The Doctrine of Peace in the Hadith

The doctrine of peace is also clearly indicated in the Hadith, the collection of various Traditions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as narrated by his various companions. There are about 20,000 such Traditions of the Prophet and a number of these contain the ethics of peace. These have a two fold significance for the study of peace in Islamic tradition. First, these offer additional facts about peace in the Islamic culture; secondly, these contain a more exhaustive explanation of the various traditions of Islam as revealed through the Qur’ân. The Hadith contains a number of extremely unequivocal confirmation of the doctrine of peace in the religio-cultural traditions of Islam. It has been narrated by Ibn-i-Omar that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that  “one who helps violence and promotes or seek help to promote tyranny (violence) is forever under the wrath of God”.

This unqualified condemnation of violence is an incontrovertible testimony to the existence of an ethic of peace in Islam. Whereas the retributive form of justice has been sanctioned in Islam, retribution itself has never been eulogised.

Retribution is treated in the Hadith as a necessary evil and whenever one could avoid it from the ethical or emotional sphere of his action, it led to spiritual grace. Mercifulness is treated as supreme virtue in the Hadith also. It is through mercy to his creatures that God’s mercy could be obtained.

It has been narrated by Asama bin Zaid that the Prophet had said: “No one should be retaliated upon, because of someone else.”
And it is narrated by Abdullah bin Umar that the Prophet has said:  “God shows mercy to those who are merciful. Be merciful to the inhabitants of the earth, the sovereign of the heaven will be merciful to you.”

According to the Hadith:

“Muslim is one from whose hands, tongue, and limbs, everyone is safe; verily he is not a Muslim who fills up his stomach while his neighbours are starving; the smallest service, for even a minute, is far more valuable than spending the whole of a year in prayers.”

Thus, the service of human being is the greatest service to god.

The doctrine of peace is evident from the ethical injunctions contained in the Tradition of the Hadith. Among the practical commandments of Islam, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mentioned the following34 :

(i)     Be with that which God has allotted to you;
(ii)     Avoid those acts which are prohibited and excel all other persons in your obeisance to Lord;
(iii)     Be kind to your neighbour and you will turn a perfect Momin;
(iv)     Don’t laugh too much, for too much laughing deadens the hear;
(v)     Approve that for others which you approve for yourself and you will thereby become a Muslim.

These ethical norms illustrate the fundamental based of non-violence. The last moral commandment particularly resembles the norms of non-violence in the Confucian and the Christian traditions. It is more positive than even Confucianism which had only said:  “do not do to others what you do not like for yourself”. Whereas Muhammed says:  “Approve that for the others which you approve for yourself.”

In the former, orientation is towards negative morality, i.e. what one should not do; in the latter, the orientation is towards positive action, viz., the right form of conduct that one should perform. This characteristic of the ethical system of Islam has been analysed earlier also. Islam has basically an activistic and humanistic orientation in its value system, though it is circumscribed due to historical and cultural reasons which lead to underestimation of its peace and non–violent tradition. The Prophet (pbuh) said:

“All mankind belongs to one human family. Every child is born pure and sinless, in the natural religion of Islam, but afterwards it is his parents who make him a Jew, or a Christian, or a Magian.”

Similarly Shakespeare said: “One touch of nature make the whole world kin.”

The specific historico-cultural factors which circumscribe and narrow down the Islamic ethics of peace (that it applies to believers only and not to the non–believers), are derived from its monotheistic tradition. In many of the traditions (Hadith) references are to true Muslim who abjure from violence to fellow-Muslim; and in others fight for God is justified, which means for the propagation of Islam. See the following extracts from Hadith:

—    It is narrated by Abdullah bin Omar that “the Prophet (pbuh) once remarked a true Muslim is one from whose tongue and hands bear no violence and a perfect Mujahid is he who has given up those vices which are prohibited by God.”

—    Abu Mosa narrated that “once the companions submitted to the Prophet saying, ‘O! Prophet of God! Which Islam is superior’. The Prophet replied: ‘Of the person from whose tongue and hand suffer no violence’.”

—    It has been narrated by Burad bin Azib that “the Prophet has said that for God it is bearable that the world be destroyed rather than a Muslim be murdered.”

—    Further it is narrated by Abu Musa that a man came to the Prophet and submitted “O ! Prophet of God! What does it mean to fight in the name of God”. When someone amongst us fight because of anger and someone else for personal integrity. Thereupon, he replied, “He alone fights in the name of God, who wishes to exalt the word of God.”

