Part Two: Islamic Movement and Peace
In this paper the author addresses the Islamic movement in particular because of the difference of opinions there is amongst the various groups and sects of the movement. Otherwise he calls upon all Muslims, and upon all mankind for that matter, to adhere to peaceful and non-violent means in all as pects of life.
In line with his political views, Imam Shirazi calls for the creation of an international Islamic reform movement in order to help attain the salvation of the Muslim Community, as this can be seen in many of his works. Subsequently this in turn would then fac ilitate the salvation of mankind in general. In this work he emphasises on the Islamic movement although his discussions on peace and non-violence usually take up a more general tune. Imam Shirazi then goes on to emphasise that such a movement must adopt peaceful policies in all aspects and domains . .
This paper is an extract from Chapter 4 of Imam Shirazi’s book Towards Islamic Revival pages 141 - 174. Chapter 4 of this book discus ses Axiom 4 of the 6 axioms the author envisages for the Islamic movement.
Translated by Ali Adam
The Movement Must be Peaceful
The motto of Islam is ‘peace’. Hence when one Muslim meets with ano ther he will say to him: ‘al-Salam Alaykum’ meaning ‘Peace be upon you’ and the other will answer: ‘Alaykum al-Salam’ ‘Upon you be Peace.’ And in the same way that he begins with a greeting of peace upon his brother, he will end his meeting with a farewell greeting of peace, saying when he wishes to leave: ‘Peace be upon you. ‘ Islam then is the religion of peace, hence Allah, Exalted is He, says in the Holy Qur’an:{Enter into a state of peace one and all.}
(2:208)
Wars, blockades, and other forms of violence are only emergency measures and not the norm and they go against basic Islamic principles. Their nature is that of d ire necessity as in the eating of ‘unlawful meat’ or the like and the basic principle is that of peace. Hence in Islam, war is taken at face value. However, despite this, Allah Almighty says:{And whoever assaults you then assault him in the same way that he assaults you.}
(2:194) Then in another place He says:{But to forgive is closer to piety.}
(2:273)
The way of the Prophet (S) and Fatima (A) and the impeccable Imams (A) was thus. Peace was their watchword in all their affairs and even in their battles, and the unparalleled success of the Prophet o f Islam (S) and the Imams (A) was for reasons all stemming from the peace that they endowed themselves with in all their affairs.
Hence we find that the ‘Abbasids, Umayyads, and Ottomans proceeded in a way that only earned them an ill reputation. Whereas the true leaders of Islam have only a good reputation and are known by the people for peace, kindness and forgiveness:
We ruled and forgiveness was our nature, when you ruled blood flowed as a river flows.
Enough for you now is this difference between us, for every vessel will show what substance it holds.
The fact that Islam encompasses peace is one of the reasons for its initial progress and for its second age of progress after the attacks of the Crusaders from the west and the Moguls from the east. And through peace we hope for the advancement of Islam in this century which has been so full of attacks from east and west alike on its lands.
The Messenger o f Allah, Muhammad (S), progressed, as we have said, thro ugh peace that he adopted as a mantra. One example of this is Mecca
, the capital of unb elief and idolatry and the capital of waging war against the Messenger of Allah (S). The people of Mecca confronted the Messenger of Allah by every possible means. They banished him, killed his daughter Zaynab, confiscated his wealth and killed many of his followers. Finally they tried to assassinate him so he fled secretly to Madinah but they continued their plots against his holy mission. Despite this, after more than twenty years, when the Messenger (S) wanted to conquer Mecca, he made preparations then proceeded to conquer that city peacefully without one drop of blood being spilt. Among the preparations he made were when he took possession of Khaibar, he took as spoils a large hoard of golden vessels as many as twenty thousand in number and of differing sizes. The Messenger (S) sent a number of these vessels to be shared out amongst the poor of Mecca even though they were unbelievers, polytheists, and warring against the Messenger of Allah (S). When these golden vessels arrived for the people o f Mecca, they were confused and amazed. They said: ‘We fight this man, we confiscate his pro perty, we kill his fo llowers and his relatives and he deals with us in such a kind manner.’
This was an overture from the Messenger of Allah (S) to bring Islam to Mecca and to destroy the idols and to establish peace between the people. When the Messenger of Allah (S) conquered Mecca, Abu Sufyan, his archenemy, came and the Messenger of Allah (S) pardoned him. Not only this but he made his house a sanctuary saying: ‘Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan is safe. ‘ Then he turned to the wife of Ab u Sufyan, Hind, the woman famous for her immoral acts and attacks on the Messenger of Allah (S). She who had torn open the abdomen of Master of the Martyrs Hamza, and amputated his ears and his nose and mutilated him in the most vile manner, taking out his liver and chewing it in her mouth. This woman, this ‘war criminal’ was sent by the Messenger of Allah a document of pardon. By this, the Messenger of Allah (S) recorded the most magnificent example in the history of creation of forgiveness even of his most ardent enemies. The Messenger of Allah (S) accepted the Islam of Hind and he made it a condition upon her that she should not p rostitute herself which points to the fact that she was a famo us prostitute before Islam. The noble Qur’anic verse, which the Messenger of Allah (S) recited to Hind, also points to this fact where Allah says:
{And if the believing women come to you to pledge their allegiance to you on the basis that they do not associate partners with Allah, nor steal, nor commit adultery . .}
(60:12)
Similarly, the Messenger of Allah (S) forgave the people of Mecca and spoke the historical words: ‘Go ye for you are at liberty.’ He did not seek to reclaim his houses or the houses of his companions that had been confiscated by the Polytheists. And when he took the key to the Ka’bah from the custodian, the Qur’anic verse was revealed:{Allah orders you to convey all things held in trust to their rightful owners.}
(4:58), as some exegeses have said, and after he destroyed the idols he returned the key to the custodian.
The Messenger of Allah (S) also opened the way to bring Khalid (Ibn al- Walid) to the religio n by saying to his brother Walid ib n al-Walid:
‘I am amazed at your brother Khalid, he is a clever man, why has he not entered Islam?, And why has he not said the two testaments of faith (shahadatayn)?’ When Walid came to his brother Khalid, and conveyed to him the speech of the Messenger of Allah (S) about him, Khalid was amazed that the Messenger of Allah (S) would seek to win him over with such kindness since he had been fighting a full-scale war against the Messenger of Allah (S). This became a reason for Khalid accepting Islam and joining the Muslim army as is well documented in the chronicles.
Through this peaceful means, the Messenger of Allah (S) gained dominion over the hearts of the people of Mecca before he gained dominion over their bodies. And when he did gain dominion over their bodies, they followed his lead and obeyed him and said of him: He is a noble brother and the son of a noble brother.
The chroniclers report that Mecca at this time was the capital of unbelief and Polytheism, hypocrisy and blood letting, selfishness and pride. When it surrendered to the Messenger of Allah (S), most of the people did not announce their entry into Islam but rather remained on the way of Polytheism. The Messenger of Allah (S) did not coerce them to accept Islam ever but instead left them to themselves so that they would live by themselves under the rule of Islam to enter Islam in the future.
