Peace: The Summum Bonum

Peace: The Summum Bonum differences? The answer, in the light of the above example, is to accept the status quo in controversial matters and divert your activities to the non-confrontation field. For example, the mission of the Prophet was to convey the message of tawhid (monotheism). The Kabah built by the Prophet Abraham as a centre of tawhid. But by the seventh century AD, Makkah had been converted into a centre of idol worship, with over three hundred idols being placed in the Kabah. It would apparently have been necessary for the Prophet first of all to remove these idols from the Kabah, but this kind of beginning would inevitably have resulted in confrontation between the Prophet and the idol worshippers. So, the Prophet resorted to a practical method. He decided to ignore to presence of the idols in the Kabah and only addressed the audience gathered to worship the idols, conveying to them the message of the Quran. Because at that time there was only one meeting place in the town of Makkah where the Prophet could find an audience – the courtyard of the Kabah. Instead of confronting with the idol worshippers, the Prophet worked towards availing the opportunity of their coming together to the fullest by preaching to them the message of Islam. Another instance from the life of the Prophet is the case of the Hudaybiyah Treaty. This agreement was signed between the Prophet and his Makkan opponents. The treaty unilaterally favoured the Makkans. But the Prophet Muhammad still signed on the agreement only to secure a ten-year no war pact. At that time, the Makkan opponents were determined to engage Muslims in fighting and to further the provocation, when the Hudaybiyah Agreement was being written, the Prophet dictated a final sign off as follows: “This is from Muhammad, the Messenger of God.” The Makkan delegate raised objections over these words. The Prophet promptly changed