THE CULTURE OF PEACE — Part II Teachings of Islam

This Quranic verse teaches us an important principle that also relates to inter-community and inter-national relations. And that is, that the only legitimate war is one that is fought in defence, in response to clear aggression. All other forms of war are forms of zulm or oppression, and oppressors have no place in God’s world. As this Quranic verse indicates, wars other than those that are defensive have no justification whatsoever. No differences are in themselves wrong if they remain within their limits. But when they go beyond their limits they become unacceptable. According to the Quran, defensive wars may be fought only after issuing a clear declaration or announcement. Unannounced or undeclared war is not permissible in Islam. Furthermore, in Islam a defensive war can only be fought by an established government. Non-governmental actors do not have the permission to unleash war under any pretext whatsoever. Keeping these teachings in mind, it is clear that according to the law of war established by the Quran, all forms of war other than defensive war that is fought out of compulsion are illegitimate according to Islam. This means that guerrilla war, proxy war, undeclared war and aggressive war are all, without any doubt, illegitimate in Islam. War is something truly despicable. According to the eternal Law of Nature, peace is the general rule or norm, while war is an exception. War can be resorted to only under extreme necessity—in order to protect oneself, and that, too, only when all possible peaceful ways to avoid confrontation have been sincerely tried and have failed. The Path of Patience Wins God’s Help The Quran instructs us: Have patience: God is with those who are patient. THE QURAN 8: 46 The path of patience can also be termed as the path of peace. The opposite is the path of violence. The above quoted Quranic verse tells us about a natural law—that those who walk the path of peace will find that at every step Nature helps them. On the other hand, those who adopt violence are denied Nature’s assistance—and for such people there is nothing in this world but failure and destruction.