UNDERSTANDING ISLAM A Religion Of Peace

should be able to bury their complaints in their own hearts instead of pouring them out upon others. A society in which such self control is exercised is one in which its members can enjoy a feeling of security. Indeed, a peaceful society is the ideal framework for positive human development. On the contrary, a society fraught with violence is animalistic, not a human society. It can offer little hope of the realization of individual human potential. The love of peace is a noble human virtue, whereas the love of violence brings the human being down from a high ethical plane to the level of brutishness. According to a tradition, the Prophet of Islam observed—“The believer is like a gentle plant. Whenever the wind blows, it inclines accordingly, and when the wind stops blowing, it again comes back to its upright position. In this way, it saves itself from the impact of the wind.” According to this tradition, there are two ways of acting during hardships. One is to face up to it with total rigidity. The other is to be flexible and bend before it. We can put it differently and say, there are two ways of countering adversity—one by the peaceful method, the other by the violent method. God tells us to renounce the violent method in favour of the peaceful method. Violence is basically an ego-related problem. It is a provoked ego that creates almost all kinds of violence and disturbance. When one’s ego is affected, it turns into a super ego and the result is breakdown. It is inevitably those who suffer from egoism who choose to be inflexible in weathering life’s storms. Conversely, it is the modest, who in the face of adversity, tread the path of peace. In this world of God, destruction awaits those who indulge in egoism, while success awaits those who conduct themselves with modesty. The same point has been underlined in a Hadith— “One who chooses the way of modesty will be raised up by God.” HADITH reported by AT-TIRMIZI So the secret of peaceful living is to sedulously avoid any ego-clash taking place between individuals or groups. This is the only successful formula for establishing a peaceful society on a permanent basis. Examples from the traditions of the Prophet are many. Once a man came