The Messenger of Allah (S) made a man named ‘Atab the governor of Mecca. He was a young Muslim man of deep faith who was nearly twenty years of age. He fixed the sum of nearly two talent of Silver as a daily pay for him.
The chroniclers mention that Mecca no longer made war after that and succumbed to the rule of ‘Atab without any need for an army or security force or force of arms or other power. This because the Messenger of Allah (S) had gained hold of their minds and hearts and the heart, if it becomes allied to a person is not able to rebel o r resist.
In this way, the people of Mecca began to sense the correctness of the Islamic way and that in it they would still have their authority and leadership and their honour and their wealth would remain in their own hands and their sacred objects would remain sacred.
Sa’ad ibn ‘Ubada took the banner during the first moments of the conquest of Mecca. Then he began traversing the streets of Mecca proclaiming: ‘Today is the day of slaughter, today the women will be captured.’ When the Messenger of Allah (S) heard this he said to Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (A): ‘O ‘Ali, take the banner from Sa’ad and proclaim the opposite.
‘ Imam ‘Ali (A) then took the banner from the hand of Sa’ad and began to proclaim in the streets and alleys of Mecca: ‘Today is the day of mercy, today the honour of the women will be protected.’
Meaning that today we have come to you with mercy and to unite your ranks and to bring about a brotherhood between you, and today your women will remain with their honour and their chastity. These actions of the Messenger of Allah (S) were a prime cause for the unparalleled submission of the holy city of Mecca to the Messenger of Allah (S).
War, accusation, slander, backbiting, insinuation, enmity, hatred, egotism, pride, deception and the like are the causes of the decline of nations and individuals alike. On the contrary, the human being is a slave to virtues. Imam Amir-ul-Mu’mineen (A) says: ‘I wonder at he who buys slaves with his wealth, why does he not buy the freemen with his mora ls?’
In any case, it is imperative that the Islamic movement that is striving to establish a worldwide Islamic state adopts peace as its mantra and syllabus and method to attract the widest possible audience. Through this God’s aid and assistance may be achieved.
The Noble Consequences of Peace
Those involved in the Islamic movement must be characterised by peace in their thought processes, in their speech, and in their actions in dealing with both the enemy and the friend. For the consequences of peace are noblest and it is fastest in reaching the desired goal. Peace and peace making are principles which bring about the advancement of the peacemaker. Whereas the non-peace-maker or the violent person will always remain behind.
The greatest Prophet (S) said to Imam ‘Ali: ‘O ‘Ali, the noble traits of this world and the next are mildness of speech, magnanimity, and the forgiveness of he who wrongs you.’
What is no t meant here is the forgiveness of the unjust transgressor who does not repent, but rather it is the forgiveness when in power. The poet has turned these words of the Messenger of Islam into verse form saying: The noblest of virtues are epitomised in three;
Mild speech, magnanimity, and such forgiveness as can be. Meaning that if o ne is in position of power, to forgive and pardon he should do so, and be mild in speech not violent which, if he was, he would end up being distanced from the people.
In another hadith in praise of the faithful it is said that the believers are: ‘humble’, meaning that they are humble and not so unpleasant th at the people will fear to be around them and beside them, for the vio lent unpleasant person is generally avoided by the people.
The (Islamic) movement which wishes to bring together the people and guide them to the straight path ought to adopt mildness, for the people will gather round he who is humble, mild, cheerful and friendly as is found in the hadith about the qualities of the believer: ‘The believer is humble, mild, cheerful and friendly, joy is on his face, sadness in his heart.’ This is how the person who seeks to gather the people should be.
If the motto of the movement was to be violence, the movement would lose all legality in the eyes of the people and they will come to think that just as the movement is violent against its enemies, it will in evitably become violent against them some day. The poet says:
Have patience in the face of the envious, for your patience will kill him, Just as the fire will eat itself up if it does not find that which will fuel him.
This is a fact. The violent person acts violently with friend, foe and stranger alike, whereas the mild person acts mildly with both friend and enemy. Hence many hadiths carry the commendation of mildness, gentleness, compassion, and love. It is related from the Prophet Jesus (A) in a beautiful speech attributed to him: ‘You have been told to love thy friends, but th is is not wha t is important, for even the tithe collectors love their friends. I say to you love thine enemies.
‘ It is clear from the speech o f Jesus that this does not result in benefiting the enemy as much as it results in benefiting the person himself, for the person who loves his enemy will try to establish good relations and a connection with him which is what can cause the enemy to cease his enmity.
There is a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (S) which says: ‘Give gifts to each other, establish love between one another ‘, meaning that the giving of gifts to each other causes mutual love to be established between people. There are many other hadiths in the same vein reported from the Prophets and the Imams (Upon whom be peace).
The Islamic movement must then be characterised by peace and make peace its motto so that people may have confidence in it. Any movement which carries out a violent act or two vio lent acts will be blamed by the people for any subsequent violent acts which appear in society, just as the thief who has stolen once will be blamed for other thefts that take place.
In the proverb: ‘The mind connects a thing with the most general and the usual.’ If the movement is the subject of the suspicion of the people who connect it with violence and the like then the people will desert it and it will no t be able to reach its goal.
As well as adopting the conditions of creating awareness, organisation, and observing general principles, the Islamic movement must also be based upon the following four foundations of peace and peace-making, mild ness, compassion, and kindness. The hadith and traditions of the Messenger of Allah (S), his story, his history, his battles and military campaigns all make clear how mild and p eaceful he was and the fine results he gained because of this.
For example, we can see how the Messenger of Allah (S) after conquering Mecca dealt with the city’s people in such a kind an d lofty way that he was able to achieve two things:
The first is that he was able to loan from Safwan ibn Umayyah, one of the major Polytheists, four hundred suits of armour. During the Age of Ignorance, Safwan had been in the position o f the minister of war for the Polytheists and he had many suits of armour which he would supply to the fighters in the wars which took place between the tribes and clans.
When the Messenger of Allah (S) requested from Safwan that he lend him this armour he had no hesitation in giving them to the Prophet because he had experienced his kindness and tasted peace under him during the conquest of Mecca.
The second, the Prophet (S) was able to create an army of two thousand men who were with him on the battle of Hunein which happened directly after the conquest of Mecca. Thirty thousand warriors from the tribe of Huwazin and other tribes had gathered in the valley of Hunein near Mecca to attack the Messenger and kill him and his companions.
The Prophet had with him ten thousand of the Mujahidin from Madinah and the two thousand men from Mecca making in all twelve thousand fighters, warriors, horsemen, and armoured men. Hence the Messenger was able to fight the peo ple of Hunein in this bitter war, which the Holy Qur’an mentions.
The Messenger of Allah (S), with his companions from Madinah, and those who had joined up with him from Mecca, was able to rout the enemy army and provide a victory for Islam, and this ended the resistance of the unbelievers throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula. This is because of the morals of the Prophet and his peacefulness, his compassion, kindness, open-handedness, truthfulness, and trustworthiness.
