THE CULTURE OF PEACE — Teachings of Islam

Peace is the Religion of the Universe The Quran tells us: The sun cannot overtake the moon, nor can the night outpace the day; each floats in [its own] orbit. THE QURAN 36: 40 Referring to an astronomical phenomenon, this Quranic verse tells us about the principle on which the system of the entire universe is based. And this is the principle of peace. There are innumerable entities in the cosmos, and all of them are in constant motion. Yet, they do not clash with each other. Every entity in the cosmos carries on doing its own work in its own orbit. None interferes in the sphere of the others. This is why they never clash with each other. This ‘culture of peace’ is also what human beings should imbibe. They should base their lives on precisely the same universal principle that conforms to the rest of the cosmos. This means they must abandon the path of violence and confrontation and tread the path of peace. The highest attribute of the God who has sent the Quran is mercy, and this book is an expression of His mercy. The culture of the cosmos is a ‘culture of peace’. It is because of this peace that the cosmos has been functioning for millions of years and yet has not witnessed any confrontation that has impaired its functioning. If a ‘culture of violence’ had pervaded the cosmos, by now it would have been devastated, and there would have been no possibility for human life to exist. The same Creator who made the rest of the cosmos has created us human beings, too. The Creator wants that human beings should adopt the very same ‘peace culture’ that He has established throughout the rest of the vast cosmos. The only difference is that this ‘peace culture’ prevails in the rest of the cosmos on the basis of Nature, while humans are independent creatures and have free will. And so, God wishes that they should freely decide to adopt this ‘peace culture’ in their lives. The Quran, a Book of Peace The Quran is, without doubt, a book of peace. It is not a book of violence