Through Force or Faith? — Page 43
Principles to Promote World Peace 43 are the same as that of ones from the west. Therefore, be sensitive to each other’s feelings. If you will be mindful of these feelings, you will remain in peace. Allah, the Exalted, has endowed each nation with special qualities of its own, make use of them to main- tain lasting love and reverence. This, according to Islam, is the very standard for enduring peace. Otherwise, as I said, no matter how many security councils are formulated, no matter how many organizations are set up, they can never succeed in establishing enduring peace and security. These Quranic teachings have not merely existed as a con- cept from earlier times; rather, the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as acted upon it during his own lifetime. He looked after the poor, he loved the slaves, he restored the rights of the destitute and he ensured their proper status in society. Bilal ra , who was an African slave, had been emancipated but had no stature in society. The Holy Prophet Muhammad’s treatment bestowed such a rank on him that even ‘Umar ra addressed him as ‘Our Master, Bilal’. These are the ways to set the standards of peace. At the occasion of the Final Pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as pronounced unequivocally: You are all children of Adam, therefore, no Arab has any precedence over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any prec- edence over an Arab. Likewise, colour or race is not a rea- son for your superiority either. This was the beautiful society that the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as created, and this is the very society that the Community of the