TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE
We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace is deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion for both—man and the universe. It is the master-key that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour. Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible.
THE CAUSE OF EXTREMISM IS DISCONTENTMENT
THE Prophet of Islam once said, “Successful is the one who embraces Islam, is provided with sustenance that is sufficient for his needs and is content with what God has given him.” (Sahih Muslim)
This Hadith highlights the concept of contentment. If a person truly internalizes the psychology of contentment, it will make them completely peace-loving. On the contrary, those who lack the psychology of contentment will remain dissatisfied with their situation, eventually becoming frustrated and resorting to violent actions to obtain what they could not achieve through peaceful means. The reality is that contentment breeds a peaceful nature, while discontentment breeds a violent nature.
The spirit of contentment instills in a person the psychology that they are a fulfilled individual. A person who considers themselves fulfilled can never fall into frustration or violence. Contentment is not just a virtue but a shield against the inner turmoil that can drive a person towards harmful actions.
The Prophet Muhammad said, “Richness is not having many possessions. Rather, true richness is the richness of the soul.” (Sahih Bukhari) This Hadith underscores that true wealth lies in contentment and satisfaction with what one has, rather than in the accumulation of material goods. The path of contentment leads to inner peace, while discontentment leads to frustration, conflict, and ultimately, extremism.
In contrast, a person plagued by the psychology of discontentment will constantly suffer from a sense of deprivation. This feeling will continuously provoke them to seek what they have not attained. If they realize that they cannot acquire what they lack through peaceful means, they will try to obtain it through violent methods.
They will consider all those who, in their view, obstruct their desires as enemies. They will hate those people, gather weapons to fight against them, even though all of this will be the result of their inability to be content with what God has given them—they have fallen victim to discontentment instead of embracing contentment.
