RELIGION OF PEACE

43. Religion of Peace ~ 130 ~ 43. RELIGION OF PEACE The Model World according to Islam is a world of peace. Islam in itself means a religion of peace. The Qur’an says: And God calls to the home of peace. This is the message of Islam to mankind. It means that ‘Build a world of peace on earth so that you may be granted a world of peace in your eternal life in the Hereafter’. Now what are the basic elements of building of a culture of peace, according to Islam? To be brief, these are three: compassion, forgiveness and respect for all. Let’s take compassion first. If you go through the Qur’an and Hadith, you will find many verses in the Qur’an and Hadith, which lay great stress on compassion. For instance, the Prophet of Islam said: O people, be compassionate to others so that you may be granted compassion by God. Thus Islam makes compassion a matter of selfinterest for every man. As one’s own future depends on one’s compassionate behaviour to other fellowmen. In this way Islam motivates us to be