War and Peace in Islam

War and Peace in Islam What is the position of Islam on war and peace? The Quran is very specific on this question. Addressing the Prophet of Islam, it gives a general command: “And, O Muhammad, strive hard with this, (the Quran) the great striving.” (25:52) The Quran is a book. It is not a gun or a sword. This being so, striving “with the Quran” clearly means engaging in a peaceful struggle, rather than an armed one. The Quran is an ideological book. Striving peacefully with it alone can bring about a transformation in the minds of the people. Only then can the spirit be moulded in the Quranic way. That is to say, the Quran’s mission is not to capture a piece of land but to capture the minds of the people. The goal of Islam is to bring about an intellectual revolution, not to destroy people physically. If, by studying the Quran, we try to find out how the Prophet of Islam set about his task, we find that the specific goal of his entire mission was the changing of people’s hearts and minds. The Quran tells us that God sent His revelation to the Prophet in order that people’s thinking be brought from darkness to light. (57:9) According to a tradition, the Prophet of Islam said, “As regards the reformation of human beings, there is only one really important thing and that is, the reformation of the heart. Change people’s hearts and their whole life will be changed.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 52) When the Prophet of Islam