Later,
in order to further expand this work of promoting peace and solidarity, the
Prophet entered into a treaty with the Jewish and pagan tribes of Medina,
according to which these groups were to be treated as belonging to the same qaum
or community as the Muslims. All those who were party to the treaty were to be
given protection or peace, except, of course, those who violated this agreement.
According to the treaty, the valley of Yathrib or Medina was to be a sacred
place for all those who were party to it. In this way, by giving foremost
importance to peace, the treaty guaranteed the parties to it safety from
external attack and internal strife. The same spirit was evident in the terms of
the Treaty of Hudaibiyah between the Muslims, led by the Prophet, and the Meccan
pagans. The Prophet signed the treaty although some of the terms appeared to be
heavily weighed against him. This he did so that a climate of peace could be
created, because of which Islam would be able to spread peacefully. -- Maulana Waris Mazhari
By Maulana Waris Mazhari
(Translated from Urdu by Yoginder Sikand)
Islam is a peaceful religion.
It stands for peace and desires peace. The basis of Islam is peace. The word
‘Islam’ is derived from the root silm, which means ‘peace’. In this sense, a
true Muslim, one who truly follows Islam, is someone who is at perfect peace,
with himself and with others, a person who is a means for the welfare of others.
He is someone from whom others can expect goodness, not problems or evil. The
Prophet Muhammad is said to have declared, as mentioned in the Hadith
collections of Tirmidhi and Nasai: ‘A true believer (mu‘min) is he from whom
people’s lives and wealth are safe.’ A true Muslim is one who lives in society,
rather than cut off from it, and is impelled with the overwhelming desire to
bring peace to humankind. He seeks to bring others close to him, not to drive
them away from him. This is why the Prophet declared, in a hadith report
contained in the Sahih al-Bukhari: ‘In him there is no merit who is not familiar
with others and with whom others are not familiar’.
According to a saying of the Prophet, Islam is welfare (ad-din
an-nasiha). The Prophet is also quoted as having said: ‘All creatures are
[members of] the family of God’ (al-khalqo ayalullah). Accordingly, a Muslim
must behave with all others, fellow creatures of God, in the same way as he
behaves with members of his own family. Furthermore, as a hadith report in the
Sahih al-Bukhari explains, the Prophet stressed that a Muslim is one who desires
for others what he desires for himself.
The fact of the matter is that the biggest blessing of God is peace.
Without peace a person cannot properly fulfil his religious, social and economic
roles and responsibilities. Nor can he properly benefit from the blessings of
God. This is why peace is described as a major divine blessing in numerous
verses of the Quran. Thus, for instance, the Quran says: ‘Let them worship the
Lord of this House, who provides them with food against hunger and with security
against fear [of danger]’ (106: 3-4).
Elsewhere, the Quran says: ‘Remember We made the House a place of
assembly for men and a place of safety’ (2:125). The verse that immediately
follows after this one cites the prophet Abraham beseeching God with regard to
Mecca thus: ‘My Lord, make this a city of peace’ (2:126). Similarly, God says of
Mecca: ‘In it are signs manifest: the
station of Abraham; whoever enters it attains security’ (3:97). According to the
Quran, on the Day of Judgment, God will say to the pious and the pure ones:
‘Enter ye in peace and security’ (15:46).
In this way, the Quran describes both Mecca, the religious centre of the
Muslims, and heaven as places of peace. This indicates that God desires that
Muslims live a peaceful life in this world and be upholders of peace. The
Prophet is said to have declared: ‘Among you if anyone passes the night and
wakens to be in peace in his home, healthy in body and in possession of a day’s
supply of water and food, it is as if he has acquired all the wealth of the
world.’ The basis for acquiring this wealth is peace. On the contrary, if a
person lacks peace all the wealth and luxuries of the world are meaningless for
him. This is why it is incumbent on people to strive to protect and promote
peace in their own lives and in society at large, for this is the basis of
social life and of civilisational progress.
The opposite of peace is fear and restlessness at the individual
level, and chaos and conflict at the social level. A community characterized by
strife must struggle to come out of this situation and establish peace, even if
this would lead to some temporary damage or loss to it.
