The Second Forbidden Tree

not retaliate. It is only exercising such restraint that a world free from violence can be brought into existence. The perfect example of unilateral patience in the face of violence is given by Abel, the son of Adam, in his response to his brother Cain: “If you raise your hand to kill me, I will not raise mine to kill you. I fear God, the Lord of the Universe.”(5:28) According to a Hadith, the Prophet of Islam observed: “In later times political corruption will set in, but you must never engage in confrontation with your rulers. One of his companions asked, ‘If they come to our homes to kill us what shall we do?’ The Prophet replied: ‘Be the better son of Adam’, that is, don’t kill others, even when they attempt to kill you. (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith No 4259) There are two kinds of violence, the one passive, the other active. Passive violence is evinced in your hatred for others, and calling them oppressors. Active violence is not just your calling them oppressors but also engaging in aggressive actions against them. Both these forms are sinful to the same degree: whatever the kind of violence you opt for, you will be held guilty of eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. Both kinds of violence only appear to be different: in reality, there is no difference between the two. Forgetting the Past The Quran attaches great importance to forgiveness. It states: “Whoever is patient and forgiving, acts with great courage and resolution.” (42:43) What is forgiveness? It means forgetting the past and eschewing negativity. Remembering whatever happened in the past means keeping alive the bitterness felt about past events. This is against Islam as well as against reason. Muslims are engaged in present times in violent activities at different places, but despite repeated sacrifices, they have failed to achieve the desired result. Such failure has not, however, deterred them from further violence. What is the reason for this? It lies in their reluctance to forget the bitter memories of the past. These Muslims keep talking and writing about past happenings and that is why their feelings are constantly ruffled. This runs counter both to Islam and to human reason. These Muslims should feel duty- bound to try to forget these negative events entirely. They should leave their that to God. In this way they