The Prophetic Model
The Prophet of Islambegan his
dawah
mission in 610AD inMakkah,
where he found himself facing stiff opposition from the Makkans.
He therefore decided in 622 AD to migrate along with some
companions from Makkah to Madinah. There, unlike the adverse
situation prevailing in Makkah, a favourable environment already
existed for the Prophet to carry out his mission. Islam then began
to spread rapidly, unhindered by any obstacles in its path. How did
this come about inMadinah?We find the answer to this in one of the
traditions of Aisha, the wife of the Prophet:
At that time in Madinah, there were two big tribes – the Aws
and the Khazraj. Because of tribal traditions, they often came into
confrontation with each other and five years before the Prophet’s
migration, the two tribes waged a bloody battle, known as the
Buath war. This battle was a blessing in disguise for the Prophet of
Islam (
Sahih
al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3777), for, in the course of the
fighting, a large number of people belonging to both the tribes were
killed, and all this carnage caused the Madinahns to engage in some
soul-searching. Consciously or unconsciously, they came to realize
that they needed an ideology based on peace rather than on war, if
they were to ensure an honourable life for themselves. It was at a
moment such as this that the peaceful message of Islamwas brought
to Madinah and it rapidly entered the hearts of the people.
Now, almost the same state of affairs prevails in the state of
Jammu and Kashmir. The ‘jihad’ in Kashmir first started here after
the partition in 1947 in the form of large gatherings and agitations.
After a period of time this movement took a violent turn. On the
one hand, were the Kashmiri Mujahidin and on the other the Indian
army. It was an unequal fight. As such, it was but natural that a
large number of Kashmiri Muslims were killed. As a result of this
armed confrontation, Kashmir suffered great harm in every respect.
Education was disrupted, tourism dwindled to almost nothing,
important social institutions were destroyed beyond repair and
the overall economy was seriously affected. In view of this state of
affairs, the conscience of the people of Kashmir was awakened and
this has lead to a process of rethinking on a large scale.
Consequently, the people of Kashmir have decided to give up
