Islam and the Quran

Islam and the Quran during these 20 peaceful years consisted of the peaceful teachings of Islam as are conveyed in the verses regarding the realization of God, worship, morality, piety, justice, etc. This division of commands into different categories is a natural one and is found in all religious books. For instance, the Gita, the holy book of the Hindus, pertains to wisdom and moral values. Yet along with there is also an exhortation by Krishna to Arjuna, encouraging him to fight (Bhagavad Gita 3:30). This does not mean that believers in the Gita should wage war all the time. Mahatma Gandhi, after all, derived his philosophy of non-violence from the same Gita. The exhortation to wage war in the Gita applies only to exceptional cases where circumstances leave no choice. But for general day-to-day existence it gives the same peaceful commands as derived from it by Mahatma Gandhi. Similarly, Jesus Christ said: Do not think that I came to bring peace on Earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34) It would not be right to conclude that the religion preached by Christ was one of war and violence, for such utterances relate purely to particular occasions. So far as general life is concerned, Christ taught peaceful values, such as the building up of a good character, loving each other, helping the poor and needy, etc. The same is true of the Quran. When the Prophet of Islam emigrated from Makkah to Madinah, the idolatrous tribes became aggressive towards him. But the Prophet always averted their attacks by the exercise of patience and the strategy of avoidance. However, on certain occasions no other options existed, save that of retaliation. Therefore, he had to engage in defensive battle on certain occasions. It was these circumstances which occasioned the revelations relating to war. These commands, being specific to certain circumstances, had no