No! In this world of competition, it is not possible for anyone to receive perfect justice. So one has to be content with practical justice (pragmatic solutions). In-depth studies have found that those people who seek peace with justice fail to achieve anything positive. Moreover, during this futile exercise, they lose what they already had in their hand. Conversely, those who delink justice from peace are always successful in life. The study leads to the conclusion that the scientific concept of peace is the only correct and practicable concept. Thus peace is not meant to establish justice. The purpose of peace is only to normalise the situation so that one may uninterruptedly avail of the opportunities present at that time.

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.

To illustrate the point, there are two examples from history, 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. It is known as Hudaybiyyah Peace Treaty in Islamic history. If you examine historical records, you will find that, in terms of justice being done, several problems arose. The treaty could be concluded because the Prophet was able to delink the question of justice from the question of peace. This delinking of the two issues gave him success which is described in the Quran as a clear victory. (48: 1)

Now, why does the Quran describe this as a victory, when in fact, it was the acceptance of all the conditions imposed by the Prophet's opponents? 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 Hudaybiyyah; he gained on a far larger scale throughout the whole of Arabia.

Now let us take a look at the example of Japan. In World War II, Japan was defeated by the United States of America Okinawa Island was occupied by the American army after the conclusion of a peace treaty. Its terms were dictated by America. Japan, willingly or unwillingly, accepted a treaty in which justice was delinked from peace. But what was the result? Within a period of forty years, the entire scenario had changed. Japan did lose Okinawa Island, but it gained the entire USA (North American continent) as its industrial market. And now it enjoys the status of a world economic superpower.

Source: Spirit of Islam April 2019

No! Peace with justice is not a practical model of peace. The reason that peace remains a distant dream despite so much effort is that people have made justice a prerequisite for peace. They say, “We want peace, but we want peace with justice.”

This association of justice with peace is extraneous and unnatural. 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. This means, first of all, we have to establish peace unilaterally and at any cost. As per the law of nature, peace will certainly open the doors of opportunities, and by availing those opportunities, you can achieve justice, peace, or any other goal.

Source: Spirit of Islam February 2013

The principle of peace for the sake of peace was successfully demonstrated by the Prophet of Islam in the form of the Peace Treaty of Hudaybiyyah that he signed with his opponents, 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, thus, established 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 February 2013