FOREWARD
It was January 12, 2015. I was lying on a bed in New Delhi's Max Hospital, experiencing severe pain after surgery. The doctor eventually entered my room and said: 'Don't worry, this is a temporary phase. Soon everything will be normal.'
I had not slept the entire night and these words of the doctor set me thinking. I began to reflect upon those who were nowadays engaged in a self-styled holy war.
These perpetrators of violence have made other people their target everywhere-in places of worship, markets, hotels, public places, even graveyards. The violence unleashed by them has led to the merciless killing of large numbers of innocent people. I was then reminded of a verse from the Quran which tells us that killing one human being is akin to killing all of mankind. (5:32) There are now more than seven billion people in the world. This means that those who kill even a single person deserve the punishment of killing seven billion people. I was very distressed when this thought came to my mind and I questioned myself as to how those who killed others would bear such severe punishment.
What is the reason behind the seriousness of the issue of human killing? It is because this matter apparently pertains to human beings, but in reality it pertains directly to God. This means that killing a human being is tantamount to intervening in the creation plan of God. It is to deprive a person of the chance to live his full life and play the role destined for him by his Creator. It is only when a person lives out the full span of his life as granted to him by the Creator, that he is able to play the role assigned to him in this world.
Indeed, both killing and giving life pertain directly to God Almighty. Once a person understands the seriousness of this matter, he will never dare to kill anyone.
Thinking on these lines, I started to ponder over the case of those who committed suicide bombings. Suicide is held illegal in all religions and legal systems of the world. There is a tradition of the Prophet of Islam according to which one who committed suicide would have to face eternal Hell. I shuddered at this thought and tears began to flow from my eyes when I thought about how those who committed suicide would endure eternal pain in the world Hereafter, when I myself was not able to endure a temporary pain of a much lesser intensity?
A companion of the Prophet once narrated the following tradition:
'We were accompanying the Prophet in a war (Ghazwah). Along with us was a person named Qyzman who had already embraced the faith. During the war he suffered a serious injury. People began to praise him before the Prophet for the bravery he had exhibited in the war. But the Prophet said: Innahu min ahl an-naar. That is, "He is surely one of the people of Hell." The companions were taken aback by the Prophet's words, so he asked them to go and investigate the matter. It was then learnt that Qyzman had indeed been severely injured during the war and when he could not bear the pain any more, he killed himself with his own weapon [Qyzman's case was that of suicide]. When the Prophet was told about this, he uttered these words: "God is great and I bear witness that I am His messenger."'
That was a dreadful night for me. I decided that very night that, after my recovery, the first task I would undertake would be to write a book on peace. The present book is the result of the decision I took while in bed in hospital.
The purpose of this book is to re-engineer the minds of those who think in terms of violence. The book aims at making such people realize that it is entirely possible for them to successfully achieve by peaceful means what they are unable to achieve by violent means.
May God accept the spirit of the writer in this regard and make this book a means of ushering in a new revolution which takes human history from violence to peace
My gratitude is due in particular to two ladies who have greatly helped me in the preparation of this book-Dr. Farida Khanam, who is Professor at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Maria Khan, who after doing her BSc in physics is now pursuing her doctorate in Islamic Studies at Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi. I would also like to thank Aijaz Ahmed who has read and commented on the manuscript. May God bless them all!
Wahiduddin Khan
New Delhi, July 26, 2015
