Islam and the Challenges of the World

Islam and the Challenges of the World

1991 11 November 15-20 Islam and the Challenges of the World (1930) Man has been facing a number of challenges – intellectual, political, economic, etc.–which are universal in the modern world. A major issue is whether man can continue to live in peace on this planet. This is matter of crucial importance because man’s very existence is in peril. It is the future of mankind which is at stake.

Various sets of adverse circumstances have together produced a state of unrest throughout the entire world. At different places groups of people are engaged in violent clashes with other groups. This state of affairs is such as to render our scientific progress meaningless, and it must be acknowledged that our very civilization is in jeopardy.

Unfortunately, in this baneful sequence of events, the name of Islam has come to be linked with violence. Thanks to the foolish and imprudent acts of certain Muslims, coupled with the propaganda campaign launched by Islam’s antagonists, Islam and violence have come to be regarded as interchangeable terms.

One of my acquaintances, who lives in Europe, told me in the course of a conversation, that he had once been called for an interview by some company there. The interview started like this: “Are you a Muslim?” “Yes”. “Then you are a terrorist.”

As you can imagine, the interview could hardly proceed beyond this point.

But the truth about Islam is the very opposite. The word Islam itself means peace, having been derived from the Arabic root silm meaning peace. And the Prophet of Islam is described in the scriptures as a “mercy to the world.” The Qur’an has this to say: “And God calls you to the home of peace; the lesson that is imparted through Hajj, a course of training for a Muslim for the whole of his life, is not to harm a single human being, not even an animal.” To call such a religion one of violence is therefore highly inappropriate.

This paper was presented by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan at the peace conference, “Religions for a Sea of Peace” held at Malta, 8-10 October, 1991.

Islam came to mankind in an age when violence was an integral part of every nation’s culture and, as such, was prevalent all over the world. Violence, it was thought, was the most dependable means for the achievement of all ends.

It was at this point in time that Islam brought to the world the message of peaceful co-existence, not only in theory, but also in practice. The truth is that Islam is a peaceful way of life: it was so for the man of the past, and it is so for the man of today.

But mere casual talk about peace is not going, of itself, to produce peace for mankind. It is essential rather to formulate a concept of peace in such a manner as to explain and underline its importance. Furthermore, such a concept must be accompanied by a methodology which will facilitate its practical realization.

Simplifying One’s Difficulties

The concept presented by Islam of peaceful living was based on the idea that, in this world, adversity is always accompanied by some positive, simplifying factor. That is to say that disadvantages will always be accompanied by advantages. The common man is nevertheless of the view that whenever any difficulty presents itself, the only solution is to fight. And it is this mentality which breeds violence. If, however, he could be convinced that whenever the path to success seemed barred to him, there would always be something inherent in the situation to ease his difficulties, his whole manner of thinking would change.

This is not a concept which is immediately acceptable, the main reason being that most people have never formed the habit of identifying the positive factors in a seemingly negative situation. But once this concept has taken root in a man’s mind, he will no longer clash, head-on, with anything unfavourable that comes in his way. He will, on the contrary, direct his efforts towards seeking whatever advantages lie in store for him. Then, only after securing these advantages will he start his struggle anew. In this way, on the ideological plane, this concept strikes at the very roots of violence. In addition to this conceptual approach, Islam offers a new methodology based on non-violence rather, than on violence. Here I should like, very briefly, to deal with this topic.

Willingness to Accept the Possible

The first principle of the non-violent method is to show willingness to accept what is possible. A fine, practical example of this principle was personally demonstrated by the Prophet of Islam at the outset of his missionary career in Mecca. At that time, in Mecca, the most sacred house of worship, the Kaaba, housed 360 idols. The ritual of Hajj had been distorted. For instance, the solar instead of the lunar calendar was being used for its observance. Drinking and other evils were rife.

Had the Prophet of Islam directly launched a jihad against these evils, he would at once have set off a violent confrontation in Mecca, and the armed conflict would have overshadowed his message of peace.

The Prophet had, at that juncture, formulated an important principle of peace. Presenting it to the world, he put it into practice himself. The principle he followed was to make one’s starting point centre on what was possible. That is to say, to confine one’s activity to the field in which opportunities are available under the prevailing system. The rest had to be left for the future.

This was the principle which he followed for thirteen years while working in Mecca. Any attempt to bring about a change in the system in Mecca would only have resulted in clash and confrontation. He, therefore, set before himself the target of bringing about a change in the individual, and continued to work on those same lines for the whole of the Meccan period.

