Most people in the world seem to have developed a disturbing sense of indifference with regards to war, images of dying children, blown up homes and millions of people walking on the roads trying to find a shelter. They've gotten used to, or were made to get used, to strife and conflict. The situation is so grim now, the news of bombardments, pictures of women and children covered in blood, almost come as regular news to some.
Many people got so used to this situation that those who call for peace, those who urge and seek methods for peace, are frowned upon. What is even worse is that there are Muslims in that group that frown upon those who call for peace .
God encourages peace in the Qur'an
God always encourages peace and forgiveness in the Qur'an. This is such a prominent part of Islam, in the time of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), Muslims always urged peace although the other party were performing outright tyranny over them. And when their calls for peace didn't bring any results, they had to depart the oppressive community – by leaving their own homes, cities and everything behind. According to the verses, even ‘a Muslim community that is under attack, that is having war waged against it’ is not allowed to attack but only to self-defense.
Therefore the duty of every Muslim is putting out the fire, and not adding fuel to it, when there is a fight or conflict somewhere. The first action to be taken should always be the prevention of bloodshed and preservation of peace. This is the easy option- even though some people want the opposite.
Peace is easy; reaching reconciliation, being understanding, acting with empathy is easy. Those who are aggressive, offensive, oppress women and act in a way that will make people uncomfortable are in the wrong and should immediately give up on their faulty ways.
Preserving peace, ensuring stability and peace of mind for everyone and not allowing any hostility and aggression are obligations upon believers.
Those who believe that the more they shed blood, the more they will gain the approval of God are in absolute violation of the Qur'an and should know that they lead to mischief and turmoil, even if they don't mean to do it. God wants peace and rejects bloodshed. Therefore, those who encourage more fighting and foster a bloodthirsty spirit are gravely mistaken.
Choosing what God wants
God doesn't want people to suffer. In a verse in Surat an-Nisa’, God says: ‘Why should God punish you if you are thankful and have belief? God is All-Thankful, All-Knowing.’
God loves to see His servants with loving, grateful, compassionate and altruistic characters. A sincere love that is born out of faith and wisdom is the ultimate goal of faith as well. Satan wishes to prevent people from believing in God and therefore strives to make people forget about love and fosters hate, and he incites hatred and the worst behavior. As believers, it is our duty to foil that plot.
Spreading negativity and animosity, or being hostile and presenting hatred are behaviors that God does not approve of.
God created us for love; God wants us to experience love in Heaven too, as Heaven is the place of love, affection, compassion and beauty. God wishes us to love the trees, plants, the children and creates and our spouses for us to love them. God loves love and approves of it and the place we learn about love is the life of this world.
This world is our temporary abode; a place for us to be tested, a course so that we learn to let go of all our bad traits. The world is the school of love that teaches us how to love. We learn the truth of love here, so that we can learn to live this love forever after we are trained to do that here.
For this reason, one of the most important duties of believers in this world is teaching people love. We have to be persistent in doing what God commands us to do and follow the way He shows through the way of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh).
We have to do our best, not thinking ‘Well, what can I do; my efforts won’t help’ and without seeing ourselves as insufficient. By the grace of God, we will continue to work and make an effort to bring peace to the world, to end the ongoing strife and bloodshed and eliminate all the weapons in the world.
Adnan Oktar's piece on Harakah Daily:
