The Religion of Peace

Islam is that religious system preached to the world by the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) from the desert of Arabia in the beginning of he 7th Century of the Christian era.Islam, though presented in its most perfect form by the Prophet of Arabia(saw), did by no means originate with him. It was the religion of all the Prophets of God from Adam(as) up to Jesus Christ(as).It was as wide in its conception as humanity itself. In fact, any divine teaching that was given to any nation was Islam. But the teachings of the prophets before the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw), were constrained by the limitations of time and local circumstances, and were meant only for the peoples for whose spiritual growth and development they were revealed.Hence, those teachings were not given any independent name. But because the Divine teaching that was given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) assimilated all that was imperishable in the teachings of all the prophets before him, and because it was meant for all peoples and all time, therefore God gave it a distinct name, which is Islam. The Holy Qur’an says:

…This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion… (Ch.5:V.4)

Again it says :

Surely, the true religion with Allah is Islam (complete submission)… (Ch.3:V.20)

The word Islam indicates the very essence of the religious system known by that name. Its primary significance is the “making of peace,” and the idea of peace is the dominant idea in Islam. Islam stands for peace between man and his Creator, between man and his fellow beings and between different religions and communities. Peace is the greeting of one Muslim to another and “Peace” shall also be the greeting of those in Paradise.“The Author of peace” is one of the many names of God mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and the “Abode of Peace” is the destination and the spiritual goal of humanity. It is only natural that a religion which claims to be the Last Divine Message for mankind should offer us some basis on which inter-religious, international and inter-communal peace could be established permanently and without any fear of being disturbed.

The enormities and the most monstrous crimes that man has committed against man have been perpetrated in the fair name of religion. Innocent and honest men have been burned at the stake, stoned to death, buried alive, and drowned in the sea, in the name of religion. Nations have fought against nations to impose their own

religious beliefs on their opponents.To stamp out Buddhism, the holy fathers of the so-called peaceful Hinduism sanctioned the wearing of arms against the heretics. The Romans subjected the Christians to every persecution known to man.The storm of savage fanaticism which in the annals of Christendom is called “The Holy Wars,” swept over Western Asia to serve the cause of Christianity. Some socalled Muslims have also wrongly carried fire and sword in the name of religion; Islam however has always respected the freedom of conscience:

Let religion only be for the sake of God. (Ch.2:V.194)

and

There should be no compulsion in religion… (Ch.2:V.257)

are the express commandments of the Holy Qur’an. The Muslims are strictly enjoined to respect and protect the places of worship of the followers of other religions, even at the cost of their lives. The Holy Qur’an says:

…And if Allah did not repel some men by means of others,there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name ofAllah is oft commemorated… (Ch.22:V.41)

The inclusion by Islam of the belief in the Divine origin of all religions and the acceptance of their founders as Messengers of God, in its fundamental doctrines, is the most important and practical step that Islam has taken to remove feelings of bitterness and animosity among the followers of various faiths and to create an atmosphere of peace and goodwill among them.

That the great religions of the world are one in origin and many in form is a truth now widely recognised,but when Islam made its appearance in the world that truth was quite unknown. It was from the desert of Arabia and from the mouth of the man who could not even read and write that the great truth was promulgated that God was the Lord,not of a particular tribe or particular nations, but of all nations, nay of all the worlds. The God Whom Islam requires us to worship is the Lord of all peoples, of all ages and all countries.

He has been equally Merciful and Beneficent to all nations. If He raised Muhammad(saw) from Arabia,He raised Moses(as) from Egypt, and Jesus(as) from Judea; Zoroaster(as) from Iran, and Buddha(as) and Krishna(as) from India. These Prophets were the propagators and disseminators of the same fundamental truths, though their teachings differed in their quality and scope. Hence Islam recognised the truth that all these teachers of humanity were God’s great Messengers and it was made incumbent upon a Muslim to believe in them as he believes in Muhammad(saw). Ransack the pages of all religious scriptures and you will not find this teaching in them.A Christian may look upon Muhammad(saw) as an imposter, and a Jew regard Jesus(as) as a false Prophet, and a Hindu who believes in the finality of the Vedic revelation may consider Moses(as) a charlatan, but a Muslim ceases to remain a Muslim the instant he ceases to revere any one of them as he reveres the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw). Consistently with these teachings, how can a Muslimadversely criticise Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism when he regards the Old and the New Testament in their original form, the Vedas and the Zend Avesta in their pristine purity as the revealed Word of God? Does not this great principle of Islam strike at the very root of all religious rancour? The Holy Qur’an says:

…there is no people to whom a Warner has not been sent.(Ch.35:V.25)

And

And We did send Messengers before thee; of them are some whom We have mentioned to thee, and of them there are some whom We have not mentioned to thee…(Ch.40:V.79)

According to these verses all great Prophets of God are the spiritual ancestors of a Muslim and their followers his brothers in faith.