After the battle of Hunein had ended, he returned the armour to Safwan. The Muslims had won in this battle a great deal of booty and the chronicles report that Safwan looked at the camels, which had been won by the Messenger of Allah (S). The Messenger saw this and said: ‘Do you desire these camels O Safwan.’ He said: ‘Yes O Messenger of Allah.’ So the Messenger said: ‘Give Safwan ten of the camels’, so they gave him ten. Then he said: ‘And another ten’, and he continued to give him until he had given one hundred camels to Safwan.
In truth, this giving was to the people of Mecca as a whole because Safwan had an important family and relatives and in those days when the chieftain obtained something it meant that his followers and family would also obtain a share in that thing.
In this way, the Messenger of Allah (S) was able to draw the attention of the Polytheists in Mecca and they began to enter into Islam and testify the two testaments of faith without violence or warfare and without the spilling of blood but rather out of love for Islam, for they saw in Islam a refuge and a shelter, and leadership, friendship, wealth, fraternity, and a lessening of problems. Hence, the Islamic movement must learn from the Messenger of Allah (S) how to act and make peace.
Peace . always
To continue the discussion about the peaceful treatment of the friend and the foe, which is one of the vital fundamentals upon which the struggles of the international Islamic movement should be based, peace initially is bitter and difficult. It requires self-contro l, forgiveness, and turning a blind eye, and the capacity to act decisively and in the best possible way. Allah Almighty has said, in the Holy Qur’an:
{Repel (evil) with tha t which is best for then you will find that your former enemy will beco me your warmest ally. But none shall achieve this but the patient ones and none shall achiev e this except one blessed with great fortune.}
(41:34-35)
One should always be looking towards the goal and realise that revenge inhibits the reaching of that goal. Hence we see that the Prophets and Imams (A) and reformers always tended towards peace not only before they had power but even after they had power.
The well known tradition reports that the Messenger of Allah (S) was extremely angry at Wahshi the killer of Hamza (A) who was one of the stalwarts of Islam as indeed were ‘Ali and Ja’far, the sons of Abu Talib.
They were the staunch supporters of the Messenger of Allah (S) and his assistants in his wars and military campaigns and they had a position of pride and honour amongst the Muslims. Because of this, Hind, th e wife of Abu Sufyan said to al-Wahshi: ‘If you kill Muhammad, or ‘Ali, or Hamza I will reward you with such and such and I will free you from your bondage.’ Al-Wahshi replied: ‘As for Muhammad, I cannot kill him because his companions surround him.
As for ‘Ali, I have no way against him for when he enters the field (of battle) he is so self aware that nothing escapes his notice be it in front, to his right or left or behind him. But I am able to kill Hamza for when he enters the field he is not self-aware.
He entered the battle and took advantage of him and attacked him. Hence Hamza was killed in that vile way, and Hind made a horrible example of him. Because of this, the Messenger of Allah (S) became very angry at Wahshi. Then one of his companions came to him after a time and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (S) will you forgive Wahshi, for he desires Islam.’ The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Then I forgive him.’
Indeed the Messenger of Allah (S) did forgive him and he entered Islam and became a good Muslim. He (Wahshi) used to say after that: ‘I must aid Islam as I used to aid unbelief against Islam.’ Wahshi took part in battles and had an important role. He took part in the story of al- Yamamah and he served Islam as he used to serve unbelief against Islam.
Hence we can see the excellent consequences, which arose from the forgiveness of the Messenger of Allah and his acceptance of the Islam of Wahshi.
In the same vein, the Messenger of Allah (S) also forgave Habbar who was one of the most uncouth of the people of Mecca and one who had stirred up trials and tribulations for the Muslims. He had caused the death of Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (S) who was a pious woman who resembled the Messenger of Allah (S) in her morals and her looks as she resembled her mother Khadijah (A). She was with a child when Habbar caused her fall from the saddle and the child miscarried. She remained ill because of this until her death.
The Messenger of Allah (S) was aggrieved at this and called for Hab bar’s blood and when he conquered Mecca, Habbar fled to the mountains because the Prophet had said: ‘Kill Habbar even if he is clinging to the curtains of the Ka’bah.’ This because he was considered to be an ill- mannered unco uth person who stirred up trials as we previously mentioned.
Then a man came to the Messenger of Allah (S) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you have forgiven everyone, so forgive Habbar also. You are most forgiving and noble.’ The Prophet said: ‘I forgive him.’
History records the kindness of the Messenger of Allah (S) and his patience and his decisiveness. These noble qualities deserve to be recorded as miracles. How great the man must be to reach this state where he forgives the killer of his uncle Hamza and the killer of his daughter and his still born grandson - Zaynab and her child.
Because of this we see that Islam b egan to spread because the ethics of Islam shone out impressing the people. This is the type of Islam that a person should believe in, the type, which around whose banner h e is able to rally in all goodness and peace.
The international Islamic movement must colour itself with the same tint of forgiveness, peacefulness, peace, and peace-making. Not just with its friends and relatives, but also with strangers, and enemies as we see in the stories of the great reformers.
One Muslim commander took control of some territory after a civil war and a rebellion. A group of officers who were considered to be war criminals were arrested and sentenced to death by execution. When that chief, that patient, honest, kind, and intelligent man, took th e death warrant he threw it to the floor and said: ‘To have those officers above ground alive is better than to have them below ground dead. I grant them free pardon so set them free.
‘ Those who had b rought the death warrant were amazed but they could not disobey his orders so they went and freed the officers. Then these officers became the most earnest servants of Islam. They served their homeland in another war after that as an expiation for their previous ill acts. The chief said: ‘Do you see how effective kindness, patience, forgiveness and peace can be. If we had ordered the death of those officers, who would have led the army? Who would have defeated our enemy when they attacked us?’
So it is imperative that the watchword of the Islamic movement be ‘peace’ in word, deed, and writing, and peace in all circumstances and with all the people.
Peace: The Way of the Prophets and the Imams
Since the principle of peace is such a strategic and important one, we should discuss it in more detail, it being the basis of the struggle to establish a government for the millions of Muslims on the earth. It is essential that those involved in the international Islamic movement observe peaceful means as peace leads to rallying the people and then it brings about and end to the obduracy of the enemy.
Hence Imam Amir- ul-Mu’mineen (A) said: ‘I would hate for you to become revilers.’
Before this the Holy Qur’an had said:{And do not curse those who call upo n other than Alla h lest they curse Allah out of enmity and unwittingly.}
(6:108)
Cursing and enmity bring about loathing amongst friends and empower the enemy and there is no call for this. Arbitrary cursing ends up nowhere and what a person should be mindful of in front of his enemy is that he should seek to repel him with what is best as is found in the Holy Qur’an:
{Repel (evil) with tha t which is best for then you will find that your former enemy will beco me your warmest ally. But none shall achieve this but the patient ones and none shall achiev e this except one blessed with great fortune.}
(41:34-35)
So those involved in the Islamic movement should adopt peace in their thoughts, words, writings and confrontations and even if they organise demonstrations and strikes they should be characterised by calmness for what is important is to reach the goal and not an outpouring of hatred and loathing. For hatred only breeds hatred and loathing only breeds loathing.
