Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I The Sunday Guardian I February 8, 2015

There are many names of God Almighty in the Quran. One of the names of God is As-Salam, that is, Peace. Thus, God Himself is peace. There is a prayer of the Prophet of Islam: "O God, You are peace, peace comes from You, peace returns to You. Bless us so that we can live in peace" (Bukhari). Thus, peace is very important in Islam.

There is a verse in the Quran: "And God calls to the home of peace" (10:25). It means that God wants to establish a peaceful society. It is God's plan. God has directed people that they must establish a peaceful society, because a peaceful society is a must for all kind of constructive activities.

Peace is the culture of the whole universe. In the universe, there are numerous bodies: stars, planets, and galaxies. All these celestial bodies are in a moving state: stars are moving, the planets are moving, and the sun and the moon are moving. Movement often leads to accidents. Our roads are a very good illustration of this phenomenon. There is movement on our roads: cars, trucks and various other things are in motion. And an accident takes place every second on these roads. But if you observe the universe, there are no accidents. There is movement, but there is no accident. Why is this so?

Because God Almighty controls the universe. The universe is a divine demonstration telling us, "O men and women, you have to live in peace!" This is the culture of the universe: a divine culture or a universal culture. One can say that peace is the summum bonum, or the highest good. Peace has no negative points. This reality has been stated in the Quran in these words: "Peace is the greatest good" (4:128).