Peace in the Quran

harder option, while initiating one’s action, by avoiding the ruler, in the sphere of education and learning is an easier option. These instances show us the easier and harder options, as demonstrated by the Hadith. The truth is that peace in Islam is the ‘rule,’ while war is the ‘exception.’ All the teachings of Islam and the practical life of the Prophet of Islam testify to this. The Example of the Prophet of Islam The Prophet of Islam received his first revelation in 610 in Makkah. God ordained that he carry out the mission of Tawhid. There arose a great problem in relation to this mission. The house of the Kabah, which was built as the house of monotheism by the Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail, later on became a centre of polytheism with 360 idols in it. The first revelation might well have demanded the purification of the Kabah. But the first revelation made in the Quran was: Purify your vestments. (74:4) This means to purify one’s moral character. If, in the first stage the Prophet had been commanded to purify the Kabah while Makkah was still under the domination of the idolaters, this would have surely precipitated clash and confrontation. Therefore, according to the command of the first revelation, the Prophet continued to perform his prayers peacefully in the Kabah for a period of 13 years, even though it housed several hundred idols. Similarly, the Prophet and his companions circumambulated the Kabah on the occasion of Umrah al-Hudaybiyyah in 629. During that time the Kabah still housed 360 idols. The Prophet of Islam proceeded thus in order to avoid war and confrontation with the idolaters, and so that the atmosphere