In the well-known aphorism: ‘Grapes are not harvested from thorns.’ Everything bears fruit of its own kind and good behaviour in a person brings about good behaviour in the person being dealt with. Bad behaviour only brings about a negative reaction. This applies equally to peace and its concomitants; each of them breeds its like.
This requires a degree of self-control and open-heartedness as Imam ‘Ali (A) said: ‘The tool of leadership is open-heartedness.’ Meaning that your heart should remain open in all aspects - ethically and socially, intellectually, and in struggles, for this is the tool of leadership and the more this occurs, the more people will become attracted to the movement and the nearer it will take them to the desired objective.
Hence we can see that the phenomenon of good morals; forgiveness, peace, open-heartedness, kindness, humility, patience, not retaliating in the same way, but responding in the nicest way, ap pears in the lives of the all the great Prophets of Allah and the Impeccable Imams (A) and the great reformers.
We see Imam Amir-ul-Mu’mineen (A) in the war of Basra (The battle of the Jamal), which was the first war to be waged against him, when the fighting had finished, Imam ‘Ali strengthened the side of peace and sent a messenger to ‘Aisha
saying she should return to her house in Madinah in peace. The Imam actually also clothed forty women in the clothes of men and sent them with ‘Aisha to take her back to Madinah with her honour intact.
They had donned the clothes of men for the reason that passing caravans would think that they were men and not attack them. Also ‘Aisha, being the wife of the Prophet (S), Amir-ul- Mu’mineen (A) was loath to send her with men but preferred to send her with women. And indeed, ‘Aisha went to Madinah from Basra in the company of these women. This is truly an example of the highest of morals.
We can also see that Imam ‘Ali (A) forgave those who had stirred up the war with him even when there were amongst them those who would come under the category of war criminals in the modern terminology - the likes of Marwan and Ibn Zubeir who he pardoned. He also pardoned the opposing army saying: ‘I grant to the people of Basra what the
Messenger of Allah (S) granted to the people of Mecca.’ And he set them at liberty and did not take revenge of them and did not return their evil with evil but rather returned it with pardoning and kindness and he ordered that all the belongings that had been taken as spoils from the defeated army be returned.
Everything was returned, even a cooking pot that had been taken and was being used to cook some broth was emptied of broth and returned.
One time the Imam went on a reconnaissance mission to a grand house. He was told that women had gathered in it and were bewailing their dead soldiers from the defeated army and were cursing the Imam and his army. The Imam entered the house which was very large and full of the wives of the defeated army. The Imam said to his companions: ‘Do not touch them even if they curse your manhood and your honour.’ So he withheld his hands from them and replied to their curses with kindness.
When they saw the Imam they began to shriek: ‘This is the murderer of our beloveds!’ Meaning Imam ‘Ali (A).
The Imam gestured and said: ‘If I was the killer of your beloveds I would have killed those who are in these rooms (pointing to the rooms).’ At once the women fell silent and did not say a word. The people were amazed at this and wondered what the Imam had said that had silenced the women. Later on the matter was disclosed to the comp anions of Imam ‘Ali (A) that the leaders of the defeated army had hidden in tho se rooms and the women had gathered there as a ruse to cover up for them and to distract attention from them. So when the Imam pointed and said if I was the killer of your beloveds I would have killed those who are in these rooms they fell silent.
The life of the Prophet (S) and the life of Imam ‘Ali (A) and the lives of the other Imams and great Prophets and the great reformers and great minds are summed up in the word ‘peace’
Hence the world Islamic movement must observe peace in all its affairs before, during and after action and on the occasion of victory and establishing the Islamic state by the leave of Allah Almighty. The leaders should also educate the individuals in the Islamic movement about peace in the spoken word, thought, writing and action whatever the cost.
Peace Safeguards Islam
Allah Almighty is He says in the Qur’an:{O you who have faith, enter into a state of peace one and all.}
(2:208)
Peace then is the general principle whereas violence is the exception, and exceptions are taken at face value. In the previous chapters we have mentioned the peaceful treatment by the Messenger of Allah (S) with his enemies and friends, his relatives and with strangers, and also that of Imam ‘Ali (A). The Messenger of Allah and Imam ‘Ali (S) are models for us as are the rest of the prophets and infallibles.
Hence we should follow their lead whether we are in the beginnings of government or we have actually achieved government by the leave of Allah.
A question has been raised here: The Messenger of Allah (S) although he was infallible and will not be questioned about his actions, our task is not like his task. We see that he spared many hypocrites which led to many problems being caused for the Messenger of Allah.
Had he killed Abu Sufyan and Mu’awiya on the day o f the conquest of Mecca then the Umayyad state which ditched Islam completely would not have b een formed, and it would not have caused the innumerable pro blems for the Muslims. Similarly, if Imam ‘Ali had killed Marwan on the day of Basra, then he would not have been able to assume power and cause along with his descendants many problems.
Therefore the point is made that we should adopt another task, while we should be aware of their conducts, but as far as their conducts is concerned they know what they are doing. This idea is refuted. Firstly, because the Prophet and the Imam are models, and the model should be followed whether we understand the reasoning behind their actions or not.
The Qur’anic verse says:{And not a messenger have we sent except that he be obeyed by the lea ve o f Allah.}
(4:64)
and in another verse:{What the Messenger brings you then adopt it and what he forbids you then leave it.}
(59:7)
and in another verse:{No by your Lord, they will not truly believe until they adopt you (the Messenger) as a judge in those matters in which they disagree amongst themselves, then do not find in themselv es any complaint about your judgements and they submit completely.}
(4:65)
This is from the point of view of belief and Divine Law. From the point of view of the intellect, we believe that had the Messenger of Allah (S) killed Abu Sufyan and his like then Islam would not have been supported nor would it have taken root and sprouted because the Polytheists would have buried Islam in its cradle. Abu Sufyan was not alone. In the Arabian Peninsula there were a thousand Abu Sufyans and each of then had relatives, friends, family, and clan.
They would have buried Islam in its cradle and we would not even hear any mention today of the Messenger o f Allah (S) in the same way that we do not hear about many of the other prophets of Allah who were killed. The Qur’anic verse says:{Then why do you kill the prophets of Allah if you have faith}
(2:91) and this shows that many prophets were killed.
The Messenger of Allah Muhammad (S) was faced with a choice between leaving the hypocrites who, if they caused a few problems would be effaced by time eventually as time has effaced the Umayyad clan and consigned them to the mists of history, or the other choice of raising his swo rd and killing and killing until the tribes arose and killed him and his loyal companions leaving no trace of Islam left.
The same applies to Imam ‘Ali (A). Was he to unsheathe his sword and kill them and face the consequences of their tribes and relatives and friends moving against him helped by the Romans, and by this uprooting Imam ‘Ali (A) which meant uprooting Islam itself and it being changed into a corrupt religion like Judaism and Christianity as the Qur’anic verse says:{And they change the words from their rightful places.}
. (5:13)
Or was it better to spare those people who if they denigrated Islam it would only be for a sho rt time.
