Islam and Peace
The Spiritual Goal of Islam
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integrity. Under no circumstances is his inner peace
disturbed. However, untoward the occasion, he can
maintain his natural balance. Success does not make
him proud. Power does not make him haughty. No
bad treatment by others drives him to seek
vengeance in anger. At all events, he remains
serene. It is such a man who is called ‘a peaceful
soul’ in the Qur’an. And it is this man who,
according to the Qur’an, has achieved the highest
spiritual state.
The realization of God joins man to his Maker. Such
communion with the divine brings about a state of
spiritual elevation. Having been thus raised to a
higher plane of existence, man becomes of a
‘sublime character,’ (68:4) as it is expressed in the
Qur’an.
This can be illustrated by an example from the
natural world: The process of conversion of a
substance from the liquid to the gaseous state is
called boiling. The boiling point of a liquid varies
according to atmospheric pressure. At sea level,
water boils at 100 degrees centigrade. At a higher
altitude, as on a mountain, the atmospheric
