not retaliate. It is only exercising such restraint that a world free
from violence can be brought into existence. The perfect example of
unilateral patience in the face of violence is given byAbel, the son of
Adam, in his response to his brother Cain: “If you raise your hand to
kill me, I will not raise mine to kill you. I fear God, the Lord of the
Universe.”(5:28)
According to a Hadith, the Prophet of Islam observed: “In later
times political corruption will set in, but you must never engage in
confrontation with your rulers. One of his companions asked, ‘If
they come to our homes to kill us what shall we do?’ The Prophet
replied: ‘Be the better son of Adam’, that is, don’t kill others, even
when they attempt to kill you. (
Sunan
Abi Dawood, Hadith No 4259)
There are two kinds of violence, the one passive, the other
active. Passive violence is evinced in your hatred for others, and
calling them oppressors. Active violence is not just your calling them
oppressors but also engaging in aggressive actions against them.
Both these forms are sinful to the same degree: whatever the kind of
violence you opt for, you will be held guilty of eating the fruit of the
forbidden tree. Both kinds of violence only appear to be different: in
reality, there is no difference between the two.
Forgetting the Past
The
Quran attaches great importance to forgiveness. It states:
“Whoever is patient and forgiving, acts with great courage and
resolution.” (42:43) What is forgiveness? It means forgetting the
past and eschewing negativity. Remembering whatever happened in
the past means keeping alive the bitterness felt about past events.
This is against Islam as well as against reason.
Muslims are engaged in present times in violent activities at
different places, but despite repeated sacrifices, they have failed to
achieve the desired result. Such failure has not, however, deterred
them from further violence.
What is the reason for this? It lies in their reluctance to forget
the bitter memories of the past. These Muslims keep talking and
writing about past happenings and that is why their feelings are
constantly ruffled.
This runs counter both to Islam and to human reason. These
Muslims should feel duty- bound to try to forget these negative
events entirely. They should leave their that to God. In this way they
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The Dawn Over Kashmir
