Non-Violence and Islam
Non-Violence and Islam
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enmity which flourishes, while in an atmosphere of
non-violence, it is friendship which flourishes. The
method of violence gives way to negative values
while the method of non-violence is marked by
positive values. The method of violence embroils
people in problems, while the method of non-
violence leads people to the exploiting of
opportunities. In short, violence is death, non-
violence is life.
Both the Qur’an and the hadith have attached great
importance to
Jihad
.
What is
Jihad
?
Jihad
means
struggle, to struggle one's utmost. It must be
appreciated at the outset that this word is used for
non-violent struggle as opposed to violent struggle.
One clear proof of this is the verse of the Qur'an
(25:52) which says: Perform
Jihad
with this (i.e. the
word of the Qur'an) most strenuously.
The Qur’an is not a sword or a gun. It is a book of
ideology. In such a case performing
Jihad
with the
Qur'an would mean an ideological struggle to
conquer peoples’ hearts and minds through Islam’s
superior philosophy.
