TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

The Prophet of Islam declared that personal belief is a subject of discussion and exchange rather than of legal punishment. Hadith that gives this kind of injunction which says: Kill the person who commits blasphemy against the Prophet. The Quran tells us that since ancient times God has sent prophets in succession to every town and every community. It says, moreover, that the contemporaries of all of these prophets adopted a negative attitude towards them. There are more than two hundred verses in the Quran which reveal that the contemporaries of the prophets repeatedly perpetrated the same act which is now called ‘blasphemy or abuse of the Prophet’ or ‘using abusive language about the Prophet’. Prophets throughout the ages have been mocked and abused by their contemporaries (36: 30); some of the epithets cited in the Quran being “a liar” (40: 24), “possessed” (15: 6), “a fabricator” (16: 101), “a foolish man” (7: 66). The Quran mentions these words of abuse used by prophets’ contemporaries but nowhere does the Quran prescribe the punishment of lashes, or death or any other physical punishment. This clearly shows that ‘abuse of the Prophet’ is not a subject of punishment, but rather a subject of peaceful admonishment. That is, one who is guilty of abusing the Prophet should not have corporal punishment meted out to him: he should rather be given sound arguments in order that his mind may be addressed. In other words, peaceful persuasion should be used to reform the person concerned rather than trying to punish him. Those who adopt a negative stance towards the Prophet will be judged by God, who knows the innermost recesses of their hearts. The responsibility of the believers is to observe the policy of avoidance, and with a well wishing attitude, convey the message of God to them in such a manner that their minds might be properly addressed. Another important aspect of this matter is that at no point in the Quran is it stated that anyone who uses abusive language about the Prophet should be stopped from doing so, and in case he continues to do so he should be awarded severe punishment. On the contrary, the Quran commands the believer not to use abusive language against opponents. The teachings of the Quran make it plain that it is not the task of the believers to establish “media watch” offices and hunt for anyone involved in acts of defamation of the Prophet, and then plan for their killing, whatever the cost. On the contrary, the Quran enjoins believers