Foreword

 Foreword the war he suffered a serious injury. People began to praise him before the Prophet for the bravery he had exhibited in the war. But the Prophet said: Innahu min ahl an-naar. That is, “He is surely one of the people of Hell.” The companions were taken aback by the Prophet’s words, so he asked them to go and investigate the matter. It was then learnt that Quzman had indeed been severely injured during the war and when he could not bear the pain any more, he killed himself with his own weapon [Quzman’s case was that of suicide]. When the Prophet was told about this, he uttered these words: “God is great and I bear witness that I am His messenger.”’1 That was a dreadful night for me. I decided that very night that, after my recovery, the first task I would undertake would be to write a book on peace. The present book is the result of the decision I took while in bed in hospital. The purpose of this book is to re-engineer the minds of those who think in terms of violence. The book aims at making such people realize that it is entirely possible for them to successfully achieve by peaceful means what they are unable to achieve by violent means. May God accept the spirit of the writer in this regard and make this book a means of ushering in a new revolution which takes human history from violence to peace. My gratitude is due in particular to two ladies who have greatly helped me in the preparation of this book—Dr. Farida Khanam, who is Professor at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi