Islamic Morality: The Source of Peace and Security
Some of those who say that they are members of a particular religion and something is done in the name of that religion may, in fact, misunderstand that religion and as a result, practice it wrongly. For that reason, it would be very wrong to form ideas about a religion or make judgments based on people's actions. The best way of understanding a religion is to study its Divine source.
Islam's Divine source is the Qur'an, which is based on concepts of morality, love, compassion, humility, sacrifice, understanding and peace. A Muslim who lives by those precepts in its true sense will be most polite, careful of thought, modest, decent, noble, just, trustworthy and easy to get on with. He/she will spread love, respect, harmony and the joy of living all around him.
Islam is the Religion of Peace
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is violence committed against non-military targets for political purposes. To put it another way, targets of terror are civilians whose only crime, in the eyes of terrorists, is to represent "the other side."
For this reason, terrorism means subjecting innocent people to violence, which is an act bereft of any moral justification. Each and every terrorist act, as in the case of the atrocities committed by Hitler or Stalin, is a crime committed against humanity.
The Qur'an is a true Book revealed to people as a guide to the true path and in this Book, God commands men to adopt good morals. This morality is based upon love, compassion, understanding and mercy. The word "Islam" is derived from the word meaning "peace" in Arabic. Islam is a religion revealed to mankind with the intention of presenting a peaceful life through which the infinite compassion and mercy of God manifest on earth. God calls all people to Islamic morals through which compassion, mercy, peace and love can be experienced all over the world. In the Qur'an, God addresses believers as follows:
O you who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow in the footsteps of satan. He is an outright enemy to you. (Qur'an, 2:208)
As it is made clear in the verse, security can only be ensured by "entering into Islam", that is, living by the values of the Qur'an. The values of the Qur'an hold a Muslim responsible for treating all people, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, kindly and justly, protecting the needy and the innocent and "preventing the dissemination of mischief". Mischief comprises all forms of anarchy and terror that remove security, comfort and peace. As God says in a verse, "God does not love corruption". (Qur'an, 2:205)
Murdering a person for no reason is one of the most obvious examples of mischief. God repeats in the Qur'an a command He formerly revealed to Jews in the Torah thus:
... if someone kills another person – unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth – it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind... (Qur'an, 5:32)
As the verse states, a person who kills even a single man, "unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth", commits a crime as if he had murdered all mankind. This being the case, it is obvious what great sins are the murders, massacres and attacks, popularly known as "suicide attacks", committed by terrorists. God informs us how this cruel face of terrorism will be punished in the hereafter in the following verse:
There are only grounds against those who wrong people and act as tyrants in the earth without any right to do so. Such people will have a painful punishment. (Qur'an, 42:42)
Organizing acts of terror against innocent people is entirely against Islam and it is unlikely that any sincerely believing Muslim could ever commit such crimes. On the contrary, Muslims are responsible for stopping these people, removing "mischief on earth" and bringing peace and security to all people all over the world. Islam cannot be reconciled with terror. Just the contrary, it should be the solution to and the path to the prevention of terror.
Killing a Person is One of the Greatest Sins Related in the Qur'an
Killing a person for no reason is one of the greatest sins related in the Qur'an:
... if someone kills another person – unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth – it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind. … (Qur'an, 5:32)
As the verses suggest, a person who kills innocent people for no reason is threatened with a great torment. God informs us that killing even a single person is as evil as murdering all mankind on earth. A person who observes God's limits can do no harm to a single human, let alone massacre thousands of innocent people. Those who assume that they can avoid justice and thus punishment in this world will never succeed, for they will have to give an account of their deeds in the presence of God. That is why believers, who know that they will give an account of their deeds after death, are very meticulous to observe God's limits... those who do not call on any other deity together with God and do not kill anyone God has made inviolate, except with the right to do so, and do not fornicate; anyone who does that will receive an evil punishment. (Qur'an, 25:68)
