TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

The Treaty of Hudaybiya appeared to be a capitulation before the opponents of the Muslims but in fact, it gave the Muslims an opportunity to consolidate their position. The Prophet accepted all the Quraysh’s demands in return for a single assurance from them—namely, that they would cease all hostilities against the Muslims for ten years. Continual raids and threats of warfare had prevented the Muslims from pursuing constructive missionary work. As soon as the Prophet returned from Hudaybiya, he intensified missionary work in and around Arabia, the ground work having been done beforehand. Now that peace prevailed, the message of Islam started spreading rapidly. The Prophet also turned his attention to building up the influence of Islam in Madinah. The culmination came within only two years of the Treaty of Hudaybiya; the Quraysh surrendered without even putting up a fight. There was no further barrier now to the Prophet’s triumphant entry into Makkah. People nowadays tend to resort to violence on the slightest provocation from their opponents. When the losses of meaningless war are pointed out to them, they seek to justify themselves by saying that, they were not the aggressors and that their opponents had forced them to take to fighting. “We didn’t fight!” they retort. “It was those people who did it! They conspired against us to make us fight.” Such people do not know that ‘not to fight’ is not simply that if no one fights you, you do not fight with anyone. Rather, ‘not to fight’ means that if someone comes to fight you, still you should not fight with them. Non-violence does not mean remaining peaceful so long as no one is acting violently towards you. Rather, it means to refrain from violence even in the face of violence. If someone seeks to provoke you, you should not allow yourself to get provoked. If someone conspires against you, you should render the conspiracy ineffective through wisdom and silent positive action. To fight one’s enemies is no way to succeed in life. Only by avoiding conflict can one consolidate one’s strength. Only then, will one be able to overcome one’s foes. To fight at the slightest provocation and ignore the need to quietly build up one’s own strength is to condemn oneself to destruction. Such conduct can never lead to success in this world of God. The Prophet achieved success by pursuing a policy of non-confrontation; how, then can his followers succeed by pursuing a policy of confrontation? How can they be called his followers when they are blind to his example? o