This then was the plan of the Messenger and Imam ‘Ali, a very wise plan indeed. Hence we find that one of the companions of Imam ‘Ali (A) describe him as being: ‘Farsighted and with powerful faculties.’ We see Imam ‘Ali (A) now after almost 1400 years since his martyrdom has more than 1000 million people believing in him, Muslim and non- Muslim alike. Whereas the Umayyads and the ‘Abbasids have been consigned to the mists of time and are only mentioned with disdain. So the Messenger of Allah (S) remains and those who opposed him like Ab u Jahl, Abu Sufyan, and Abu Lahab were destroyed.
One of the benefits of peace is that the memory of the peace-maker remains as do his laws, checks and balances and methods whereas memory of the non- peace-maker does not remain even if it is assumed that he was one- hundred percent right. Hence the Messenger of Allah (S) said:
‘Whenever the Angel Gabriel descended upon me he ordered me to maintain good relations with people.’
In recent history, we see that Stalin and Hitler and Mussolini and the like inclined to violence as did Yasin al-Hashimi in Iraq , Pahlevi in Iran and Ataturk in Turkey and there are many o thers like them and all of them have gone. Stalin was exhumed and his corpse burned and all the Stalinist principles destroyed.
As for Hitler, up until recently his country was split between the Americans and the Russians. Mussolini’s country was in chaos and disruption and the ‘Red Brigades’ was widespread as was murder, assassination, and theft for more than forty years. The first Pahlevi was expelled and assassinated in Mauritius. Yasin al-Hashemi was expelled from Iraq and killed, and Ataturk was killed.
In addition to these people becoming the accursed of history, they have vanished, as have their principles. History only regards them now as a lesson to be learned from as Pharaoh, Shidad, and Nimrod became lessons, and also Mu’awiya, Yazid, al-Hajjaj, Ibn Ziyad, and Harun.
Those who come after them may learn from them not to incline to dictatorship and violence but rather to right thinking, decisiveness and peace, and conferring freedoms, and looking towards the people with the eye of friendship and brotherhood even if they were infidels. As Imam ‘Ali (A) said: ‘People are of two types; Either your brother in religion or your equal in creation.’
Allah Exalted is He, in the Qur’an speaks about the believers and the non-believers being brothers when he says:{And to the people of ‘Ad we sent their brother Salih.}
(6:65). Salih is a messenger and prophet whose tribe ‘Ad were infidels but Allah still calls him their brother.
The important thing for the people concerned with the Islamic movement is to be aware of this reality of brotherhood and to remain patient and to pay attention to the p revious nations.{Say, Travel throughout the land . .}
(16:69, 29:20, 30:42),{Walk in the uplands of the earth and eat of what He provides you with . .}
(67:15). One must look and think about the p revious nations and the state of modern nations.
Those who incline to p eace remain well known in their own lands and elsewhere whereas those who tend to violence and coarseness and force if they are known at all are despised and disowned.
Allah says regarding His Prophet:{By the mercy of Allah, you were mild mannered with them. Had you been ill ma nnered and hard hearted they would have deserted you.}
(3:159) If we adopt peacefulness as a practical principle always, we will, by the leave of Allah, be able to initiate a general trend towards an authentic Islamic movement which will be a prelude to rescuing the Islamic lands from the colonialists and dictators and to establish the law of Allah for one billion Muslims. For Allah this is not difficult.
Peace Amongst Members of the Movement
We have discussed the principle of peace from a number of viewpoints including peaceful social interaction and peaceful interaction with the enemy. Now we will discuss the same principle but from another angle namely the peaceful interaction amongst the members of the Islamic movement itself.
This means that the members of the movement should be in complete accord and there should not be any differences or disputes. Often there occurs amongst the members of an organisation unhealthy competition and wrangling and disputes and mutual hatreds. This problem has two bases:
The first is that some people seek to exploit others and the second is that those people of higher rank look to the lower ranking members with disgust and the lower ranking member look to the higher ranking members as exploitative and arrivists and opportunists. Islam provides solution to both of these problems:
The decision making process must be that of mutual consultation (Shura) so that every individual has an opinion which must be considered. By this, exp loitation leading to the break-up and death of the movement will cease. As for he who says: I have a greater understanding, or my vision of the future is deeper so I have the right to decide in the matter, this is exactly what is meant by exploitation. This will solve the first problem.
As for the second problem, people should not have contempt for one another or belittle one ano ther.{O you who believe, avoid suspicion, for some suspicion is a crime.}
(49:12)
Suspicions must be avoided. Imam Amir-ul-Mu’mineen (A) said: ‘Give your brother the benefit of the doubt’, and in another tradition from Imam al-Saadiq (A) who said: ‘If fifty people swear to you that he said something and he says that he did not say it then believe him and do not believe them.’ Meaning that do not doubt him on the basis of what those traito rs say.
One of the impeccable Imams (A) visited one of the Caliphs during an emergency situation. The Caliph said to the Imam: ‘O son of the Messenger of Allah (S), advise me.’ The Imam (A) said: ‘The Muslims are either older than you in which case you should treat them as you would your father. Or they are younger than you in which case you should treat them as you would your son. Or they are equal to you in age in which case you should treat them as you would treat your brother.
Honour your father, treat your brother equally and have mercy upon your son.’ This is the way a person should look towards everyone; with kindness and mercy, sympathy and compassion and if not then he will not be able to progress however powerful he is. These are the foundations upon which the Messenger of Allah (S) built the Islamic state and upo n which the imp eccable Imams built the personalities of the Muslim believers.
It is related that Imam al-Saadiq (A) went to Karbala to visit the grave of Imam al-Hussein (A) and he said to one of his companions: ‘Go around and invite whoever you see to visit Imam al-Hussein (A).’ The man went but returned without anyone. The Imam said to him: ‘Why have you returned alone?’ The man said: ‘O son of the Messenger of Allah, I didn’t think the people I met were good enough.’ The Imam said to him:
‘Then I think of you what you think of them.’ Meaning that if there is a difference in the levels of people then the difference between you and them is the same as the difference between myself and you, and as it is not right for the higher ranking person to reject the middle ranking person, it is also not right for the middle ranking person to reject the lower ranking person.
In the same way, there should be a state of harmony and peace amongst those involved with the Islamic movement, and not a state of exp loitation, antipathy, and contempt.
The Islamic movement will not be able to guide the peop le to the straight path as long as it itself does not follow the straight path. There is a well- known principle in reasoning that says: ‘That which lacks something cannot b estow that thing.’ If you do not have knowledge how can you bestow knowledge? If you do not own a Dinar how can you give away a Dinar? Similarly, if the building blocks of the Islamic movement are not equality, justice, the love of people, and humility it will not be able to plant these things in other people. It is just not possib le.
Those involved in the Islamic movement therefore should look to one ano ther with equality, fraternity and justice so that they might progress by the leave of Allah. If not then the people will say: If there were any good in their movement they themselves would have adopted what they were calling for.
Many Islamic movements have failed in the past because of a failure to adopt the ethics of action and peace. These failed movements should be a lesson to us so that we act in a way that will make the movement righteous so we can achieve, by the leave of Allah, the international Islamic state of more than one billion Muslims.
