Greater than Political Victory

Greater than Political Victory Greater than Political Victory P eople are generally obsessed with politics. They believe that their acquiring a territory and establishing political rule over it is the greatest kind of success. But, according to the Quran, peace is the summum bonum. While political victory is limited in its scope, the ambit of peace is unlimited. Peace is therefore greater than political rule. In the chapter Al-Fath (Victory), the Quran refers to the Hudaybiyyah Agreement—a peace treaty drawn up between the Prophet and his opponents, which was finalized in the sixth year of the Hijra calendar. The Quran mentions it as a ‘clear’ victory (48:1)—a victory which is beyond any doubt. Political rule is good only for rulers and it is bad for all those who are ruled. In contrast, peace has no such negative aspect. Then in the chapter Al-Nasr (Help), the Quran refers to political victory over Makkah in the eighth year of the Hijra calendar. Here the Quran uses the word fath (victory). This difference of terminology proves that, according to the Quran, political victory is simply the superseding of opponents in control of a particular area, whereas establishing peace—a ‘clear’ victory—is the greater victory. It means that establishing peace has more importance than a political victory. Why is there this difference? The reason is that political victory gives you only one thing and that is administrative control over a piece of land. But peace has much greater potential than this.