TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

tribes were frequently at war and took pride in names that displayed a warrior like nature. When the Prophet heard about the boy’s name, he asked Ali to change the name to Hasan, meaning goodness. From this incident we can get an idea of the personality of the Prophet of Islam. His was a peace-loving personality in the complete sense. His peaceloving nature was so heightened that he did not even like to hear the word Harab which had connotations of violence. Whereas Harab was a symbolic name for violence, Hasan was a name that symbolized peace. The Prophet of Islam believed in cultivating a peaceful character. Zaid ibn Muhalhil, a poet from Najd, was born before the Prophet. He was also a skilled swordsman and horse rider, because of which he was known as Zaid-ul-Khail. Khail means horse, and in those days, horses were associated with cavalry. When Zaid embraced Islam, the Prophet did not like his title and changed it from Zaid-ul-Khail to Zaid-ul-Khair. Khail was a symbolic name associated with battles and violence. Khair, on the other hand, was symbolic of peace and goodness. The Prophet changed the direction of Zaid’s character by changing his name. He instructed him to be a professor of goodness, giving the gifts of peace and prosperity to people instead of being a harbinger of death and violence. He wanted his followers to do good works for the people, giving them the message of peace and prosperity and not of death and destruction. From these examples we can understand that peace was the guiding principle of the Prophet’s character. The battles that took place during his life were only incidental and under exceptional circumstances, rather than being the main features of his life. However, most of the Prophet’s biographers have painted an altogether different picture of him. Instead of presenting him as a prophet of peace they have portrayed him as a prophet of violence. The battles which were fought during the Prophet’s time were related to the culture then prevailing amongst the Arab tribes. The Prophet Muhammad was born in the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe of Arabia. At that time, Arabia was divided into many different tribes, each with several clans, all vying for domination. Fights between tribes and clans over trivial issues were common. Due to this The Prophet of Islam believed in cultivating a peaceful character. The Prophet conveyed God’s guidance to humankind in a peaceful manner.