NON-VIOLENCE AND ISLAM

~ 55 ~ political confrontation. This history, beginning with the Umayyad caliphate, continued for several centuries. This was possible because the tabi‘un (companions of the Prophet’s companions) and their succeeding generations, consisting of traditionists, jurists, ‘ulama, sufis and other great religious scholars, all scrupulously avoided any clash or confrontation with the rulers. It was during this period that, on the one hand, peaceful da‘wah work was started in various countries, while on the other, the disciplines of Hadith, fiqh and other Islamic sciences came into existence on a large scale after a long period of great struggle. All the precious books which adorn our libraries, all the classical literature of Islam, are the result of these peaceful activities. For instance, the Hadith as a source of Shari’ah is second only to the Qur’an in Islam. These traditions now exist in the form of printed books. These books are so precious that, without them, it would not have been possible to develop Islam into a complete system as it exists today. Under the rule of the Umayyads and Abbasids, when the political system