The Vision of Islam

It is people who follow the straight path who are promised the ‘greatest reward’ (65:5) and for whom evil will be turned into good (25:70). The fact is that all believers and non-believers alike—are liable to err. But the man who has attained real state of obedience to God, will turn with a redoubled intensity of feeling towards God if he ever commits a mistake. Thus his misdemeanour becomes the means of his attaining to a state of greater faith. On the contrary, the unbelievers remain engulfed in the darkness of their own misconduct. And, instead, their wrongdoing simply renders them even more hard-hearted instead of providing them with fresh food for faith. “When any evil suggestion from Satan touches those who fear God, they are instantly alerted and become watchful; but the followers of devils are led relentlessly into error by them. They never desist.” (7:201-202) The Straight Path of Society Just as the Prophet taught us the way of worship and fasting so also did he teach us how to launch an Islamic mission, how to face the challenges, and how to convey the message of Islam to the world. In other words, just as there is a straight path for the individual, so also is there a straight path for society. The treaty of Hudaybiyyah (628 a.d.), the most impor tant happening in the col l ective Islamic struggle has been referred to in the Quran in these words: “So that He may make it a sign to true believers and guide you along a straight path.” (48:20). The revelation of the above verse in the context of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah makes it clear that just as there is a straight path in worship and ethics, so is there a straight path in matters of peace and conflict resolution. One who is on the straight path, who has attained to a state of humanity in which decisions are made according to the powers of the ear, the eye and the heart, uninfluenced by obstinacy or