Peace in Islam is an essay written by Imam Hasan Al-Banna in 1948 in the monthly magazine known as Shihaab. It is the right of the new Muslim generation to have access to the writings of this great reformer; especially on this important topic. The attention of western writers, in particular the orientalists, has been directed at this crucial topic; the majority of them view Islam as a religion which was established and spread by the sword. They are certainly mistaken. The Imam’s argument in this essay is that Islam is a religion of love and peace, and indeed, the true manifestation of human brotherhood. In an age of violence and instability, this conception of the role of Islam in establishing world peace and human camaraderie, as it did in the past, is needed very much and it is also an inspiring call for mankind. This book is of two parts, the first part elaborates on the reformist movements in the Islamic World, the causes, then the answer to the question: Is the Islamic threat- a myth or reality? Then he describes the Human Brotherhood concept of Islam.

In the second part, the Imam elaborates on Jihad, and why fighting is allowed in Islam. He defines the purposes of war in Islam and answers the commonly asked question: Was Islam spread by the sword? and what steps Islam has taken in terms of guaranteeing peace. The Imam, may Allah bless him, shows us that ultimately, and insha’ Allah (God-willing) time will be a witness to this, only Islam can save mankind from itself.

Reformist Feeling in the Islamic World

 Many political and social analysts as well as scholars, especially those interested in studying the development and evolution of nations, notice that the Islamic world (spearheaded by the Arab world) is pursuing an Islamic path in its fresh resurgence, and this new direction is gaining increasing momentum. Many writers, thinkers, scholars, and leaders who were advocating conformity with the values of western civilisation and adherence to its norms and the complete adoption of its principles, began rethinking their ideas and started to change their tone and replace it with a new more cautious and wary approach. The call for the return of Muslim society to the fundamentals and teachings of Islam became more powerful, paving the way for the re-islamisation of all aspects of life.

The Causes

 It worries the Islamists that the governments and nations of the west have lived for centuries ignorant of Islam, knowing nothing about Islam except fanaticism and stagnation, and viewing the Muslim nations as nothing more than weak societies which can be easily led and conquered. When Islamic revival emerged, they began to analyse and explain this phenomenon according to many frameworks and theories totally alien to the true essence of this religion. Some researchers said that this Islamic resurgence was a result of the rising tide of extremist Islamic tendencies and intolerant Islamic organisations. Others argued that it was a reaction to the political and economic pressures felt by the Islamic nation. Still others saw the cause for the rise of this phenomena as a means by which those who seek power will achieve their desired goal. All these speculations are very far from the truth because this Islamic direction is due to three main developments.

Materialism in the West

The materialist pillars upon which modernity was established achieved an economic and technological advancement, but failed to satisfy human needs and fulfil the conditions of a stable social life. The western way of life which was founded on material knowledge, technical know-how, innovation, invention and the dominance of the world markets with its products, was not able to give the human soul a ray of light, a hint of (spiritual) inspiration or a strand of faith. It was not able to provide any means of peace and tranquillity for anxious souls. This is why it was natural for a man living in these conditions to seek happiness in the purely material world and

look for ways of alleviating his suffering in ways consistent with it. Indeed all that western life could offer him was material pleasure: an excess of wealth, sex and other corrupted vices, with which he temporarily indulges himself, only to find that he is not satisfied. With the decline of family values and the rise of individualism, the modern man, along with the ‘modernised’ one, felt his soul crying out for freedom from this material prison, searching for a release into the vastness of faith and spiritual light.

 The Perfection of Islam

Secondly, and this is the positive aspect, the Islamic thinkers rediscovered the fundamental virtues of Islam and the comprehensiveness of its teachings; and they realised that Islam offers the most detailed, most complete, all-encompassing system compared to all other social philosophies that have ever emerged. For a long time the Muslims had forgotten this fact, but when Allah allowed them to compare the social principles of their religion with what the greatest of social scientists and the most prominent of thinkers have discovered, they found that the difference between the treasures of their great heritage and human attempts of thinkers and philosophers was vast. In light of this, they found themselves responsible for calling all people to this righteous path, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The Course of Modernity

After two destructive world wars, new principles, norms and social systems emerged, shaping the political, social and economic life of various nations. However, it was not long before these new standards were put into question and in some circumstances even abandoned or changed. All this took place at a time when Islamic thinkers were busy theorising, monitoring, weighing and returning to the Holy Book of their Lord, the clear guidance of their Prophet and the bright history of their civilisation. They found that there wasn’t a virtue in any worldly system that was not already affirmed by Islam. As for social, economic and political problems, related to these systems, Islam prescribes the route of prevention and cure.

