SPIRIT OF ISLAM NOVEMBER 2019

10 Spirit of Islam Issue 83 November 2019 The masses everywhere are obsessed with the idealistic concept of peace. But one has to differentiate between what is possible and what is impossible. This concept of peace is seemingly beautiful. Because of this apparent beauty, it has gained general popularity. The masses everywhere are obsessed with the idealistic concept of peace. But one has to differentiate between what is possible and what is impossible. There is no other alternative. One has to be practical rather than idealistic if one wants to achieve a positive result. The object of peace is only to normalize the situation between two warring sides. Peace is not aimed at satisfying the concerned parties in terms of rights and justice. Rights and justice are totally different issues. Linking them with peace is unnatural as well as impractical. These are goals to be worked for separately and independently. Furthermore, in this world of competition, no one can receive peace and justice in terms of his own personal criteria. It is situations and circumstances which will dictate to what extent we can achieve these goals.  Also, in this world of competition, it is not possible for anyone to receive perfect justice, so one has to be content with practical justice. People who seek peace with justice fail to achieve anything positive and during this futile exercise, they lose what they already had in their hands. Conversely, those who delink justice from peace are always successful in life.  To illustrate this point, two examples from history are cited here. One from the early period of Islam and one from the modern history of Japan. It is a well-known fact that the Prophet of Islam was repeatedly challenged by his opponents in ancient Arabia. There were several instances of wars and violence. Then the Prophet managed to finalize a peace treaty between the Muslims and their opponents, known as Hudaibiya Peace Treaty. Historical records show that this peace treaty was finalized, apparently giving no justice to the Prophet of Islam, but the Prophet concluded this treaty by delinking the question of justice from the question of peace. This delinking of the two issues gave him the success which is described in the Quran as a clear victory (48: 1) . The Quran called this a victory because, although the peace treaty itself was devoid of justice, it instantly normalized the situation, thus enabling the Prophet to avail of the opportunities present at the time. What the Prophet lost in Hudaibiya, he gained on a far larger scale throughout the whole of Arabia.