Conclusion

Peace is the only religion for both man and the universe. In a peaceful environment all good things are possible, whereas in the absence of peace, we cannot achieve anything of a positive nature, either as individuals, or as a community. The same holds true at national and international levels.

Scholars have rightly defined peace as “the absence of war” However, there are some who hold that peace should necessarily be accompanied by justice. But setting such a condition for the attainment of peace is impractical. For the role of peace is purely to set the stage for us to strive for justice and to work towards other constructive ends.

The Prophet Muhammad provides a very clear example in his method of negotiating the Hudaybiyya peace treaty. By unilaterally accepting the conditions of his opponents, he concluded a historic 10-year no-war pact, without apparently receiving justice or his rights. But by means of this peace treaty the Prophet and his companions were enabled to consolidate themselves so thoroughly that they had no need to wage war to attain justice.

Japan’s industrial cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were destroyed by atom bombs in 1945. After the holocaust, Japan abandoned violence and adopted a peaceful course that it termed a “reverse course” for its national development. Consequently, within forty years, with-out any return to militarism, Japan became a great economic superpower.

Japan abandoned violence and adopted a peaceful course which helped it become a great economic super power.

Violence and peace both have wide connotations. Violence is a concomitant factor in everything from personal hatred to all-out war, whereas peace is marked by every positive virtue from tolerance to love.  Peace is synonymous with normalcy, and normalcy provides all such opportunities as favour the growth of a healthy environment. All kinds of achievements are possible in an ambience of peace. While peace is a boon for human society, violence is a curse. Peace and love go hand in hand while hatred breeds violence. Peace brings people closer, while violence tears them asunder. Peace fosters a high level of human outlook, whereas violence breeds a jungle outlook. Peace promotes life, while violence is the harbinger of death and destruction. Peace brings the good elements of a society into prominence, while violence does quite the reverse.

Christ once said, “Love your enemy.” This means to be on peaceful terms with one’s enemy, i.e. winning over your enemy by using the power of peace. This is the divine formula to attain peace.

The religious viewpoint on this subject is very aptly conveyed in the Quran: “God calls to the Home of Peace.”(10:25) This means that according to the creation plan, peace and harmony should prevail in human society. God Himself is Peace (Peace being an attribute of God). He intended this world to be peaceful, and only a peaceful world will be able to receive His blessings.

A peaceful world is like a paradise on earth. It is only in such a world that we can meet and establish contact with God, the Creator of Man and the Universe.

No excuse, therefore, justifies the use of violence, in individual or national life. We must maintain peace unilaterally, for nothing that we desire can be achieved without it.

Although at opposite poles, peace and violence result from human thinking. And if one were to think of the end result, one would never indulge in violence. One should bear in mind that peace is in consonance with humanity, whereas violence means a descent to the animal level. Peaceful minds make for a peaceful world. Man was born in peace. Man must die in peace.

A peaceful world is like a paradise on earth. It is only in such a world that we can meet and establish contact with God, the Creator of Man and the Universe.