Peace and Nonviolence : An Islamic Perspective
By Dr. Saniyasnain Khan
Secretary, The Islamic Centre, New Delhi ( India )
This word 'Islam' derives from the Arabic root 'silm', which means peace. In this respect, it would be correct to say that Islam is a religion of peace. And the themes of peace and goodwill are certainly pre-eminent among the teachings in Islam. This is why the Prophet of Islam has been called in the Qur'an, "the mercy for all nation." The sum of Islamic teachings has in fact been expressed, in this verse of the Qur'an which says "And God calls to home peace.
The main form of worship in Islam is namaz. The culmination of namaz comes after the prayer is over, when the namazis turn their faces right and then left saying as they turn, 'Peace be upon you', 'Peace be upon you'. This means that Islamic worship is designed to inculcate such a spirit in man that he is all peace and mercy for the rest of the world.
A study of the Qur'an and Hadith shows that the man Islam wants to build is one who has peace of mind, who can live at peace with the world, who will never harm others. The Prophet of Islam was once asked who the best Muslim was. He replied: "One from whose hands and tongue people are safe."
In the Islamic concept of life, man is sent to this world in order to be tested. This is God's creation plan for man. A necessary requirement of this plain is, that man should have the propensity to do both good and evil. Only then, in the face of the fact that he has the power to do evil, can he be given the credit for having done good deeds. If all human beings were robots, how could they be given this credit?
The Qur'an tells us that man has been invested with two faculties at the same time, one, the ego (nafsammara)3 and the other conscience {nafs lawwama)4 while nafs lawwama is the centre of love and peace, nafsammara is the centre of anger and hatred.
In normal circumstances, nafs ammara or ego lies in a dormant state. It is awakened only when it is provoked. The teaching Islam gives in order to nullify such provocation is one of avoidance. That is to say refraining from such utterances or acts as might provoke the other person and, in turn, cause the arousal of his ego.
Another teaching of Islam in this regard is that once a person's ego has been aroused, and his feelings of anger and hatred have come uppermost, then at that particular moment we should avoid reacting or retaliating in kind; we ought rather to forgive him.
To sum up the moral teachings of Islam, we must refrain from all such utterances and acts as lead to awakening the nafs ammara or ego of the other party. In all matters, we should behave in such a way as to cause the person's nafs lawwama or conscience to be awakened. According to Islam, this is the most effective method of winning people's hearts.
The Prophet of Islam once said: "God is kind and He loves kindness. God grants on the basis of kindness what he does not grant for any other thing." (Muslim).
It is generally held that only violence has any power as an action. But the concept of life offered by Islam is that nonviolence is the greatest of all actions.
It has far more power than violence. In Islam, this is not just a matter of principle, for the Prophet and his companions have presented to the world the most successful example of this method. Looked at from this aspect, Islamic history is an unbroken record of nonviolent action.
The early phase of Islam is in toto a shining example of this principal. The Prophet of Islam started his career of da'wah (i.e. the calling of people to Islam) in Mecca. The Meccans, however, opposed this call with all their might: they even went to the extent of violence. The Prophet, however, did not react; he did not once waver from his policy of patience, When their violence increased to an unbearable extent, he left Mecca for Medina.
Now the Meccans waged total war against him and his companions. At this stage, in order to avoid war and confrontation with the enemy, the Prophet made a 10 year no-war pact, accepting all the conditions set by the enemy. (This pact is known in Islamic history as the Hudaybiya Treaty). After this treaty, when Mecca was conquered through the power of peace, not war, Prophet unconditionally forgave all his enemies.
The result of such nonviolent politics, was that all the Arabs accepted Islam and joined his mission.
Dr. Michael Hart has declared the Prophet of Islam to be the supremely successful man of history. Here, I should like to add that, by becoming the supremely successful man of history, the Prophet of Islam has shown to the world the secret of supreme success. The secret of supreme success, may, in a phrase, be called nonviolent activism.
Now I would just like to conclude with one of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad which I think very well sums up the teachings of Islam:
Nine things the Lord has commanded me;
Fear of God in private and in public;
Justness, whether in anger or calmness;
Moderation in both poverty and affluence; and
That I should join hands with those who break away from me;
And give to those who deprive me;
And forgive those who harm me;
And that my silence should be meditation;
And my word remembrance of God;
And my vision keen observation.
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Article Source : Anuvibha Reporter ( Special Issue : Dec. 2000 )
Ahimsa, Peacemaking, Conflict Prevention and Management Proceedings and Presentations
Fourth International Conference on Peace and Nonviolent Action ( IV ICPNA )
New Delhi : Nov. 10-14, 1999
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