The Results of Peace
Peace results in the best outcome. Those who make peace remain, however many enemies they have. Even if they stumble and fall it will only be temporary. Those involved in the Islamic movement if th ey surround themselves with an air of peace they will firstly halt their enemies and they will not be able to destroy them, and secondly, if their enemy is able to get to them this will only be tempo rary and will eventually end in advancement for the peace-makers.
We can see that the Prophets and Imams (A) always inclined to peace. The Messenger of Allah (S) used to make peace with his enemies even when he was at the height of his power and his wars were all defensive in nature as history shows. The Messenger of Allah (S) did not initiate a single war ever and if he did do battle, his battles were characterised by peace except to the amount that was necessary.
Because of this the Messenger of Allah (S) made great advances and still does to this very day. Not a day goes by but the number of Muslims increases despite what the Islamic state has had to face in the way of plots and ploys from the first d ay of its existence until now.
Also Imam ‘Ali (A) inclined to peace to the utmost of his capacity. He did not make war on the people of the Jamal but they made war on him and solely because the war ended he dealt with those who remained as if they were friends and b rothers and as if nothing had hap pened. This was also the case with the battle of Nahrawan where the Kharijites had made war against the Imam and spread rumours and insulted him until the Imam made a beautiful speech (to be found in Nahj al-Balagha) while around him were his companions.
A Kharijite heard the speech and commented on it saying: ‘Allah curse him for his infidelity how wise he is.’ Meaning that Imam ‘Ali is an infidel but he is wise. His companions wanted to punish the Kharijite but the Imam said: ‘Leave him for the rule is a curse for a curse or forgiveness of sin and I prefer to forgive.’ Meaning that he has cursed me so I am entitled to curse him back or forgive and I am more worthy of the second so he pardoned him. In fact Imam ‘Ali (A) was able to gain control over the Kharijite movement which was a corrupt movement with his calmness and flexibility.
The chronicles show that when the war with the Kharijites had ended, the Imam (A) forgave what remained of them and did not imprison them or punish them in any other way.
They were in Kufa and elsewhere denigrating the Imam (A) but he remained silent for he knew that the peace-maker will eventually make progress. The Kharijites were making life difficult for the Imam in many ways like attending the mosque but not praying with him the congregational prayer.
Once a Kharijite read the following Qur’anic verse in front of the Imam:{And it was revealed to you and to those before you that if you associate partners with Allah your actions will be in vain.}
(39:65). Implying by this that the Imam (A) was a Mush rik (one who associates partners with Allah) and that his actions were in vain. Still the Imam pardoned him. This was the nature of the Imam; patient in the face of criticism even oppressive criticism, and patient in the face of pressure even if this pressure came from corrupt people for he knew that peace provides the most noble consequences and that the peace-maker survives as we indeed see ourselves that he has survived for 1400 years and he will survive until the end of history no matter what the circumstances.
In the battle of Siffin, one of the most violent battles against the Imam (A) the chronicles report that when the Imam defeated a soldier from the army of Mu’awiya he would ask him to swear not to assist Mu’awiya again then he would leave him to his own devices. This is unheard of in history except in the history of the Imams and the Prophets and the great reformers who followed their footsteps.
Because of this, we see that the Imam (A) has remained like a lofty mountain despite the fact that the Umayyad Clan put pressure upon him and cursed him from seventy thousand pulp its for almost one-hundred years, and despite the fact that the ‘Abbasid Clan oppressed him including the Caliph Mutawakkil who made war upon him and killed his sons and imprisoned them and desecrated the grave of Hussein (A) and destroyed Karbala twice as is to be found in the chronicles. A man called ‘Ubadah al-Mukhnath used to come to meetings and put a pillow between his shirt and stomach and walk around the gathering saying:“I am Amir-ul-Mu’mineen.”
Making fun of Imam ‘Ali (A) while everyone present laughed.
But what was the outcome? Those people only hurt themselves and not the Imam except superficially. The Imam (A) said once: ‘I have not been kind to anyone and no-one has harmed me.’ Those around him said: ‘O Commander of the Faithful, you have been kind to many and many have harmed you.’ He said: ‘Have you not heard Allah’s words:{If you do good you do it to yourselves and if you do harm then you do it against yourselves.}
, for I have done good to myself by doing good to others and the people have done ill to themselves by doing ill to me.’
In fact, those who put pressure upon the Imam (A) from the Umayyad and Abb asid Clans and their ilk only injured themselves. Mutawakkil was killed along with his vizier al-Fath ibn al-Khaqan as were those who came before him and after him. The Imam remains like a lofty mo untain, or a shining sun that illuminates more than one billion people on earth. All of this was due to the nature of the movement of the Imam (A) and his peacefulness that he adopted as a motto in his personal, family, and social life.
The hadith reports that Ibn Muljim, when he struck the Imam (A), the Imam said to him: ‘Have I not been good to you, did I not give to you generously?’ The Imam despite having knowledge given to him by the Messenger of Allah (S) that Ibn Muljim would kill him, he continued to favour him and treat him kindly. After Ibn Muljim had struck by his sword on his head, Imam Ali still ordered that he b e treated well. When he drank milk he would leave some and say: ‘Feed your prisoner.’ The Imam had also said to his sons: ‘If I recover from this blow of his I will pardon him. If I do not recover then you have the right of retaliation but do not mutilate the man for I heard the Messenger of Allah (S ) saying: ‘Do n ot mutilate even a rabid dog.’ However he recommended that his sons pardon the man.
Likewise, Mu’awiya has gone and the Kharijites have perished and the people of the Jamal have passed away as have Haroun and Mutawakkil and Ma’moun and others like them who used to oppose the Imam (A). They have all gone and the Imam remains as a minaret illuminating travellers.
The Islamic movement which seeks a resurgence in order to establish the government of a billion Muslims must also adopt peace as its watchword so that it might b e able to attract the people and repel the enemy. And if the Islamic movement were to stumble and fall then it would inevitably arise again. And because it is human nature to support peace-makers and to exact revenge upon the war makers, then if the Islamic movement adopts peace as its mantra properly and not just as an empty sl ogan, in word , deed, thought, writing, speech, and in gatherings then it will be able to expand until it encompasses all the lands of Islam. This will be the beginning of the government of a billion Muslims by the leave of Allah.
Equilibrium of Thought and Deed Results in Peace
Peace cannot happen, nor can it be realised in the external reality unless the thought-processes and actions of the human being are in eq uilibrium and far from guesses and arbitrariness, exaggerations and negligence. If a person sees in himself and his group all the good and virtue, and sees others as being devoid of virtue and immersed in vice, this type of thinking will only lead to other than peace, to enmity and hatred, attacks and innuendo. It is well known that there are three things, a little of which is considered great; fire, enmity, and illness. A single match can set light to a whole timber store of tens of tons of wood. A small illness can lead to death. A minor enmity like a nasty word can lead to bloodshed.
The chroniclers have reported that the war of the Busus, which lasted around one hundred years, began when a man from one tribe shot an arrow into the side of a camel of another tribe. The owner of the camel killed the man who had shot the arrow whose family killed the o wner of the camel and so on and so forth. The poet has said: Most of the fire is made of mere sparks.
