In the tenth chapter of the Qur’an, there is a verse which says, ‘And
God calls you to the home of peace and guides whosoever He wills to the
straight path’ (10:25). This and other similar verses tell us that the final
goal of Islam is peace in this world as well as in the next. Those who continue
to strive for peace, along with those who finally, attain it, are of the elect,
and will be welcomed in the perfect ‘home of peace’ that is, the world to come.
The real basis of that peace, which Islam is so anxious to foster, is
monotheism. In the Islamic context, this concept emphasizes not only the
singleness of the deity, but also God’s central position as the Creator and
Sustainer of mankind and the universe. Islam sees all human beings as the
creatures of the Almighty – a concept which brings them all on to one level. It
is only when we do not connect God with man’s existence that some appear great
and others small.
When God is given His rightful place in the world, people are at once
divested of those features which distinguish one individual from another,
placing them higher or lower in the human hierarchy. Then all greatness is
God’s and all human being become His servants on a plane of equality.
In this way, the concept of monotheism pulls out by the roots all human
differences and discrepancies. In the absence of such a concept, the scheme of
divine peace becomes impossible. There is, in fact, no other basis upon which
it may be achieved.
Non Interference
Another Islamic principle to promote peace is that of non-interference.
This principle, if universally applied, can produce the same divine order as is
evident in the furthest reaches of the universe, where the stars revolve
eternally in their orbits, no star ever encroaches upon the orbit of another.
What holds good at the astronomical level also holds good at the level of human
society. That is, order prevails when everyone functions within his own sphere,
taking care never to trespass upon the domains of his fellow-men.
This, unfortunately, is a principle which is no sufficiently adhered
to. A case in point is the behavior of a newly liberated American who went out
to celebrate hos country’s freedom from foreign domination in his own
particular way. He strutted exuberantly down the street, swinging his arms in a
carefree manner and totally ignoring all other pedestrians. Eventually, he hit
a passer-by on the nose.
The passer-by was enraged and said: ‘What is this foolhardiness? What
makes you walk in this frivolous manner, swinging your hands about in this
way?’ ‘America is free,’ the man replied. ‘I’m free to do what I want and walk
as I wish. ‘Well’ replied the passer-by, ‘your freedom ends where my nose
begins.’
The passerby’s response was, in fact, the voice of man’s true nature
reasserting universal norms and calling out for an end to man’s deviation from
them. The law of nature is such that the universe has functioned impeccably for
billion of years, no star or planet ever having left its orbit to enter that of
another. It is man’s instinctive wish that he should be guided by such a law.
The remonstrance of the American passer-by was simply an expression of this
desire.
In a universe which has been forcibly subjugated to the will of God,
only man is privileged to have a will of his own. But while the entire universe
conforms to God’s will, each part functioning in exemplary harmony with all
other parts, man misuse his freedom, straying from the path that God has laid down
from him. The problem which he encounters in life is part of the price, in
fact, which he has to pay for his God-given freedom. All his trials and
tribulations are ultimately traceable to his own willful deviations.
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