World Peace

As far as I can understand, Islam has two schemes to offer for the promotion of peace:

1. a real and long-term scheme, and
2. a short-term or interim one.

As regards the real, durable, and universal scheme to bring about peace on earth, Islam asserts emphatically and unambiguously that it can be achieved only through responding to the call of Islam, by believing in Allah (SWT) as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and submitting to His will as expressed in the last Divine Revelation, i.e., the Holy Qur’an. A true Islamic society has the potential to expand and take the entire world into its fold, and thus to save all human beings from exploitation, disruption, oppression, and disquietude. The vicissitudes of human history are witness to the fact that whenever humanity adopted an ideology and way of life other than Islam, the world was torn by injustice and warfare. The Holy Qur’an says:

Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the Ad, of the (city of) Iram with lofty pillars, the like of whom were not created in (all) the land? And with the Thamud, who cut out (huge) rocks in the valley? And with Pharaoh of Stakes? They were those who had committed great excesses in the lands, and spread great mischief in them. (Surah Al-Fajr 89:6-12)

Thus, the main emphasis of Islam is on calling the entire humankind towards faith in its Lord and Creator, and urging it to submit to His Will. Indeed, the real way to establish lasting peace on earth is the following:

First of all, a true Islamic society and a genuine Islamic State needs to be established in one part of the world; this would act as a beacon, inviting the humankind towards the light of Iman and Islam. As a result, the boundaries of Islamic society and Islamic State would keep on expanding till the entire humanity would come within the fold of the love, benevolence and mercy of its Creator.

Under the present circumstances, however, this seems like a far-fetched idea. But Islam has a message of peace, love, and harmony for the interim period as well. Islam provides us with two cardinal principles, on the basis of which the peoples of the world can be united in global harmony. Thus, the Ayah 13 of Surah Al-Hujurat reads:

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair of a) male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (one who is) the most righteous of you....   (Al-Hujurat 49:13)

Here the Holy Qur’an mentions two points which can create a deep sense of unity among the diverse races and religio-cultural groups of the world, viz., the unity of the Creator which leads us to the essential equality of humankind, and the common origin of the entire human race in the primordial pair of Adam and Eve(AS), which leads us to the idea of universal brotherhood.

This Ayah addresses all of humanity and not just the Muslim community. All humankind has descended from the first couple, Adam and Eve(AS). Their tribes, races, and nations are conventional labels by which we may know their differing characteristics. Before Allah (SWT) they are all one, and the most righteous is the most honorable. Allah (SWT) is the Creator of all human beings and as such they are all equal before Him.

These two principles of unity of the human race and oneness of Creator may appear rather theoretical, but history tells us that the Prophet of Islam (SAAW) established a society based on these very principles which was free of internal strife and conflict. Even H. G. Wells, who otherwise is a bitter critic of the personal life of the Holy Prophet (SAAW), acclaims that it was a great feat of Prophet Muhammad (SAAW) that he, in fact, established a human society based on the lofty moral ideals of Islam.

Everybody knows that modern science and technology has brought about fantastic changes in contemporary life. Our globe has shrunk tremendously; we can travel from one corner of the earth to another in a matter of hours. The world has been reduced to a village, various countries being like localities of a single town. But this elimination of distance is entirely a physical and outer phenomenon. Mentally and psychologically, the various nations of the world are still far apart from each other. Even though at the political level men aspire to develop a universal brotherhood and a single world-State, yet in reality they cannot find a basis or value through which to overcome the barriers of color, creed and race.

Ref: An excerpt from the English translation of the Book قرآن اور امن عالم         by Dr Israr Ahmad (RAA); “The Qur’an and World Peace” [Translated by Dr. Absar Ahmad]