Islam and World Peace

CHAPTER FOUR War and Peace in Islam h To understand the status of war and peace in Islam, we need to understand what the target of the Islamic mission is. War and peace are two different methods, not goals in themselves. Hence, if we are able to determine what the target of the mission of Islam is, this will itself determine if the method that Islam advocates is war or peace. The Quran gives a very clear answer to this question. In this regard, the Quran (25:52) addressing the Prophet, lays down a general commandment to engage in peaceful jihad through it by changing people’s thinking. In other words, the mission of the Quran is not territorial conquest, but, rather, the moulding of people’s minds. Islam’s target is to bring about an intellectual revolution, not the physical subjugation of people. If you study the Quran as well as the way the Prophet carried on with his mission, it will be clear that the target of his mission was to transform people’s hearts and minds. Thus, the Quran states: It is He who sends down to His Servant clear revelations, so that He may lead you out of darkness into light. (57:9) According to a hadith, the Prophet said that there is just one thing that is of real importance as far as reforming human beings is concerned—and that is the reform of the heart. If a person’s heart is transformed, his whole life is completely changed. When