Issues of Ijtihad

What is Peace? is a gross violation of respect for life, which, in turn, leads to the taking of human life becoming a seemingly easy affair. With regard to the consumption of alcohol, there is a tradition of the Prophet which tells us that if a large quantity of something leads to intoxication, then a small quantity of it, too, is forbidden. (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith No. 3681) The same principle applies in the case of killing as well. It is as reprehensible and enormous a crime to kill a single person as it is to kill a large number of people. The only difference between the two is of degree, but in terms of the nature of the act itself there is no difference whatsoever. From the Quranic verse quoted earlier one can gauge the great importance that Islam gives to peace and security. Islam demands that if a single person is killed, the entire society must respond as if it is not a single individual, but, rather, the whole of humanity, that has been slain. Dousing the Fires of Violence The Quran tells us: Whenever they kindle the fire of war, God puts it out. (5:64) From this Quranic verse, we learn something about God’s creation plan. We learn that this plan is based on the principle of peace. We learn that if someone is bent on kindling the fires of violence, we should try to put out the flames through peaceful measures so that the fire does not spread. It should never be that one party throws bombs and the other party retaliates in the same way. This is definitely