Securing peace was a major quest of the Prophet Muhammad, which was
indispensible for conveying God’s message to others and for nurturing a society
of individuals who followed God’s teachings in their personal and collective
affairs. Muslims regard the Prophet as the model whom they must emulate. For the
first thirteen years of his prophethood, the Prophet remained in his city of
Mecca, using peaceful means of persuasion despite the fierce opposition that he
had to encounter. Despite horrific persecution, he and his followers remained
steadfast and determined, preaching to the people and seeking to guide them to
the right path. Later, when the situation became intolerable, he left for
Medina, where his first effort was to establish peace and to build bridges of
love, brotherhood and harmony between the Muslim migrants or Muhajirun of Mecca
and the helpers or Ansars of Medina.
Later, in order to further expand this work of promoting peace and
solidarity, the Prophet entered into a treaty with the Jewish and pagan tribes
of Medina, according to which these groups were to be treated as belonging to
the same qaum or community as the Muslims. All those who were party to the
treaty were to be given protection or peace, except, of course, those who
violated this agreement. According to the treaty, the valley of Yathrib or
Medina was to be a sacred place for all those who were party to it. In this way,
by giving foremost importance to peace, the treaty guaranteed the parties to it
safety from external attack and internal strife. The same spirit was evident in
the terms of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah between the Muslims, led by the Prophet,
and the Meccan pagans. The Prophet signed the treaty although some of the terms
appeared to be heavily weighed against him. This he did so that a climate of
peace could be created, because of which Islam would be able to spread
peacefully.
Even when the Prophet had acquired political power and strength he
gave the establishment of peace the topmost priority. Thus, when he conquered
Mecca he did not behave like most conquerors would have. He did not engage in
bloodshed and strife. Instead, he issued a general amnesty. When a companion of
his, Sa‘ad Ibn Ubada, said that this would be the ‘day of fierce fighting’ (yaum
al-malhama), the Prophet rebutted him and said it would be a ‘day of mercy’
(yaum al-marhama). The Prophet announced that all those who entered the house of
his arch-enemy Abu Sufiyan, or who locked themselves up in their own homes or
who had sought refuge in the mosque of the Ka‘aba would be given protection.
Finally, he forgave even the most inveterate foes of Islam, the Muslims and
himself. Consequently, vast numbers of those who had fiercely opposed the
Prophet voluntarily entered the fold of Islam.
Peace is the call of nature. It is the most fundamental basis of
social life. The absence of peace in any society is the major cause for its
decline. Those communities that have not understood these truths are destined to
be consigned to the margins of history. The most aggressive and violent group to
emerge in the course of Muslim history were the Kharijites, but they rapidly
disappeared altogether. Likewise, all such violent groups, Muslim or otherwise,
are destined to die out, no matter how noble their objectives may be.
The Prophet Muhammad is said to have remarked: ‘Do not want or desire
to fight the enemy. And seek peace from God.’ However, contrary to this, several
Muslim groups and movements in different parts of the world are today engaged in
bloody confrontation, and have made conflict their primary identity. This is
despite the fact that the Quran warns Muslims not to spread strife. Further,
these self-styled ‘revolutionary’ Islamic groups have emerged as a major cause
for worsening and making more complicated and intractable many of the problems
that Muslims are faced with. Their bloody actions are proving to be entirely
counter-productive for Islam and Muslims. In my opinion, the conduct of most of
these movements and the fate that they have today met with reflects what God
says in the following verse of the Quran:
‘Allah sets forth a parable: a city enjoying security and quiet,
abundantly supplied with sustenance from every place: yet was it ungrateful for
the favours of Allah: so Allah made it taste of hunger and terror [in extremes]
[closing in on it] like a garment [from every side], because of the [evil] which
[its people] wrought’ (16:112).
Maulana Waris Mazhari is the editor of the New Delhi-based monthly
Tarjuman Dar ul-Uloom, the official organ of the Graduates’ Association of the
Deoband madrasa. He can be contacted on w.mazhari@gmail.com
Yoginder Sikand works with the Centre for the Study of Social
Exclusion at the National Law School, Bangalore.
10:46 PM
Sultan Shahin
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