Peaceful Beginning

that juncture would certainly have had to face a violent reaction from the Quraysh. An alternative starting point could have been an attempt to secure a seat in the Daral-Nadwa (Makkah’s Parliament). At that time almost the whole of Arabia was under the direct or indirect influence of the Roman and Sassanid Empires. If the freeing of Arabia from this influence had been made the starting point, this would also have been met with an immediate violent reaction on the part of the Quraysh. Leaving aside these options, the path followed was that of reading the Quran, an activity that could be, with certainty, continued along peaceful lines: no violent reaction would ensue from engaging in such an activity. The Prophet Muhammad  followed this principle throughout his life. His policy was that of adopting non-violent methods in preference to violent methods. It is this policy, which was referred to by Aishah, the Prophet’s wife, in these words: Whenever the Prophet had to opt for one of two ways; he almost always opted for the easier one. (Fath al-Bari, Vol. 6, 654) What are the advantages of non-violent activism over violent activism? They are briefly stated as under: 1. According to the Quran there are two faculties in every human being which are mutually antipathetic. One is the ego, and the other is the conscience called respectively nafs ammara and nafs lawwama. (The Quran, 12:53; 75:2) What the violent method invariably does is to awaken the ego, which necessarily results in a breakdown of social equilibrium. On the other hand, non-violent activism awakens the conscience. From this results an awakening in people of introspection and self-appraisal. And according to the Quran, the miraculous outcome