Prophet Muhammad has been called the mercy to all mankind by God in the Quran in these words: “We have sent you forth as a mercy to all mankind. (The Quran, 21:107)

The advent of the Prophet was an expression of God’s mercy for the whole of humankind. Through him, God informed us about the principles on the basis of which human beings can come to inhabit what the Quran (10:25) refers to as dar us-salam or ‘the Home of Peace’, an abode of peace and security for its inhabitants. Through the Prophet, God conveyed to us teachings that can make for a peaceful society. The Prophet presented humankind with a complete ideology of peace. He provided us with a formula that can enable us to abstain from hatred and violence and lead a healthy life. He ushered in a revolution that made it possible for humanity to avoid confrontation and war and nurture a peaceful society.

Because of certain compelling circumstances, the Prophet had to fight some battles, but these were so minor that they can be more appropriately called skirmishes, rather than wars. The great revolution that the Prophet wrought can, therefore, definitely be termed a bloodless revolution.

The Prophet gave peace the status of a complete and comprehensive way of life. He taught us that violence leads to destruction, while peace leads to construction. He termed patience as the highest form of worship, which means remaining fully established on the way of peace. He termed strife, the disruption of the peaceful system of Nature, as the biggest crime. He gave complete importance to peace in accordance with the Quranic teaching that equated the killing of a single individual with the slaying of the whole of mankind.

The Prophet termed patience as the highest form of worship, which means remaining fully established on the way of peace. He taught us to greet each other with the greeting Assalamu Alaikum or ‘May peace be upon you!’ This means that our relationships with each other should be based on peace and security. He taught us that success in the Hereafter is the real goal of human activity and struggle in this world. In this way, he uprooted the false belief that the target of our life is worldly progress, which is the basis of all forms of confrontation and violence. He taught us not to consider anyone as our enemy. From him, we learned that if we behave in a good way with our opponents, we will realize that hidden deep within every person we think of as our foe is a potential friend. He gave humanity this beautiful formula: Become someone who benefits others. And if you cannot benefit others, then at least become harmless as far as they are concerned.

Source: Spirit of Islam October 2014

Scholars have defined peace thus: “Peace is the absence of war.” This definition is absolutely correct. However, some people hold this definition of peace to be inadequate. They say that justice should accompany peace; that peace devoid of justice is no peace. But setting such a condition for the attainment of peace is impractical. As justice is made a prerequisite for peace, peace remains a distant dream.

In this world of nature, only the laws of nature can prevail, anything that is unnatural cannot be materialised. According to the law of nature, justice is not part of peace; it is the result of your own efforts. The natural formula of peace is based on the principle: Peace for the sake of peace, So, first of all, we have to establish peace at any cost. According to this law of nature, peace will certainly open the doors of opportunity and by making the most of those opportunities, you can achieve justice, peace, or any other goal.

This principle was successfully demonstrated by the Prophet of Islam in the form of Sulh al Hudaybiyyah or the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. In fact Sulh al Hudaybiyyah was a peace agreement between Muslims and their opponents. The Prophet of Islam finalised this peace agreement by accepting injustice. At that time the Prophet and his companions wanted to visit Makkah and perform Umrah, but they were prevented from doing so. The Prophet dropped his Umrah plans and finalised the peace agreement by accepting all the conditions laid down unilaterally by the opponents. As a consequence, the companions of the Prophet were very disheartened: they considered it a degrading treaty. One of the companions said at that time, “Why are we accepting such a humiliating agreement?”

However, soon after this peace agreement was finalised, God Almighty revealed this verse in the Quran: “Truly, we have granted you a clear victory.” (The Quran, 48: 1)

Why does the Quran call it a “clear victory” when it was obviously a setback for the Prophet and his companions? This ‘victory’ was in terms of potential victory rather than immediate actual victory. The Hudaybiyyah Peace Treaty stopped all kinds of hostility between the two sides and opened up the doors of opportunity.

After this, it became possible to conduct a dialogue and, have an intellectual exchange, between the two parties. In other words, peace opened the doors for the Prophet to be able to spread his message throughout Arabia.

This prophetic example shows us the way to peace. It tells us how peace can be established and what actions must be taken in such situations of conflict. It is to detach peace from justice. It is to establish peace at any cost. It is to adopt peace for the sake of peace; to re-plan every strategy concentrating on opportunities and not on justice.

Justice is an indirect result of peace and not the direct outcome, so the formula for peace is to establish peace by accepting injustice for a temporary period. Peace will open the doors of opportunity and by availing the opportunities the goal of justice can be reached. The only formula for achieving justice is to accept injustice at the outset; then you will be able to achieve justice in the future by reaping the benefits of peace.

Source: Spirit of Islam January 2015

The study of psychology tells us that human beings are by nature egoists. Whenever their ego is hit, a hostile reaction is produced which easily becomes converted into hatred and the urge to do violence. This point has been dealt with very clearly by C.M. Joad in his book: “The Modern Wickedness.” It is this psychological weakness in human beings due to which we find that differences often take the form of animosity, which frequently leads to violence. This shows that violence is in no need of any ideology. Violence flares up or can flare up on its own. But, so far as peace is concerned, it is a course that we adopt by choice. One has to make oneself intentionally peace-loving. That is, while violence occurs on its own, restoring a state of peace requires a positive and peaceful ideology for man to strive toward.

To keep oneself intentionally peaceful, one needs to understand the creation plan of God. The present world has been designed by its Creator as a testing ground for mankind. Man has been granted full freedom of will in this world. But this freedom is not meant to produce anarchy. Its objective is to demonstrate whether man, despite having full freedom, can lead a disciplined life. He has to raise himself from the level of animal amorality to the level of human ethics. In spite of experiencing feelings of hatred and having the urge to be violent, he should become the embodiment of love and peace. When negative sentiments corrode his heart, he should be able to rid himself of them and make himself a positive thinker.

To put it briefly, despite possessing total freedom, he should of his own free will become an example of moral, disciplined behaviour. One who thus conducts himself will pass God’s test. Only those who act in this way will be selected by the Lord, the Creator and Sustainer of this universe, as the beneficiaries of that most wonderful blessing—eternal paradise.

Having understood the meaning of life, one will be willing to keep the peace as a matter of conscious decision-making. For peace, one will curb his anger and be forgiving. He will control his feelings of hatred and project feelings of love for others. He will suppress his negative thinking, and replace it with positive thinking. He will not allow himself to be provoked into violence. And he will do this by his own intention, not under compulsion.

Giving himself a complete moral overhaul, such an individual can play the role of a peace-loving person. This is a comprehensive ideology of peace based on the creation plan of God. Giving the target of Paradise in the Hereafter, it motivates people to adopt peaceful ways.

Source: The Ideology of Peace

There are two kinds of talks - one that revolve problems and issues that exist in the world around us. People sit together to discuss these issues and raise hue and cry about it. It is my understanding that people are already prepared for attending such gatherings and need not be prepared additionally. The other kind is the CPS lectures. In my view, people are not prepared for such lectures. Making a person a prepared mind therefore assumes paramount importance.