These instances bring out clearly that peace and violence in the Islamic tradition were used with a particularistic sense of discrimination. It comes very close to an ethic of in-group peace and out-group legitimation of violence. However, we have earlier quoted instances where the Qur’ân contradicts these statements and gives unequivocal support to universalistic peace. Thus, it can not be said that generalised ethics of peace has been totally absent from the Islamic tradition.

It also offers a metaphysical explanation of the centripetal nature of the ethics of peace as found in this religio-cultural system. In Islam, as Sehuon writes:

“Every man is his own priest by the mere fact of being a Moslem. He is a patriarch, Imam or caliph of his family; in the latter is reflected the entire Islamic society. Man is in himself a unity, he is the image of the Creator whose vicar (khalifa), he is on the earth, he cannot, accordingly be a layman. The family is also a unit; it is a society within society an imperative block like the one responsible and resigned beings, the Moslem himself, and like the whole Islamic world, which is of an almost incorruptible homogeneity and stability. Man, family and society are cast according to the idea of unity of which they are so many adaptations. They are unities as Allâh and His word, the Qur’ân.”

This element of internal solidarity and independence of the Muslim faithfuls contributed, to the growth of an ethno-centricism in the Islamic community.

The ethno-centricism of Islam has, however, not precluded from its structure of values, the norms embodying unequivocal support to peace. In the Hadith there are many references where non-violence has been extolled us a value in a society. Such social behaviour which might lead to the exploitation and suffering of other human beings has been declared as sinful. The hoarding of grains or money for profit, acts of censure and bad treatment of the members of family have been declared to be irreligious.

Social obligations towards children, wife and other members of a family occupy as much importance according to Hadith as religious duties. The basic social obligation, are not to be neglected even after a complete self-surrender to the divine obligations. It is narrated by Abu Hozaifa that once when Hazrat Darda had started neglecting his wife, being too engrossed in prayers and fast, Hazrat Sulaiman advised him not to do so. Sulaiman’s advice that divine obligations should be combined with social obligations were also concurred by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The Hadith forbids the eating of meat while on pilgrimage or holy war43, and rules against killing of animals when they are in helpless condition. Tyranny and violence caused to fellow-human beings for one’s own gain have been called un-Islamic. It has been narrated by Hazrat Abu Huraiah, that he had heard the Prophet saying:

“He who supports a tyrant with a view to be supported (thereby) himself, knowing well that he was a tyrant, departs from Islam.”

Similarly, he lays down that 

“God holds those persons dearest to Him, who do not retaliate violently even though they have the power to do so.”

Hazrat Abu Hurairah says:

“The Prophet said that Musa bin Imran enquired from God: O Lord! Who is dearest to thee amongst thy devotees? God replied, He who forgives people even though he had the power to retaliate.”

This statement in the Hadith resembles the concept of non-violence, in the Hindu tradition as further elaborated and refined by Gandhi.

Regarding the applicability of peace the present-day problems, the evils of the modern world are a result of false values of life. People do not have faith in God nor the fear they will be called upon to account for all their actions. They attach little importance to truth, justice, selflessness, simplicity, humility, purity in thought and action, and such other qualities which moderners allocate to people of previous time and cultures. The result is corruption, hatred and greed with all their associated evils. Man desires to live in the world only for his own pleasure and enjoyment and for that of his near and dear ones.

This concept of life has disturbed fraternal feeling and peace. The ethical standards established by great man like Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have gone out of style. Life’s guiding principles such as a good opinion of others is also part of worship, simplicity is a symbol of faith, ‘the leader of the community is its servant’, ‘no one has a right over whatever is surplus with him’, ‘prayer purifies a person’, and many others which the great Prophet preached, have lost their meaning in the bustle of the so-called modern civilisation. Let me recall the prophetic words of the Great Messenger of God:

“When evil becomes rampant in a community it will be confronted with famine, and when corruption prevails it will be subject to fear and panic.”

So far, we have discussed the concept of the value system of peace through non-violent action in the Hadith. These value fixed expression only through the ethical standards and their integration in the social structure. Every religious and cultural tradition develops its own typical cultural ethos represented by the normative structure but alongside this, a system of social order and social institution also exists through which the dominant value system of culture is rendered stable and dynamic. Therefore, an analysis of the ideals of social ethics and social order as laid down in Islam would add a new dimension to our knowledge about the tradition of peace in Islam.