War and Peace in Islam

policy, said: “Whenever the Prophet had to choose between two courses of action, he always opted for the easier one.” It is clear that there are two ways of settling an issue—one violent and one peaceful. When we compare the two, we find that in any controversial matter, opting for violence is the harder course, while opting for non-violence is the easier. The general rule in Islam is that, whenever there is any controversy, we have to choose to tread the path of peace rather than that of violence. In present times, when freedom has been accepted as an irrevocable right of man, peaceful methods should invariably be adopted. For, according to the established principles of our times, although there are certainly many obstacles to opting for violent methods, there is no bar whatsoever to adopting peaceful methods. It would be appropriate to add here that, during the life of the Prophet, if certain wars of a limited duration took place; such engagement only reflected the conditions of those times. The wars that took place in the first half of the seventh century are explainable in terms of it being an age of religious coercion and religious persecution. The atmosphere of religious tolerance that prevails today was not to be found in those times, so that the opponents of monotheism, by initiating hostilities, forced the Prophet to fight. Today, religious tolerance has become an established right of every individual and every group. That is why the question of going to war to secure religious rights should simply never arise. Constructive Islamic activities are possible only in a peaceful and normal atmosphere. The importance of peace in Islam is, therefore, so great that we are commanded to ensure peace by bearing with all kinds of unpleasant situations. Even when countering persecution by opponents, the ways of peace and