(continued from previous issue)

The Difference between the Enemy and the Aggressor

Under the scheme of the divine trial of human beings, man has been granted freedom by God. Due to this freedom, enmities may develop between people (20:123), which sometimes lead them to war. But Islam makes a clear difference between enmity and war.

Believers do not have the right to wage wars against their enemies. What the believers have to do as regards their enemies is far from waging war. Their duty is to peacefully convey to them the message of Islam. The Quran gives a clear injunction on this subject: And good and evil deeds are not alike. Repel evil with good. And he who is your enemy will become your dearest friend (41:33-34). That is to say, Islam believes in turning one’s enemy into a friend through peaceful means, instead of declaring him an enemy and then waging war against him.

Islam does give permission to do battle. But such permission is given only in the case of an attack by opponents in spite of the policy of avoidance by the Muslims, thus creating a situation where self defense is required. The Quran has this to say: Permission to take up arms is hereby given to those who are attacked because they have been wronged (22:39). At another place, the Quran gives a valid reason for fighting: They were the first to attack you. (9:13)

This shows that according to the teachings of Islam, war is to be waged not against the enemy but against the aggressor. If Muslims hold someone to be their enemy, that does not give them the right to attack him. The one and only right given to them is to convey the peaceful message of Islam. Islam permits defensive fighting against violent aggression, but only when all efforts at avoidance and reconciliation have failed. The practical example of the Prophet of Islam provides an incontrovertible proof of the value of this policy.

Bringing monarchy to an end and establishing the caliphate in its place in the first phase of Islam was the beginning of this process. The system was first established in Arabia. At that time there were two major empires. The Byzantine and the Sassanid, to both of which the reform movement in Arabia posed a challenge. As a result, these empires wanted to crush it. The Prophet’s companions therefore faced stiff resistance but by God’s succor they were successful in their mission and the coercive system, termed absolute imperialism by the French Historian Henri Pirenne, was uprooted.

It took this revolutionary event to end a coercive system which had been established for centuries and replace it with a system based on freedom. This goal could not have been achieved in its first stage. But by divine succor Islam succeeded in breaking the historical continuity of this ancient coercive system in the 7th century. Subsequently, this change affected all of human history and as a continual process, ebbed and flowed until it reached its culmination in the 20th century. Then came the de-centralization which took place at the beginning of the 20th century, political power being limited solely to the administration. And the interference of political institutions became very limited. Social departments became generally independent of it.

This great change in the pattern of human life was exactly in accordance with Islam. It thus became possible for believers, whether they possessed political power or not, to attain constructive goals without any hindrance. It was this system which effected the change from the age of kingship to the age of institutions.

Thus it has become possible for the believers to establish various institutions of their own on a large scale, and indirectly bring political institutions under their influence. And through these institutions, they can penetrate society, which was earlier possible only through political power: for instance in training the new generation, creating an intellectual atmosphere by making available the print and electronic media, the propagation of ideas through books, continuing the process of Ijtihad through research institutions, safeguarding religion by opening more mosques and schools, the acquisition of finance through industrial institutions, universal organization of one’s objectives through the means of communication, organization of religious and cultural affairs through different channels, etc.

In modern times, those nations who have understood this have achieved success even without having political power. Some have become established and excelled in the field of education, while others have set up empires in industry, communications or finance. The last in the list of these non-governmental empires is that of computers. This has given man the opportunity to keep his finger on the pulse of human activity not only at the national level, but also at the international level.

When the Quran says, “And religion is wholly for God” it portrays the most important aspect of the change of times. This change has reduced the status of political power to the point where it is no longer necessary for believers to wage a war for its acquisition, as it is no longer needed to secure the desired benefits. Non-political institutions serve this purpose equally well.

The Power of Peace

According to a hadith, “God grants to gentleness what he does not grant to harshness.” That is to say, peaceful activism is distinctly superior to violent activism. There is nothing mysterious about the point made in this hadith. This is a simple and a well-known fact of life in a situation of war and violence, feelings of hatred and enmity flare up between the two sides and, in the process, the existing resources are destroyed. People from both sides get killed and the entire society turns in to a jungle of negative feelings. It is quite obvious that in such an atmosphere no constructive and consolidated work can be done. There is nothing to be achieved in war and violence, save death and destruction.

On the contrary, an atmosphere of peace enables normal relations to be established between people. Feelings of love and friendship prevail in such a situation. In a favourable atmosphere constructive activities flourish and the existing resources can be used for development or activities. A positive bent of mind will prevail which will help develop academic and intellectual activities.

The greater ill-effect of war is that it limits opportunities whereas the greatest benefit of peace is that it opens up opportunities to the ultimate extent. War invariably results in further loss, while peace invariably results in further gain. That is why Islam teaches us to avoid war and confrontation at all costs and commands us to establish peace to the greatest possible degree.

Clarification of a Fallacy

There are certain verses in the Quran which convey injunctions similar to the following: ‘kill them wherever you find them.’ (2:191)

Referring to such verses there are some who attempt to give the impression that Islam is a religion of war and violence. This is totally untrue. Such verses relate in a restricted sense, to those who have unilaterally attacked the Muslims. The above verse does not convey the general command of Islam.

The truth of the matter is that the Quran was not revealed in the complete form in which it exists today. It was revealed from time to time, according to the circumstances, over a time span of 23 years. If this is divided into years of war and peace, the period of peace amounts to 20 years, while that of war amounts only to 3 years. The revelations during these 20 peaceful years were the peaceful teachings of Islam as are conveyed in the verses regarding the realization of God, worship, mortality, justice, etc.

This division of commands is a natural one and is found in all religious books. For instance, the Gita, the holy book of the Hindus pertains to wisdom and moral values. Yet along with this is the exhortation of Krishan to Arjun, encouraging him to fight (Bhagavad Geeta, 3:35). This does not mean that believers in the Gita should wage wars all the time. Gandhiji, after all, derived his philosophy of non-violence from the same Gita. The exhortation to wage war in the Gita applies only to exceptional cases where circumstances leave no choice. But for general day-to-day existence it gives the same peaceful commands as derived from it by Mahatma Gandhi.

Similarly, Jesus Christ said: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on Earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew, Chapter 10)

It would not be right to conclude that the religion preached by Christ was one of war and violence, for such utterances relate purely to particular occasions. So far as general life is concerned, Christ taught peaceful values, such as the building up of a good character, loving each other, helping the poor and needy, etc.

The same is true of the Quran. When the Prophet of Islam emigrated from Makkah to Madinah, the idolatrous tribes were aggressive towards him. But the Prophet always averted their attacks by the exercise of patience and the strategy of avoidance. However on certain occasions no other options existed, save that of retaliation. Therefore, he had to do battle on certain occasions. It was these circumstances which occasioned those revelations relating to war. These commands, being specific to certain circumstances, had no general application and were meant to be followed only in the short term. They were not meant to be valid for all time to come. That is why; the permanent status of the Prophet has been termed a ‘Mercy for all mankind.’ (21:107) □