Islam is a religion of peace. The very word ‘Islam’ (from the Arabic silm) connotes peace. All its teachings are calculated to imbue its adherents with the ideal of living in peace with themselves, with the rest of society, with other countries and even with their sworn enemies. The Quran, treating peace as sacrosanct, frequently exhorts believers to tread the path of reconciliation rather than wage war, urging them to return good for evil, so that direst enemies will turn into dearest friends. The Hadith or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad abounds in instances of the signal success of peaceful solutions to problems. The Prophet’s life is marked by events which testify to the effectiveness of peace in situations where, had it not been for the cautionary admonitions of Islam; war might well have been waged with an entirely destructive outcome.
In the early seventh century, at the outset of the mission of the Prophet Muhammad, Arabia was wracked with internecine warfare between tribes, blood feuds were commonplace, and wayfarers could not travel singly in the desert for fear of being slain. It was the Prophet’s task in this hostile atmosphere to convey the word of God to people who, steeped in the ignorance of polytheism, were unaware of true religion. Given the harsh lawlessness of the times, it was no mean feat for him to have successfully carried out his mission with an absolute minimum of bloodshed.
What is lamentable nowadays is that Islam is not seen as the peaceful religion which in essence it has always been. This is because extremist Muslims present a distorted image of their religion in order to legitimize their political ambitions and whitewash—as ‘holy wars’—their military clashes with those who do not see eye to eye with them. Jihad has been construed by them to mean the launching of offensives under the pretext of defending the faith. But the original meaning of jihad in Arabic is ‘striving very hard.’ Since the early Muslims had to strive hard during wars with aggressors, these wars came, in an extended sense, to be called jihad. However, the actual word for such a war in Arabic is qital, not jihad. Jihad in the Quran means an ideological struggle to conquer peoples’ hearts and minds.
In Islam, peace has always been considered a sine qua non for any fruitful communication of the word of God, for sound intellectual development, and for a stable social equilibrium. Peace, in effect, is the only possible vehicle for progress. The Prophet realized this at a very early stage in his divine mission. He took no step which would have so provoked his opponents as to place his mission in serious jeopardy. It was anathema to him and the early Muslims—as monotheists—that polytheism should still be symbolically represented by 360 idols within the periphery of the Kabah. But he waited 13 years until he judged that the time was ripe to remove them, rather than create a situation in which pitched battles were likely to ensue. Similarly, when his opponents denied him and his companions access to the Kabah, while they were still nine miles away from Makkah at Hudaybiyyah, he had the foresight to refrain from fighting and, by making major concessions to his enemies, was able to conclude a peace treaty, which ensured many years of peace thereafter in which he and his companions could conduct their religious campaigns undisturbed.
War is always considered as a last resort. It can be waged only by the ruling authorities, and if instigated by individuals or non-governmental groups, it is illegal. It must always be defensive in nature, can commence only after an appropriate declaration of intent, and must be overtly conducted. Guerrilla or proxy wars are impermissible. Moreover, war in Islam cannot be waged against personal enemies, or against non-combatants, but only against aggressors who have already attacked. But it is best avoided altogether, as happened in the case of the Battle of the Trench.
On this occasion large numbers of tribesmen were fast approaching Madinah with the avowed intention of attacking it. But the Prophet used strategy to avoid a military encounter. This took the shape of a long deep trench which he and his companions dug, working hard round the clock, so that it would act as a buffer between the Muslims and their foes. The enemy armies, totally frustrated by this insurmountable obstacle, camped there for several days and then finally went away without attacking. Had this stratagem not been resorted to, there would have been serious casualties on both sides and the Islamic mission might well have come to an end.
Quite forgetting the superior tactics of their Prophet, the so-called Muslim Mujahideen have been exhorting their co-religionists all over the world to do battle in the name of Islam. But the Quran quite unequivocally says: “God calls to the home of peace.” (10:25) And one of the attributes of God Himself as described in the Quran is ‘As-Salaam’ which means ‘peace and security.’ It is up to right thinking people everywhere to reject the militant version of Islam and to start seeing and accepting Islam for what it actually is, that is, a religion which not only advocates peace, but which provides guidance for both the individual and the state as to how peace may be achieved and maintained. Indeed, in the Quran, following divine guidance is likened to treading the paths of peace. (5:16) That is the way to peace and stability. □
