BOOK REVIEW

at the Treaty of Hudaibiyah. Skilful handling of differences that could otherwise lead to conflict, he indicates, requires one to unilaterally offer and accept peace and to refuse to get provoked by others. It requires one to ignore lesser evils and not to make them into a prestige issue that can only further magnify differences and foment conflict. It also requires one to introspect and to realize that one alone is responsible for one’s misery, not others. The Maulana appeals to his fellow Muslims to recognize this and to stop blaming others for their woes and to desist from conflict with them. Reflecting on relations between Muslims and others, the Maulana stresses what he calls the “Islam of humility”. This he contrasts with what he terms the “Islam of pride”, which, he says, leads those who follow this warped interpretation of Islam to imagine that they are superior to others, a “psychology” that, he contends, “creates all the differences and disputes that Muslims are beset with today.” On the other hand, the “Islam of humility” brings Muslims close to others, the Maulana explains, automatically resolving conflicts. “The fear of God takes away from them any sense of superiority […] In the face of the prejudice of others, their God-consciousness makes them humble and modest. This acts like water in the face of the fire of other people’s prejudices. And it brings violence to an end”. The “Islam of humility” leads to resolving differences and ending conflict through love and compassion. Furthermore, the Maulana insists that instead of complaining about others and making demands on them—something that almost inevitably magnifies differences and easily leads to conflict—Muslims should make themselves eligible and become useful to others. That itself would help reduce differences, defuse conflicts and build harmonious inter-community relations. The key to a successful life in this world, the Maulana says, is to be beneficial to others, indicating that if Muslims proved themselves to be of benefit to others, there would be no conflict between them. “People and groups gain a position of respect if they prove to be useful” he explains, adding, “In contrast, those who lose their usefulness are dumped in the dustbin of history and the world moves on.” In the concluding essay of the book, titled ‘Consciousness of the Hereafter’ the Maulana reminds us that we, after all, are merely travellers in this world and that what awaits us after our short span here is the eternal life after death (for which this present life is a period of preparation).