TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

The Prophet was born in 570 CE in Makkah and started his mission in 610 CE. The chapter Al-Muddaththir in the Quran was among the early revelations received by the Prophet. At the start of this chapter, God addresses the Prophet thus: O, you, wrapped in your cloak, arise and give warning! Proclaim the glory of your Lord; purify your garments; shun uncleanness; do not bestow a favour in the expectation of receiving more in return; and for the sake of your Lord, be patient. (THE QURAN 74: 1-7) Patience or Sabr is not defeatism nor is it a passive attitude. Patience means to think over issues in a cool and calm manner—without resorting to reaction, to resentment, to hate or, to revenge. It is engaging in positive planning. At the very outset, this was told to the Prophet. How amazing! The Quran (4: 128) also says as-sulh khair or ‘reconciliation is best’. Sulh means ‘peace’, and as-sulh khair indicates that a peaceful settlement of disputes is the best. This clearly indicates the importance of the peaceful method in Islam. Another Quranic verse says: “Let them not dispute with you on this matter” (22: 67). This means that Muslims should not give others an opportunity to dispute with them. The Arabic style of expression used in this verse means that they should not give their opponents a chance to enter into controversy with them. For example, in Arabic it is said: La yadribannaka Zaydun. This phrase literally means that ‘Zayd should surely not beat you’. However, the sense implied in this sentence is: ‘You should surely not give Zayd an opportunity to beat you.’ Believers should adopt a course of action that does not lead to confrontation but seek to maintain an environment of peace. Why? Because without this, it is not possible to call people to God. These two Quranic verses (4: 128 and 22: 67), tell us the path we should adopt. Life involves facing situations that you will not like, are unpleasant for you and will be against your desires. Differences are a part of nature. Given that problems are bound to appear, what should we do? What we should do is to learn to manage problems, rather than fight them. This is the formula that Islam gives—manage problems, rather than seek to fight them or try to eliminate them. This is also the formula of pacifism. Many people hope for a problem-free life. They want injustice and oppression to be completely eliminated. Only