THE WORD OF GOD

no world war happening among animals and birds! Peace is a principle of nature. It is logical that human beings too, should live in peace. In this sense, I have to acknowledge that peace is the summum bonum. As I study the life of the Prophet of Islam, I find that the Prophet always wished to live in peace. It is true that on some occasions he was engaged in battles. But these were not full-fledged wars in the true sense of the term. Rather, they were mere skirmishes. The Prophet wanted peace at any cost. The best illustration of this was the Treaty of Hudaibiya, where the Prophet accepted all conditions imposed by the other party, only to establish peace. This is an example from the phase of the Prophet’s life when he was in Madinah. We can find similar examples from the Makkan phase of his life, too. For instance, in Makkah, when the Prophet started his mission, the Kaaba was full of idols, but he never tried to destroy them. He simply ignored their presence. Why was this so? Without this avoidance, it wasn’t possible to establish peace in Makkah, and without peace the Prophet couldn’t carry on his mission. So, he accepted the presence of the idols in the Kaaba and never objected to it. And so, he was able to carry on smoothly the dawah mission, of inviting people to God. The Prophet always tried to establish peace, even if it meant unilateral acceptance of the conditions laid by the opponent. Why is peace so important? Without peace, nothing constructive can happen—be it study, prayer, social work or any other positive activity. I love peace, and I know that peace has a pivotal role in Islam. I wish those Muslims who have taken to radicalism would see and say the same thing, that Islam is a religion of peace. In every community, it seems, people have manipulated religion to suit their own desires and promote conflict. Violence is not intrinsic to religion. All religions, interpreted rightly, are peaceful. Isn’t it? There’s another point that I discovered from Islam. It has to do with many of the issues we have been discussing, the difference between personal life and social life. As per the law of nature, you can follow idealism in your personal life, but in social life it is impossible. This is