Non-Violence and Islam
Non-Violence and Islam
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remember that the policy of Islam is not that of
violence but of non-violence. It is the result of this
deviation, that despite almost a 100-years of bloody
wars, Muslims have achieved no positive gain.
Rather whatever they already had has been lost by
them.
According to Imam Malik, later generations of this
ummah
(Muslim community) will be able to settle
matters at issue in the same way that earlier
generations had done, i.e. non-violent methods.
Similarly, Muslims of modern times must likewise
resort only to non-violent methods. Just as no gain
could accrue from violent methods earlier, no gain
can accrue from violent methods today.
The state of affairs of Muslims in modern times
resembles that which prevailed at the time of
Hudaybiya. Today once again—only on a far larger
scale—this
hamiyat al-jahiliya,
prejudices prevailing
in pre-Islamic Arabia (48:28) is being displayed by
the other party. In the first phase of Islam its
solution lay in Muslims sedulously avoiding an
equivalent display of prejudice, and in holding
firmly
kalima at-taqwa
(the word of piety) they
