Today’s Muslims may know much about the divine rewards for reciting the Quran, but they are unaware of the immense reward for following the Quran in their own lives, although this is precisely the highest sort of reward that is associated with the Quran. The fact is that the solutions to all problems are contained in the Quran, but these solutions can work only for those who agree to accept them without any mental reservations.
Uthman ibn Affan narrates that the Prophet remarked that the best person is one who studies the Quran and teaches it to others (Sahih Bukhari). According to another Hadith, Umar ibn al-Khattab narrates that the Prophet said that God will elevate some people through His Book (Sahih Muslim).
Such Hadith reports indicate that the definite solution to all sorts of problems that Muslims may face is to obey the Quran. Muslims can and will gain protection by following the commandments of the Quran. This is a sure way for them to save themselves from all sorts of trials and afflictions.
Muslims are very well aware of the rewards for reciting the Quran, but they do not know about the rewards for obeying the Quran.
If you ponder on the Quran, you will discover a basic guiding principle—that good and evil are not the same, and that in a seemingly difficult situation, one must respond using the best possible method. As a result of this, one’s enemy will turn into a dear friend.
As the Quran (41:34) puts it:
Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend […]
Elaborating on this Quranic verse, Ibn Kathir reports that Abdullah ibn Abbas said:
God has commanded Muslims to exercise patience when they are angry, to express tolerance in the face of others’ ignorance, and to exhibit mercy in the face of something that is wrong. When people act accordingly, God will save them from Satan, and He will soften the hearts of the enemy for them, so that they become friends.
In this regard, Abdullah ibn Abbas, as reported in the Tafsir al-Qurtubi is also said to have remarked:
If someone behaves in an ignorant way with you, you must respond to his ignorance with tolerance.
The principle that the above-mentioned Quranic verse (41:34) reveals is also the solution to the problem of inter-communal violence. That is to say, instead of reacting to provocation, one should adopt a positive approach and method. There is simply no other effective way. If there were, the problem would have been solved by now, because in the past all these other methods have been tried but they have failed miserably.
If Muslims adopt the method of sabr and avoidance in the face of provocation then this response will be like water over the fires of strife and war.
The only way to end communal violence involving Muslims is for Muslims to stop thinking in communal terms and, instead, to adopt the Quranic way of thinking. Muslims are very well aware of the rewards for reciting the Quran, but they do not know about the rewards for obeying the Quran. The Quranic commandments are actually laws of nature, on the basis of which God has established the system that governs this world. It is by following these laws that the cosmic system is able to function perfectly. Similarly, it is by adhering to these laws that human beings can order their lives in the appropriate manner.
In the light of Quranic teachings, one can derive certain key principles of conflict-avoidance and conflict-resolution:
The need to properly investigate something that we happen to hear before taking action on it.
The Quran (49:6) says:
Believers, if an evil-doer brings you news, ascertain the correctness of the report fully, lest you unwittingly harm others, and then regret what you have done […]
Often, people get provoked and resort to violence on the basis of mere hearsay and rumour, without investigating the veracity of what they have heard. Sometimes, what they hear is completely baseless, but by the time they realize this, it is too late: they have already taken to violence, resulting in much loss of life and property.
Defusing the situation.
The Quran instructs us that in the face of provocation, we must refrain from reacting and instead defuse the situation.
….Whenever they kindle the fire of war, God puts it out….. (5:64)
In this verse, ‘God puts it [the fire of violence] out’, means that we must use the God given guidance of patience and avoidance in the face of such situations to restore peace instead of reacting to the provocation by fighting. If Muslims adopt the method of sabr and avoidance in the face of provocation then this response will be like water over the fires of strife and war. If instead Muslims react to the provocation with violence then the response will only add fuel to the fire.
In the manner in which bombs are disarmed, defused and made safe, Muslims should defuse the situations of violence and conflict. In ancient times, a common means of provocation was defilement with dirt and filth. In the sixth century CE, when King Abraha made an alternate and imitation Kaaba in Yemen and the Arabs defiled it, he was incensed and set out on a military campaign with a strong force of elephants to destroy the Kaaba in Arabia. In a similar case, when a stranger defiled the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, the Prophet instead of being provoked responded with patience and by cleaning the place the situation was defused. The stranger returned to his tribe and related this incident by proclaiming that, ‘God is witness that in spite of me defiling the mosque, Muhammad did not censure or punish me.’
If Muslims instead react to the provocation with violence then the response will only add fuel to the fire.
There are many verses in the Quran that inspire Muslims towards sabr and avoidance. If Muslims adopt this Quranic method of defusing a situation, it will cut the very roots of inter-communal conflict.
The need to abstain from ignorant prejudice and provocation.
In the context of the Treaty of Hudaibiya, the Quran relates that when the Prophet’s opponents displayed their prejudice against the Muslims, the believers did not respond in the same way. Rather, they remained established in God-consciousness (48:26). It was because the believers did not behave as their opponents did that the Treaty of Hudaibiya was possible. God termed this treaty as a ‘clear victory’. Two years after this treaty, the whole of Arabia came under the sway of Islam.
If Muslims were to act according to this above-mentioned Quranic verse, all of a sudden their history would take a different turn. It would also put a complete end to communal violence. In many cases, communal riots break out because, in the face of the prejudiced ways of others, Muslims react in exactly the same way. This escalates the conflict, and then turns into rioting.
In many cases, Muslims have reacted to the provocation of others by expressing the same sort of prejudice themselves. But if, instead, they had adopted the method that the Quran recommends, their response would have been totally different. And then, many lives would have been saved.
The Prophet related that evil cannot be wiped out through evil. Rather, evil can be wiped out only through goodness.
According to a Hadith contained in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, Abdullah ibn Masud says that the Prophet related that evil cannot be wiped out through evil. Rather, evil can be wiped out only through goodness.
This Hadith expresses a divine principle. The entire world is governed by this principle, that every evil can be put to an end only through goodness. Had this not been the case, evil would have completely overwhelmed the world. Contrary to what Islam tells us to do, Muslims are today engaged in trying to put an end to evil by resorting to evil themselves. They want to end provocation by resorting to provocation, to end hate by resorting to hate, to end enmity by resorting to enmity, and to end communal prejudice by resorting to communal prejudice. All of this is completely against divine principles. Such efforts can never succeed. If Muslims insist on continuing this way, they will have to setup an imaginary world of their own liking, because they certainly cannot succeed in the real world in this manner.
