Peace: The Summum Bonum

Good and evil deeds are not equal. Do good deed in return for bad deed; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend. (Quran 41:34) An enemy is a potential friend. The duty of a Muslim is to turn this potential into actuality through good deeds. This is the true spirit of Islam. Can a Muslim majority democratic government implement the Shariah? T he prime condition of imposing Shariah governance in any society is the level of acceptance in that society regarding such an implementation. If there is no acceptance in the society, Shariah implementation cannot take place. Why should I respect Islam and its adherents? They are suicide bombers, cruel towards ‘sinners’, patronizing towards women, follow conservative medieval social norms and sanctimonious people who look down upon others who drink and smoke? Y ou are under no compulsion to respect Islam and its adherents. However, you must certainly analyze what you hold in contempt. The very word ‘Islam’ (from the Arabic silm) connotes peace. According to a tradition of the Prophet: Peace is Islam. (Musnad al-Bazzar, hadith no. 1396) This means that peace is one of the prerequisites of Islam. A hadith states; A Muslim is one from whose tongue and hands people are safe. (Musnad Ahmad, hadith no. 12561) One of the attributes of God described in the Quran is ‘As-Salam’, which means peace and security. According to Sahih Muslim, the second most authentic book of Hadith, suicide in any capacity is completely forbidden and a punishable sin: It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah observed: He who killed himself with steel (weapon) would be the eternal denizen of the Fire of Hell…and he who killed himself by falling from (the top of) a mountain would constantly fall in the Fire of Hell and would live there for ever and ever. (Sahih Muslim, hadith no. 109)