TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

Reconciliation leads to an atmosphere of peace between opponents. Then, it becomes possible to avail of hidden opportunities making best use of the circumstances. Success is thus entirely possible through this conciliatory policy. Experience tells us that in the whole of human history, leaders have been unaware of the fact that the psyche of revenge is a major obstacle in gaining any positive objective through war. Since nothing positive can be achieved through revenge, the only practicable solution is to adopt the method of reconciliation. Reconciliation leads to an atmosphere of peace between opponents. In this way, it becomes possible to discover and avail of hidden opportunities making best use of the circumstances. Success is thus entirely possible through this conciliatory policy, as availing of opportunities is the only other name for success. Divine Planning To give man right guidance in this regard, God decided to intervene and manage history. This happened through the Prophet Muhammad in the first half of the seventh century CE. It began with a dream of the Prophet when he was in Madinah. In conformance with the dream, in the month of Dhul Qadah in AD 628, the Prophet along with his Companions set off from Madinah towards Makkah. Several events took place during this journey. Finally, after a series of negotiations, a treaty was agreed upon between the Muslims and the Makkan opponents of the Prophet, known in history as the Treaty of Hudaibiyah or the Hudaibiyah Agreement. This Agreement was based on several conditions. But its fundamental requirement was just one—that for a period of ten years there would be no war between the two parties. The words of this requirement in the agreement read as follows: This is the agreement made between Muhammad ibn Abdullah and Suhayl ibn Amr. Both agree that there will be no fighting between them for the next ten years. The Hudaibiyah Agreement was actually a ten-year no-war pact. As there had been a climate of enmity between the two parties for some time, an agreement of this sort had seemed impractical. This seemingly impossible agreement was accomplished only when the Prophet unilaterally accepted the harsh and unjust conditions of the opposite party.