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Q&A: If Prophet of Islam preached peace and tolerance how come there are so many war mongers amongst Muslims who take cues from the same life?
If Prophet of Islam preached peace and tolerance how come there are so many war mongers amongst Muslims who take cues from the same life? A short answer: It is a questions that bothers many a people and we do need to consider why such is the case. Like any other social phenomenon there are many perspectives to be investigated. Let us begin with the Arab Custom of narrating tales. The pre-Islamic Arab society was a war torn community wherein a murder was remembered for generations and vengeance was sought for decades generation after generation. The Arabs would compose poems and ballads on this theme, narrating the tales of a…
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Battle of Hunayn and the Pride in Numbers
Fought in 630 CE between Muslims and the non-Muslim Bedouin tribe of Hawazin in the outskirts of Mecca, the Battle of Hunayn is an important battle that has somehow not found a place in everyday Muslim discourse if compared to the battles of Badr, Uhud, or Trench. Battle of Hunayn, among other battles, is one good example that tells us numbers don’t matter. In the earlier battles such as those of Badr, Uhud, or Trench the Muslims were vastly outnumbered, however in this one which took place after the Treaty of Hudaybiah and the Fall of Mecca, the number of Muslims was huge. It was the largest ever Muslim army…
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Guru Nanak on Muslims
“musalmaan kahaavan muskal jaa ho-ay taa musalmaan kahaavai.aval a-ul deen kar mithaa maskal maanaa maal musaavai.ho-ay muslim deen muhaanai maran jeevan kaa bharam chukhaavai.rab kee rajaa-ay mannay sir upar kartaa mannay aap gavaavai.ta-o naanak sarab jee-aa mihramat ho-ay ta musalmaan kahaavai.” Guru Granth Sahib Ji Ang 141 One of the finest definitions of who is worthy of being called a Muslim was given by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The quotation above which finds a place in Guru Granth Sahib Ji Ang 141 may be translated as follows: “It is difficult to be called a Muslim; if one is truly a Muslim, then he may be called one.First, let him savor…
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2. Material Roots of Western Civilization
The book “Islam at Crossroads” by Muhammad Asad deals with the fall of the Muslim world. It laments the imitation of the West which is in its spirit (materialistic) diametrically opposite to the Islamic spirit (spiritual and harmony between subtle and mundane). It argues that the imitation of the West can only be at the cost of Islam, the two being incompatible. It discusses the attitude the Muslims must adopt towards the West. It further argues that the practical aspect of the spirit of Islam lies in the Sunnah of the Prophet, which has been shunned for the visible impossibility of implementing its seemingly trivial aspects in life, the weakening…
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1. Moral Roots of Islamic Civilization
The book “Islam at Crossroads” by Muhammad Asad deals with the fall of the Muslim world. It laments the imitation of the West which is in its spirit (materialistic) diametrically opposite to the Islamic spirit (spiritual and harmony between subtle and mundane). It argues that the imitation of the West can only be at the cost of Islam, the two being incompatible. It discusses the attitude the Muslims must adopt towards the West. It further argues that the practical aspect of the spirit of Islam lies in the Sunnah of the Prophet, which has been shunned for the visible impossibility of implementing its seemingly trivial aspects in life, the weakening…
Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment
