THE CULTURE OF PEACE — Teachings of Islam

success, and violence in utter failure. Peaceful action abides by the law, while violent action is lawlessness. A peace-loving person overlooks problems and uses the opportunities available, while a violence-loving person ignores the opportunities available and gets entangled in a useless battle against problems. The path of peace cultivates a garden bursting with flowers, while the path of violence creates a thorny jungle of hatred and enmity. In peace, one fulfils the obligations one owes to God as well as those one owes to God’s creatures, including other human beings. Violence, on the other hand, is a violation of the ‘rights of God’ as well as the rights of people. If peace is heaven, then violence, in comparison, is sheer hell. Choosing peace is making the right choice. On the other hand, if one chooses war, it proves that he has failed in the test of making a choice. The behaviour of Muslims must be judged on the basis of Islam; and not Islam sought to be understood on the basis of Muslim behaviour. In this world, there are many things that are not desirable, but they exist for the purpose of testing us — for instance, alcohol. Alcohol exists not so that people should drink it, but, rather, so that they should avoid it and thereby prove that they can distinguish between good and bad. The same thing holds for war, too. War is something that can be resorted to, but the right thing for human beings to do is to desist from it. In the ancient past, considering the then prevailing conditions, permission was given for defensive war. This permission was in accordance with the law of necessity. But now, in the changed conditions of today, this necessity no longer exists. And that is why there is now no need at all for war. Reconciliation is Best The Quran (4: 128) describes a particular natural law in the following words: ‘Reconciliation is best’ (as-sulh khair). The word sulh means reconciliation. In the event of a conflict between two parties, they can engage in violent confrontation. But there is another method they can choose: to immediately come to an agreement and end their conflict.