Hence it is imperative that a person thinks in a balanced way so that balanced actions will result from it. If he were to think in an exaggerated manner, then this will only result in corrupt action and from there to enmity and hatred.
If a person wishes to undertake an international Islamic movement resulting in the government of one billion Muslims then he must adopt peace as his watchword in his speech, action, writing, and movement. The prophet Jesus (A) alluded to this when he said: ‘When someone strikes your right cheek then turn the left cheek to him.’
Jesus does not mean by this that the oppressed should submit to the oppressors but rather he means something else which the Holy Qur’an also points to in the verse:{ . but to pardon is closer to piety.}
(2:237). Jesus wanted success for his followers and to attract the people. Therefore he taught them peace to this extent. Jesus was successful in this and we can see that more than two billion peo ple in the wo rld today respect him, half of whom are Christians and the other half Muslims.
In another piece of wisdom related about the Messiah (A) is that he and a group of his disciples passed by a group of Jews who said some unkind words to him. He replied with kind words. Naturally he spoke the truth when he spoke good about them as most evil people have at least some aspect of good in them. He was asked: ‘Why do you speak kindly of them when the speak unkindly of you.’ He said: ‘Each person spends of that which he owns.’ Meaning that whoever harbours evil will speak in evil terms and vice versa. One who owns a dinar may give away that dinar whereas one who has nothing but a poisonous scorpion can only give away a scorpion.
This is also the case with one who harbours good or evil. The faculties o f hearing sight, and writing and the like if they emanate from a heart full of goodness and mercy, then these faculties will be characterised by goodness and mercy. The opposite is also the case. If the heart is full of evil and lies, then the tongue and the rest of the faculties will only be able to express what is in that heart. This is what Jesus (A) teaches us; if the other party is not good then at least be good yourself.
In the supplication for the month of Rajab are the words: ‘O He who I beg of him for every good and seek sanctuary from His displeasure for every evil. O He who gives much in exchange for little. O He who gives to he who asks Him and he who does not ask Him or know Him, out of his kindness and mercy.’
Allah gives to the believers and also to those who do not know Him or oppose Him. He gives even to those who oppose Him. The Holy Qur’an alludes to this in the verse:{Nay We will provide for those people and those from the gift of your Lord.}
(17:20)
If we wish to adopt the ethics of Allah Almighty, then we must be balanced in thought and in deed and not raise our friends to th e highest heaven and neglect those who are impartial. Everything should be in equilibrium. Among the b enefits of a person who is in equilibrium in his thoughts and actions is that peop le will approve of his judgements and will join his camp. However this is something that requires self-control and the ability to bear criticisms, which are difficult matters, but out of difficulties a good result can arise.
In a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (S) that when he saw Fatima (A) toiling and tiring herself he said: ‘Take now the bitterness of this world for the sweetness of the next.’ Bitter things only produce a sweet outcome.
Any engineer, doctor, lawyer, sportsman, or gifted speaker or writer will not have reached his station except through hard work and toil. So must we if we want to reach the goal of a government of one billion Muslims. This requires self-control and a balance in thought and the cap acity to bear criticism and the ability to convince people without any despotic or dictatorial means. Despotism and dictatorship, and extremism in thought, word and deed, and in the administrative system will only result in bad consequences.
There is a hadith that Jesus (A) passed by a murdered person and he said: ‘Who killed you?, there will come a day when they will kill your killer.’ This is almost a natural law, that the person who kills another will see a day in which he himself will be killed. In another hadith come the words: ‘Give the killer tidings that he will be killed and the adulterer that he will be poor.’
One of the conditions of the international Islamic movement is that it should adopt peace from the viewpoint of equilibrium in thought and deed and giving everything its due. In the Holy Qur’an:{ . and do not withhold from the people their belongings.}
(7:85, 11:85, 26:183) This means that if you write a book and praise yourself for doing so and someone else writes ten good books and you do not praise him to the amount of your book then this will result in you being left behind in life in ad dition to the fact that the people will desert you and will know you for being immodest.
Hence it is well known amongst our scholars that a source of religious knowledge or the Imam of a congregation or the judge must distance themselves from arbitrary love and hate. We have previously mentioned that a man said to Shaikh Murtada al- Ansari: ‘It is easy for a human being to become a scholar, but it is impossible for him to become a human being.’ Meaning by this that you the Sheikh are a scholar and this is something easy but you are not a human being and that this is impossible for you to achieve. The Sheikh said : ‘On the contrary, for a human being to become a scholar is difficult and for him to become a human being is even more difficult.’
This is true, for a person must strive for fifty or sixty years day and night in order to become a scholar. If he wants to become a human being then his striving must be deeper in order to achieve his goal.
Building Blocks of Peace Within the Movement
To have peace within the Islamic movement requires the presence of two things without which the movement will not end with a good result but will remain weak and ineffective as have many movements in the past who have come to the fore then disappeared because they did not have realistic building blocks for the movement.
This applies to both the Islamic and non-Islamic worlds. Hence the Islamic movement should observe these two matters from the initial stages of its formation so that it may reach the desired goal. These two matters are:
Firstly: Free and fair elections within the movement itself and a balance of power. Naturally splits will form in the movement. This is customary in life. However between these splits there must be equality, balance and competence so that a single group is not able to take control of the movement and derail the movement towards dictatorship.
Any movement can be taken from reality to dictatorship simply by one group gaining authority over the other groups. This spells death for the movement even if the movement remains alive superficially.
Before the western military coups in Iraq and although British colonialism was in authority at that time, it was not as powerful and sharp as the colonialism that those who called themselves repub licans brought. They were not in fact republicans, not al-Karim, nor al-Salaam, nor his brother, nor al-Bakr, nor those who came after him.
They were nothing but agents of Britain, Israel and America. In any case, at the time of the monarchy, many political parties whether they called themselves the National Party or the Progressive Party, or even the Islamic Party, all failed for the reason that at the very beginning a colonialist or despotic group gained control over them and there were no free elections, equalities o r distribution of power.
This should be a lesson to us. The Islamic movement must have power b ases within it, which are both equal and competitive, b ut the competition should be towards the good and not the bad, towards decisive action and attracting the people and raising standards. As Allah has said in three verses from the Holy Qur’an:{ . and for this let the competitors compete for.}
(3:133), and{ . and race each other for forgiveness from your Lord.}
(2:148), and{ . and race for the good things.}
(5:48).
Whatever the case may be, it is imperative that the Islamic movement should observe peace between the different groups of the movement and if dictatorship should gain power over the movement then there will be no peace, for peace is bred from equal power bases. If dictatorship were to gain po wer it would not change and the movement would not be able to change it. Then this group would act despotically with the finances,
the rep utation of the mo vement and with the will of the mo vement. We have seen how easy it was for colonialism to take the reins of power from the dictators because the public was taken out of the equation and the power was present in four, five or ten people only. However, if the movement had been a popular movement then colonialism would not have been able to take the reins of power from the people.
