Islam Rediscovered
11. Non-Violence and Islam
~ 148 ~
Sasanid empires. If the freeing of Arabia from this
influence had been made the starting point, this
would also have been met with an immediate
violent reaction on the part of the Quraysh.
Leaving aside these options, the path followed was
that of reading the Qur’an, an activity that could be,
with certainty, continued along peaceful lines: no
violent reaction would ensue from engaging in such
an activity.
The Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him,
followed this principle throughout his life. His
policy was that of adopting non-violent methods in
preference to violent methods. It is this policy
which was referred to by Aishah, the Prophet’s
wife, in these words: Whenever the Prophet had to
opt for one of two ways, he almost always opted for
the easier one. (
Fath al-Bari,
6/654)
What are the advantages of non-violent activism
over violent activism? They are briefly stated as
under:
1.
According to the Qur’an there are two faculties
in every human being which are mutually
