VIOLENCE IS NOT AN OPTION — Choose the Easier Option

VIOLENCE IS NOT AN OPTION Choose the Easier Option I N a tradition, Aisha the Prophet’s wife reports about the general policy of the Prophet of Islam: “Whenever the Prophet had to choose between two options, he always opted for the easier course of action rather than the harder course of action.” (Bukhari). It is very clear that the option of peace is the easier option, so the Prophet always tried to take the peaceful option. He never opted for war by choice. Upon reflection on the Prophet’s life, one can find that for the Prophet, offensive war was out of the question. During the life of the Prophet, there has not been a single event wherein the Prophet opted for aggressive war. According to Islamic teachings, there is no such thing called justified violence. The Prophet never engaged in war except under compulsion. Also, this involvement was very limited. Another important point one should understand is the difference between defensive war and engaging in war under compulsion which is created by the attackers. For the Prophet, defence was not an excuse to engage in war. The Prophet always tried to avoid violence. There are examples of occasions where the Prophet tried to avoid war. There are some occasions where he was compelled to opt for a limited war. One such example is the Battle of Hunayn. Violence and war are not options. Peace must be established at any cost. The wars that the Prophet engaged in, lasted only for a day. It is true that the battle of Khaybar lasted up to twenty-five days. But it was not a battle or war—it was a siege. It is true that some verses of the Quran seem to legitimise defensive war. But it was totally in the temporary sense of the word. At that time, a tribal culture was prevalent in Arabia. God Almighty wanted to bring an end to the tribal culture. Therefore, for a temporary period, the Quran allowed some limited kind of defensive war. But in a true sense, it wasn’t defensive war. Rather, it was compulsory war. This temporary phase of war put an end to the tribal cultures of the age that allowed violence. Today, we are living in the age of peace which was envisaged by the Quran. In the present age, Muslims don’t need to take part in any war