TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace is deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion for both—man and the universe. It is the master-key that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour. Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible. ISLAM IN A PLURALISTIC SOCIETY F OR the greater part of his life, the Prophet of Islam lived in a society where adherents of other religions existed side by side with believers in Islam. The Prophet’s behaviour towards the former was invariably that of respect and tolerance. At a time when the majority of the denizens of Makkah were still polytheists, his conduct consistently conveyed his high moral character. On the one hand, he communicated to them the message of God with love and kindness and, on the other, fulfilled all of their human rights. That is why the non-Muslims of Makkah had such great confidence in him, to the point of entrusting their belongings to his care. This they continued to do right up to the last days of his stay in Makkah. After the attainment of his prophethood, he lived in Makkah for a period of 13 years, later migrating to Madinah, where he lived for ten years until his death. For about half of this period in Madinah, he was living among people belonging to different religions—Muslims, Jews, Christians and Polytheists. The Prophet devised a constitution for these people, known in history as Sahifa-e-Madinah (The Madinah Charter). This charter expressly mentioned that issues concerning these groups domiciled in Madinah would be decided on the basis of their own religious traditions—those of Muslims according to their Islamic traditions, and those of the polytheists, Christians and Jews according to their respective traditions. This principle of Islam was intended to apply at all places where Muslims lived along with adherents of other religions. This sunnat, or practice of the Prophet, for a plural society