SPIRIT OF ISLAM NOVEMBER 2019

32 Spirit of Islam Issue 83 November 2019 Mere casual talk about peace will not, of itself, produce peace for humanity. It is essential rather to formulate a concept of peace in such a manner as to explain and underline its importance. Islam came to humankind in an age when violence was an integral part of every nation’s culture and, as such, was prevalent all over the world. Violence, it was thought, was the most dependable means for the achievement of all ends. It was at this point that Islam brought to the world the message of peaceful co-existence, not only in theory, but also in practice. The truth is that Islam is a peaceful way of life. It was so for the man of the past, and it is so for the man of today. But mere casual talk about peace will not, of itself, produce peace for humanity. It is essential rather to formulate a concept of peace in such a manner as to explain and underline its importance. Furthermore, such a concept must be accompanied by a methodology which will facilitate its practical realization. Simplifying One’s Difficulties The concept presented by Islam for peaceful living is based on the idea that, in this world, adversity is always accompanied by some positive, simplifying factor. That is to say that disadvantages will always be accompanied by advantages. The common man is nevertheless of the view that whenever any difficulty presents itself, the only solution is to fight. And it is this mentality which breeds violence. If, however, he could be convinced that whenever the path to success seemed barred to him, there would always be something inherent in the situation to ease his difficulties, his whole manner of thinking would change. This is not a concept which is immediately acceptable, the main reason being that most people have never formed the habit of identifying the positive factors in a seemingly negative situation. But once this concept has taken root in a man’s mind, he will no longer clash head-on with anything unfavourable that comes in his way. He will, on the contrary, direct his efforts towards seeking whatever advantages lie in store for him. Only after securing these advantages will he start his struggle anew. In this way, on the ideological plane, this concept strikes at the very roots of violence. In addition to this conceptual approach, Islam offers a new methodology based on non-violence rather than on violence. This topic is dealt with briefly here: