War and Peace in Islam

using violent means involves many obstacles, unlike the case of peaceful means. Here one should add that out of the few, limited wars that took place at the time of the Prophet, there were certain temporal context-related factors at work. These wars were fought in the first half of the seventh century CE. This was a period of religious coercion and persecution. At that time, there was simply no religious tolerance, in the sense that we understand the term today. The opponents of tawhid, the oneness of God, unleashed fierce aggression against the Prophet, that compelled him to fight in defense. However, in today’s world, religious freedom has been accepted as the inalienable right of every person and community. Hence, today there is absolutely no question of engaging in war to secure one’s religious rights. Peace has such great importance in Islam that Muslims have been instructed to maintain peace under all conditions even while tolerating unfavourable situations. In the face of torments at the hands of others, they must respond with patience, steadfastness and avoidance of confrontation. They must preserve peace at all costs, even, if need be, through unilateral and one-sided action. This is an important Islamic principle. This commandment has been given because the constructive agenda of Islam can be carried out only in a climate of peace and balance. There is only one exception to this, and that is in the event of an enemy becoming an aggressor and engaging in physical aggression. The Prophet of Islam began his prophetic mission in Makkah where he carried on his work for 13 years. During this period, his Makkan opponents repeatedly harassed him. Yet, he and his Companions unilaterally tolerated this. One expression of this policy of exercising patience and avoiding confrontation was when, to stave off war, the Prophet and his Companions left Makkah and went to Madinah, some 300 miles away. Yet, despite this, the Makkan opponents did not remain silent. Instead, they launched aggressive attacks on Madinah. These attacks are called ghazwas in the biographies of the Prophet. The total number