involving themselves actively in the dawah mission, they would be held deserving of God’s highest blessings. In this matter the people of Kashmir enjoy a special position. They are blessed with a great opportunity to establish peace in their State, communicate God’s message to people and be held deserving of God’s great blessings.
The Future of Kashmir
After the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, Jammu and Kashmir became a problem State. The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1984) describes this as an accident of history (9:32). But the truth is that what happened in the State of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 was not an accident of history in the simple sense. It was rather the verdict of God. It would appear that there was great divine planning behind this ‘accident of history’. That is, the State of Jammu and Kashmir is now in a position to demonstrate to the world, in the 21st century, that Islam is a religion not of violence, but of peace, in the full sense.
History shows that problems always play a positive role in human life. Without problems, human life becomes a victim of stagnation, for problems make people creative. They encourage fresh thinking and, as such, are always the harbinger of a better future. Indeed problems are blessings in disguise. In actuality the problems faced by the people of Kashmir were exactly that. The truth of this is now becoming evident.
Events have shown that the problems faced by the people of Kashmir have produced a willingness to make re-assessments. The Kashmiris have started on their new journey from violence to peace. They have left negativism behind, having come to understand the importance of positive thinking. In the light of past experiences, they have abandoned utopian politics and begun their journey anew along a realistic and constructive path. They have left off futile activities, having discovered the secret of result-oriented conduct. Their recognition of positive values without doubt guarantees a bright future for Kashmir.
The Power of Peace is Greater
A few years age I met a well-educated Muslim, who had lived in Afghanistan for some years, and had a good working knowledge of the local language. He told me that he had once asked some Afghani extremists why they engaged in suicide bombing. They replied that they did not have the weapons to retaliate against the weapons used by their enemies, and so were compelled to opt for suicide bombing. The Muslim gentleman replied that the case was just the contrary. In fact the enemy had no alternative to the weapons they had. Then he went on to explain that they were using the power of violence, whereas according to Islam, the power of peace was greater. The Prophet of Islam once observed: “God grants to peace what He does not grant to violence.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2593) A political example of this is found in the early history of Islam. The battle of Uhud took place in 3 A.H. in which the Muslims were defeated. The Prophet then drew up a peace treaty with the opponents in 6 AH. This was adopting peaceful activism rather than violent activism. The result, in the words of the Quran, was ‘a clear victory’. (48:1) This is an example of the superiority of the peaceful strategy over the violent strategy.
