Lessons from History

Halumma nusalim halumma nusalim fa inna as-salama sabil arrashadi (Let us make peace, let us make peace, for peace is the way to success!) The Arab boys appreciated my suggestion and showed their readiness to fall in line with it. But then they said that they were surrounded by enemies. So, if they adopted peace, what would happen? I explained to them: ‘You have wrongly considered others as your enemies. They are not your enemies, but your mad‘u, people to whom God’s message has to be conveyed. According to the Quran (85:3), Muslims are shahid (witness) and all human beings are mashhud (the witnessed). Our duty is to convey the message of God to all mankind.’ I then explained to them that their use of violence had achieved nothing, while peacefully sharing their faith—through both words and deeds—would attract support and bring lasting results, with the help of God Almighty, who has promised His assistance for such efforts. As the Quran says: ‘God will surely help him who helps His cause—God is indeed powerful and mighty.’ (22:40) The Arab boys were very pleased with what I had said and then one of them presented me with an olive branch from a nearby tree, as a token of peace. By taking into consideration human nature, it can be said that this experience is applicable to all the Muslims of the world.