EVERY PERSON IS YOUR POTENTIAL FRIEND

happens, no problem will remain. The mindset or mentality of many Muslims is such that they oppose every new thing. It is this mentality that has created the problem. So, this mentality has to change. What advice would you give Muslims in this regard? They should adopt the following five-point formula • Realization of God • Positive thinking • Conveying God’s message to people • They should put a complete end to hate and negative thinking. Instead of thinking of the West as an ‘enemy of Islam’, they should consider it as a supporter of Islam. • Rather than having a political target, they should make leading a Hereafter-oriented life their target If somewhere Muslims face opposition or a challenge from others, how do you think they should respond? They should adopt the following verse of the Quran (41: 34) as their guiding verse: Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend. In the light of what this verse teaches, one could say that no human being is an eternal enemy of another human being. By birth, every person has the status of a potential friend. Hence, in accordance with the guidance of the Quran, the Muslims’ approach in this matter should be that they should adopt the method of turning a potential friend into an actual friend. In his commentary on the Quranic verse cited above, Qazi Sanaullah Panipati (d. 1810) writes (Tafsir al-Mazhari, Vol. 8, p. 296) that some Islamic scholars have taken this verse to suggest that good deeds are not all of the same level. Likewise, there are different levels or grades of evil. Now, if a foe does a bad deed, one should respond to it with a good deed. For instance, if someone behaves badly with you, then, you should ignore it. But there is a higher level of goodness that you can show. In return for the bad deed done to you, you should behave in a very good way with the person. If you respond to evil with goodness, it is undoubtedly the highest sort of moral action. o