Moving Away from the Point of Confrontation

Another principle formed by the Prophet in this regard was to move away from the point of conflict. This principle took practical shape in the Hijrah (emigration). It was in adherence to this principle that the Prophet emigrated to Medina, leaving his hometown, Mecca, in the thirteenth year of his prophethood.

Hijrah literally means ‘to leave’. It means that if the other party comes to the point of aggression in order to stop whatever peaceful work is being undertaken, then one must move away from that place rather than take to fighting.

Indeed, Hijrah is just one of the strategies employed to avoid confrontation, but if it proves the best method, it must be resorted to, even if it entails leaving one’s homeland, property and relatives.

The Hudaybiyyah Principle

When the Prophet of Islam emigrated to Medina, he did not launch any military campaign from there. His adversaries, the Quraysh, however, made military preparations and launched an onslaught without any provocation from the other side. It was due to this aggression that some defensive battles had to be fought. At this juncture, in order to avoid further bloodshed, the Prophet followed an excellent principle which can be termed the Hudaybiyyah principle.

What the Prophet of Islam did with regard to the Hudaybiyyah treaty was to accept all the demands of the other party in return for their agreeing to his demand that no battle be fought between them, directly or indirectly, for a period often years. The Hudaybiyyah treaty was, in fact a no-war pact. The Hudaybiyyah principle can thus be summed up in these words: unilateral acceptance of all the demands of the opposite party in order to obviate any risks of further clash and confrontation.

The Demonstration Rather Than the Use of Force

In spite of this no-war pact, the Prophet’s opponents reopened hostilities – thus committing a breach of their agreement. This time the Prophet adopted a different strategy, with the result that Mecca was ultimately conquered. Very few lives were lost, however, for, beyond minor skirmishes, no armed struggle between the opposing forces took place.

The superior strategy employed on the occasion of the conquest of Mecca was, quite simply, to achieve one’s end, not by the use of force, but by the demonstration of strength.

Refraining from Vengeance

The initial strategy adopted by the Prophet after the conquest of Mecca was one of remarkable leniency. After the victory, men who had been his deadliest enemies were now brought before him. Today, we would call them war criminals of the worst kind. The only possible fate for such criminals in those days was summary execution. But the Prophet granted them ail an unconditional amnesty.

The greatest advantage of this general amnesty was that the country was spared a counter-revolution and all the bloodshed that would have ensued. Had the Prophet punished these men, the fire of counter-revenge would most certainly have been ignited in the tribes all over Arabia. The shedding of Arab blood would then have reached a new peak.

Rising Above the Psychology of Reaction

If a peaceful atmosphere is to be maintained in society while one goes about achieving one’s ends, albeit in a peaceable manner, a great sacrifice is required. That is why he himself could set such a perfect example for the building of the life of the nation on the basis of non-violence.

One example of such a sacrifice can be seen in the Battle of Badr. In this battle, 70 Meccans had been taken as prisoners of war. All of them belonged to the nobility of Mecca and all were well educated by the standards of the time. Considering that in Medina, where the Prophet was staying, the people lacked such an education, the Prophet did not order the execution of the Meccans, but instead set a ‘ransom’ for each of them. That is, each one had to teach ten children of the Ansar (Medinan inhabitants) how to read and write. After that they were to be set free.

At that time. one great risk was involved in setting these prisoners of war free. They being leaders of hostile tribes, there was the genuine fear that, once back in Mecca, they would use their freedom to incite the citizenry to prepare for another war. This fear became a reality when they succeeded in provoking their fellow-Meccans to fight the Battle of Uhud.

Fully aware of the risk involved, the Prophet had, nevertheless, set these Meccans free. This instance not only demonstrates his love of peace, but also underlines the importance he attached to education. He felt that its importance was so great that it had to be acquired – even at the risk of a future war.

Conclusion

These few points, though in brief, show that Islam has a great role to play in countering the deadly challenges, namely violence and conflict, which are faced by the world of today. I would add that this scheme of Islam is not based on mere ideology, but has a genuine history of practical success to back it. The history of Islam shows that its message of peace is not just a dream of utopia, but is a fully practicable programme. It is a historical fact that the Prophet of Islam adopted such a well-considered strategy that all his successes were achieved with surprisingly little bloodshed. The toll of casualties in the revolution he brought about in Arabia amounted to only about a thousand on both sides. This number is comparatively so low that this revolution can rightly be termed bloodless.

Islam, in short, is the Spence of strife-free living, supported by a factual history of peaceful co-existence.