Chapter One

Peace in the Quran and Hadith Peace is integral to the meaning of the very word ‘Islam’ itself. The root of the word ‘Islam’ is s-l-m, which is related to the Arabic word for ‘peace’. And so, Islam means a religion of peace. According to a hadith (recorded in the Sahih al-Bukhari), the Prophet remarked that peace is part of Islam. Likewise, the Prophet is reported to have declared that a Muslim is one from whose tongue and hands people live safely. In other words, a Muslim, in the true sense of the word, is a person who does not harm anyone by his or her words or deeds. Of the various names or attributes of God mentioned in the Quran one is As-Salam, or ‘The Source of Peace’. That is to say, God is Peace. Similarly, in a hadith recorded in the Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet observed that God Himself is Peace. Moreover, God’s guidance is referred to in the Quran (5:16) as subul as-salaam or ‘the ways of peace’. According to Islam, heaven is the ideal abode for Man, and the Quran (10:25) refers to heaven as daar us-salaam or the ‘home of peace’. Elsewhere, the Quran (56:26) says that the inhabitants of heaven will greet each other saying, ‘Peace! Peace!’ In other words, life in heaven will be entirely peaceful. We are told by the Quran (4:128) that ‘reconciliation is best’. This means that, in terms of consequences, reconciliation is the better option. According to the law of nature that God has devised, reconciliation leads to successes and achievements that would simply be impossible by having recourse to violence. In a narration recorded in the Sahih al-Bukhari, Aisha, wife of the Prophet, is mentioned as having noted that whenever the Prophet had to choose between two courses of action, he would always choose the easier one. This indicates that when opportunities for peaceful activism exist, one should never give preference to violent activism: peaceful activism is the easier option, while violent activism is the harder option. For example, for a movement to attempt to overturn the