How to Establish Peace in the Holy Land

because, for him, the real problem was not to make his opponents agree to his conditions. Rather the aim was to open the door to opportunities. What was achieved through this agreement was that the state of war which prevailed in Arabia came to an end. And the door to opportunities was subsequently opened. The result was that the Prophet and his companions were able to spread his mission throughout Arabia and the entire Arab world was revolutionized. This agreement, entered into about 20 years after the Prophet Muhammad had begun his prophetic mission, was so successful in terms of its results that it was referred to in the Quran as a ‘clear victory’.2 This is the basic principle which we learn by studying the sunnah of the Prophet—a principle which should have been followed by the Arab leaders of the present day. What these leaders should now do is refrain from insisting on the other party agreeing to their conditions. Rather they should attach prime importance to what they must do to ensure that peace prevails in this region and how they can in consequence cause opportunities to open up for themselves. The example set by the Prophet provides us with the basic guiding principle which we should adopt in this matter. 2. According to the Bible, the Jews believe that Palestine is for them the ‘promised land’.3 The same notion has been expressed in the Quran. The Quran tells us that the Israelites, who were living in diaspora outside Palestine during the time of the Prophet Moses, were told by Moses that it was God’s command that they should enter the Holy Land. Moses said to his people: ‘O my people! Enter the Holy Land which God has assigned to you.’ 4 In this verse of the Quran the words ‘assigned to you’ is not a mysterious phrase: indeed, it describes a law of nature. That is, a