It is then imperative that the movement observe the following two points. First, the movement should comprise of different branches, equally balanced powers, and different groups each with their own currents and trends even though the framework is one, which is the popular Islamic movement.
It is only natural that people’s tastes are different and each person should be allowed to propose his own opinion in a climate of complete freedom be that in speech, writing, in gatherings or on travels. Every person should work according to his own opinion as we see in action amongst religious jurists.
Their framework is the Qur’an and the Sunnah, consensus and intellect but they still differ in the particularities in all the areas of jurisprudence. This is the case for doctors, engineers, and astronomers in the gatherings of the free or semi- free nations.
Seco ndly, the movement should also hold free elections annually or biennially. The mark o f free elections is a complete change fro m top to bottom not fraudulent elections as in some nations, parties and organisations where the leaders do not change and only a few things change as a tactic.
Another mark of fair elections is that the number of votes ranges from small to large like 51% or 55% or 60%. As for forged elections like those of the Ba’thists or the Nationalists we see 99% of the votes going to the former president and 1% going to his opponent or even less. This is no thing but fraud, lies, and does nothing but compound the dictatorship. A p olitical scientist has laid do wn two criteria for assessing whether a country is free or not. The first is to see whether the leaders change once every four years.
The second is to see whether the people are able to speak freely in the streets or write what they wish or publish magazines and newspapers as they wish. These two criteria must be observed within the movement itself so that the movement can be fully free on the condition that this freedom be within an Islamic framework.
Through this, the movement may be able to continue to expand and progress and will be accompanied by peace. In this way the movement will end in the government of one billion Muslims by the leave of Allah.
Instilling Peace
The process of instilling and instructing the self has a great effect on the human psyche. Humans are by nature prone to anger and revolt, to seeing the faults o f others, to entering into wrangles and fights with others, and to hatred, disdain, enmity and cutting off relationships. It is imperative that the roots of these things are extirpated from the heart of the individual and following on from that the rest of his limbs.
This can be achieved through instilling into the self that the human being is a harmoniser, a peace-maker, decisive, intelligent, a thinking being, a purposeful b eing, and an administrator. If the individual instils this into his self day and night and throughout his life he will eventually develop a peaceful nature and he will be able to help to advance the Islamic movement even in an environment of wars, revo lts and revolutions.
In a hadith it is said: ‘The most worthy of things to be imprisoned is the tongue.’ Hence the individual must customise himself to guarding his tongue and his heart.
In another hadith it is said: ‘If you see the believer silent then draw near to him for he is receiving wisdom.’
The individual must also guard his hand and his pen, his movements and his pauses in fact everything so that he may move the Islamic nation forward. Those who say: ‘We are nervous characters and we cannot bear pressure’, or they say: ‘So-and-So has belittled our opinion’, or they say: ‘We think he is in the wrong so how can we remain silent?’ These types of people are not able to advance the movement.
Hence we see in the history of the Messenger of Allah (S) and the history of successful movements many of this type of person. The hadith report that an ill-mannered man of the infidels came to the Messenger of Allah (S) and cursed him while the Messenger was in the sacred mosque reciting the Qur’an. The Messenger of Allah did not say a word to him but the man obviously wanted to provoke a fight with the Messenger of Allah (S).
The Messenger remained calm and quiet but the man cursed him and cursed him. Then he spat in the face of the Messenger of Allah (S). The man himself continues the account saying that: ‘Muhammad (S) did no more than wipe the spit off his face and did not say a thing.’ What was it that made the Messenger of Allah do this when he was justified in at least returning what he had received with like as in the Qur’anic verse:
{ . and whoever attacks you then attack them in the same way that they attack you.}
(2:194). It was because the Messenger of Allah (S) saw that entering into a squabble with this infidel was not important and it would not serve his goal.
Hence he returned to peace and carried on in the way that Allah had marked out for him. In this way the Islamic movement succeeded because of the clemency, patience and peacefulness of the Messenger of Allah (S). The poet says: ‘You will never be able to be clement until you adopt clemency.’ Meaning that if there is revolution in your heart then do not let it surface but rather adopt clemency and patience and control yourself so that you are able to be a peace-maker even in the worst times of excitement and breakdown.
There is another account about the Messenger of Allah (S) that he passed by the family of Yasir; Yasir and Sumayyah and ‘Ammar, when the Polytheists were torturing them. He looked at them with kindness and said: ‘Patience O family of Yasir for you have been promised paradise.’
He did no more than this. This was because the Messenger of Allah (S) knew that if he entered into a marginal dispute with the torturers he would lose his main impetus and he would not reach his main goal, which was to establish the pillars of Islam. In this way, the Messenger, his righteous companions and his impeccable family were characterised with the most amount of peacefulness and peace, self control and control of the tongue, hand and reaction. They were then ab le to make advances because of this peace.
We can also see that some reformers who were able to rescue their countries from the grip of colonialism were able to control themselves. One who was not able to do this and would get irritated at the slightest thing began to instil in himself every day the qualities of a peace-maker who loves the good for all people. He used to say: ‘Every day when I awoke in the morning I would instil these things in myself and also when I wanted to sleep until I was able to carry pressure and insults.’
The Muslim instils in himself peace every morning, noon, afternoon, at sunset, and evening in the obligatory prayers when he repeats in every prayer: ‘Peace be upon you O Prophet and the Blessings and Mercy of Allah, Peace be upon you O righteous servants of Allah, Peace be upon you and the blessings and mercy of Allah.
‘ Peace to the leader namely the Messenger of Allah (S), p eace to himself and peace for everyone else. This symbolises the peacefulness of the leader, the peacefulness of the person, and the peacefulness of the Islamic community or greater than the Islamic community because saying ‘Peace be upon you’ encompasses everyone to enter into peace.
In this way the Muslim instils peace into himself every day at least fifteen times. If the individual instils peacefulness into himself he will have the peace which will enable him to lead, to progress, to bear difficulties, not to become irritated with others through insulting words or slander and backbiting and cu rsing. There is a hadith in which the Messenger of Allah saw two people cursing each other so he said: ‘They are two Satans reviling each other.’
Whatever the case may be, the Islamic movement which seeks to bring about an international Islamic government must adopt peace as its mantra, and strive for peace. Not the peace of the communists for this is the peace of infidelity and killing. What we seek is an Islam in the shade of Peace meaning in the shade of Allah for one of His names is al-Salam (Peace):
{He is Allah, there is no god but He, The King, The Holy, The Peace, The Faithful, The Protector, The Almighty, The Omnipotent, The Imperious.}
(59:23)
What we seek is a peace in the shade of peace, which is in the shade of Allah and in the shade of Islam. Hence we should always try to instil in ourselves peace and compassion, even for the enemy, so that we may draw them to the straight path. It has been related that the Messenger of Allah (S) if the harm he suffered from his people became great would say: ‘O Allah, guide my people, for they have no knowledge.
‘ He did not seek to invoke Allah against them but rather called upon Allah to guide them. In the end the Messenger of Allah achieved that success which has no parallel in the entire world. We ask Allah to grant us such success in this. Surely He is the granter of success and the best helper.
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Author: Ayatullah Seyyed Muhammad Shirazi
