Through Force or Faith? — Page 52
?— A Reply to Pope Benedict XVI 52 It is easy that one may sit down and talk calmly with the enemy but it is very difficult and an act of great val- our that one may forget enmity entirely and then dispense justice to him. Thus, in this verse, God did not mention love but mentioned the standard of love because the one who will be fair to his mortal enemy and will not over- look truth and justice is the one who truly loves. ( Nūrul- Qur a n, no. 2, R uha n i Khaz a ’in, vol. 9, pp. 409–410) [The Promised Messiah as ] said that Allah, the Exalted, did not just say, ‘Love them,’ but instead said that the standard of your love should be such that the enemy who has reached the extreme of animosity— keeping this extreme example before you of how the Meccans treated Muslims, how they treated the Holy Prophet s as , they committed murders, they committed atrocities—yet it was said that you have to treat even such people with justice. When this happens, goodwill grows, and this is the message of peace that can deliver peace to the world in reality. These are the true teachings of Islam and these are its standards. When there will be genuine affection, and the dictates of justice will be met; then the message of peace will also be conveyed. This was also the noble practice of the Holy Prophet s as that brought the leading chiefs of Makkah into the lap of Islam at the occasion of the conquest of Makkah. This practice of his became a bastion of security for the enemies. The declaration of ‘No reckoning for you on this day’ ( S u rah Y u suf, 12:93) disseminated the fragrance of peace at that occasion and forever thereafter. This is the pinna- cle to which is tied the security of the world. Otherwise, all the great governments, no matter how much they espouse justice, will