Peace: The Summum Bonum

T his hadith does exist, but extremist Muslims have interpreted it incorrectly. There are several examples of such an incorrect interpretation. Literally, the term ghazwa refers to safar, or peaceful travel. According to a hadith: A group of my ummah shall go for a campaign in Hind and it has been saved from Hell. (Sunan an-Nasa’i, hadith no. 3175) This safar or ‘campaign’ can be of anything. It could even be of education or social welfare or for the purpose of spreading the peaceful message of Islam. To what extent are Islam and secularism reconcilable? I slam and secularism are fully compatible. As per the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, secularism is a policy of non-interference in religious matters. In a secular government, every religious community has the right to follow its own faith. This was demonstrated even by the Prophet Muhammad when he drafted the Madinah Charter, according to which different religious groups were allowed to have their own personal law. The true meaning of secular personal law has been alluded to in the following verse of the Quran, according to which, people of other faiths could follow their own Holy Books to judge their matters: We have revealed the Torah, in which there is guidance and light. By it the prophets who were obedient to Us judged the Jews, and so did the rabbis and the priests, according to God’s Book which had been entrusted to their care; and to which they were witnesses. (Quran 5:44) But why do they come to you for judgement when they have the Torah, which enshrines God’s own judgement? (Quran 5:43) The Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad make it clear that secularism and the teachings of Islam are alike. Groups that claim otherwise are completely mistaken in promoting un-Islamic ideas of religious superiority. What should be the approach of a Muslim towards verbal attack over social and other media? T hese kind of talks on social and other media are based on vested interests and political motivations. Muslims should not retaliate on any negative remarks and should instead focus on positive dissemination of ideas. They must remain peaceful and polite and take guidance from the following verse of the Quran: