June 28, 217
Religion and peace
Heavenly religions came as a message of peace to humanity, and I claim that it involves peace even to animals, plants, and all the manifestations of nature. We should know that Islam - as a religion – disallows the Muslims to draw arms, except in case of warding off aggression against one’s life, property, or homeland. It never happened that Muslims fought others to force them into Islam. Rather, Islam views non-Muslims - Christians, Jews, or followers of any other faith, not through the lens of hostility, tension, or conflict, but through the affection and human fraternity. The Qur’an explicitly states that the relationship of Muslims with others who are peaceful to them - whatever their religions or sects might be - is one of righteousness and fairness. It suffices here to note that Islam is introduced as the last link in the chain of the Divine Religion. Islam also states that in all these messages, the origin of the religion is the same. Hence, the Qur’an mentions the Torah and the Gospel in terms of utmost respect and recognition. In the Noble Qur’an, Allah Almighty describes both the Torah and the Gospel as “guidance and light” (Qur’an, 5: 46). In the Qur’an too, the Qur’an itself is described as a Scripture “confirming” previous heavenly Scriptures.