Islam and Peace

Preface right thinking. This being the case, war is excluded from Islam’s plan of affirmative action. Islam teaches us to focus entirely, and under all conditions, on the awakening of right thinking and awareness. War is something that undermines, rather than facilitates, the plan of human reform that Islam stands for. One can derive no real gain or benefit from war or any other form of violence. This is why if all possible efforts to prevent war are made but, yet, they fail and one is compelled to engage in war, the first thing for the followers of Islam to do is to seek to put an end to the fighting as soon as possible, so that in a climate of peace the real positive work of Islam can carry on unhindered. In this context, it is pertinent to say a few words about the notion of jihad in Islam. Jihad is, in fact, another name for peaceful struggle. In today’s parlance, it could be called ‘peaceful activism’—or, in other words, using peaceful means to try to attain certain lofty objectives. The literal meaning of jihad is ‘effort’ or ‘struggle’. The Quran speaks about a ‘great jihad’ (jihad-e kabir)—engaging in jihad through the Quran (25:52). According to a hadith, a mujahid, one who engages in jihad, is one who, for the sake of obedience to God, combats his own lower self, or nafs. According to another hadith, when the Prophet returned from the Tabuk campaign, he said, ‘We have returned from lesser jihad to greater jihad.’ The ‘lesser jihad’ is military struggle, while the ‘greater jihad’ is the struggle against one’s own lower self, that is to say, the struggle to control one’s negative and undesirable feelings and to persevere in the life of God’s choice in all circumstances. Jihad, if understood correctly, is an entirely peaceful action. At the individual level, to engage in jihad is to refuse to deviate from God’s path in the face of the desires and inclinations of one’s nafs and the baneful influence of the environment. It is to face the difficulties and challenges that stand in one’s path and remain steadfast on the path of the Truth. At the collective level, jihad may be defined as a peaceful struggle. Jihad is linked to intellectual awakening. It entails enkindling