The democratic system led the world for a while, encouraging many intellectuals as well as the masses to think of it as the ideal system. Nobody can ignore the freedom it has secured for peoples and nations alike, and the justice it has introduced to the human mind in allowing it to think freely, and to the human being as a whole in allowing him the freedom to fulfil himself; and, apparently, giving power to the people. Indeed, international relations after the First World War came as a proof of the legitimacy of these ideas and most of the world turned towards them wholeheartedly. However, it was not long before people realised that individuality and unlimited liberty can lead to chaos and many other short-comings, which ultimately led to the fragmentation of the social structure and family systems, and the eventual re-emergence of totalitarianism.

Nazism came to power in Germany, Fascism in Italy and both Hitler and Mussolini began to force their people to conform to what they thought; unity, order, development and power. Certainly, this system led the two countries to stability and a vital international role. This cultivated much hope, reawakened aspiration and united the whole country under one leader. Then what happened? It became apparent that these seemingly powerful systems were a real disaster. The inspiration and aspirations of the people were shattered and the system of democracy did not lead to the empowerment of the people but to the establishment of chosen tyrants. Eventually after a deadly war in which innumerable men women and children died, these regimes collapsed. Concurrently, socialism and communism gained adherents.

Soviet Russia came onto the scene propagating its ideology and its system, which changed remarkably during thirty years. The democratic/liberal power, or to be more accurate, the old ‘colonial’ powers (or the new ambitious ones), started thinking very seriously about stopping this rising tide. The struggle between the two powers intensified while the nations and countries not yet aligned to this camp or that, wandered aimlessly, and did not know whether to turn here or there. Among these countries were the Islamic nations. This social development and seemingly inevitable confrontation reawakened the inspiration of Muslim thinkers which motivated them to start weighing and comparing all the available options and they ended up, after much contemplation, with the final conclusion: the need to pursue the path of freedom independent of all these alien systems, and the absolute necessity for a return to Islam.

The Three systems in Prayer

I once said, humorously, to an audience, “This prayer that we offer five times a day is nothing more than a daily exercise on a practical social system which contains the best of communism and democracy.” In total surprise they asked: “How can that be?” I said that the best that the communist system has to offer is its promotion of equality, its attack on social classes, and its war on pride in private ownership upon which class is based. All these elements are present and completely felt by a Muslim when he enters the mosque. For when he first enters the mosque he knows that this holy place belongs to Allah, and Allah alone; and that there is no difference between one who finds shelter in it and one who only passes through. In it there is no young or old, no lord or slave and no discrimination nor classification. When the Mu’adhin intones, “The prayer is due, the prayer is due”, the masses line up behind the Imam in one straight line as if they were one solid wall. Nobody bows before the Imam does, and no one prostrates before him. In every little movement the masses are obliged to follow the Imam and not to supersede him in any way. This is the best that any autocracy has to offer – everyone united, orderly and well organised. However, the Imam does not act as he pleases. On the contrary, he himself is bound by the instructions and constitution of the prayer. If he should divert or make a mistake in a recitation or an action, it is upon the young boy, the old man and the women who prays behind him to correct his short-comings. It is their every right to remind him, correct him and guide him to the right path during their prayer. Moreover, it is obligatory on the Imam, whoever he shall be, to bow down to the truth, and correct his mistake in the light of their instructions. There is nothing in democracy that is better than the virtues we have just cited. Hence, what is in these man-made systems that elevates them above Islam when Islam has so marvelously blended the best of them together, to come up with one complete system?

 The Islamic Threat- Myth or Reality?

 Westerners, as I mentioned earlier, are very concerned with this new Islamic movement and see it as an eminent danger. Hostility and an attitude of confrontation is the reaction that has formed. For, they see it as nothing more than the victory of the old regressive traditions, and the coming together of the ‘barbarians’ against the new civilised world. This is a profound illusion and a grave mistake, as well as being a misconception of evident truth. It is our purpose in writing the following words to make two important points:

 To prove the idea of the fundamentals of the Islamic social system, and its superior status among the other systems that have recently emerged. Among these fundamentals of Islam are:

1- Human brotherhood and the abolishment of the spirit of hatred and rigidity.

2- Peace and the real purpose and philosophy of Jihad that many orientalists ignored or were ignorant of.

3- Freedom and the Islamic position and principles regarding slavery and liberty.

4- Social justice: and an explanation therein of the Islamic point of view on the system of government and social stratification.

5- The “good life”; its meaning and realization.

6- The family; the rights of women, polygamy and divorce.

7- Work and earning; the different means of earning money and the real meaning of Tawakkul.

8- Knowledge: and in it an exposition of the errors committed by those who accuse Islam of encouraging ignorance and stagnation.

9- Organisation: in it an explanation and a reply to those who think that lack of discipline and order are inherent in Islam.

10- Religiousness: and in it there is the truth of faith in Allah, virtue and reward.

 To argue that the good of all humanity is in the return of Muslims to their religion and that this will be the most important step towards peace on earth. Also, one must realise that the motive of that revival is not blind fanaticism but rather conviction in what the virtues of Islam have brought to mankind. These are the virtues that conform totally with the highest of what contemporary thought has managed to discover about righteous social principles and the pillars upon which they stand.