Peace is the result of planned action, while violence
is purely an aggressive response to any kind of
provocation. The peace-loving person first thinks
and then acts. The violent person first acts and then
thinks. There is hope in peaceful action from start to
finish. In violent action, however, there are false
hopes to begin with, which are soon followed by
frustration.
The peace-loving person stands for truth, while the
violent person stands for falsehood. The way of
peace runs an even course from beginning to end,
while the path of violence is strewn with obstacles.
In peace, construction is all, while with violence,
destruction is all. A peace-loving person lives with
love in his heart for others, while a violent person is
consumed with hatred for others. The peaceful
course ends in success, while the violent course
ends in frustration and regret.
In having recourse to peaceful methods, there is
nothing to be lost and everything to be gained.
Violent methods, on the contrary, bring no gains,
only losses. The way of peace is the way of
humanity, while the way of violence is the way of
animality. While an act of peace is well within the
ambit of the law, the act of violence is utterly
lawless.
A peace-loving person ignores problems and avails
of opportunities, while a violence-loving person
leaves opportunities untapped and remains locked
in a futile struggle with problems. While an act of
peace causes the orchard of love and well-wishing
to blossom, an act of violence sows the seeds for a
whole jungle of enmity and hatred. The culture of
peace is, in short, the culture of goodness, while the
culture of violence is the culture of evil.
In peace, God’s rights as well as human rights are
honoured. Where violence reigns, human rights as
well God’s rights are violated. If peace is paradise,
violence is hell.
Where the opposite courses of peace and war are
open to man, peace is the true choice for him. War is
only a proof that he has made the wrong choice.
That is a test in which he has failed. The truth is that
war and violence are in no way valid options for
any individual, community or nation.
Although many allurements exist in this world,
they are there purely to put man to the test. They
are not something desirable for man. For instance,
alcohol is available, but it does not exist for man’s
consumption. It is there rather for man to refrain
from indulging in it and thus prove his ability to
distinguish between good and bad. It is a
temptation, in the avoidance of which he shows that
he is prudent and a man of principles. The same is
true of war. Although the way of war is open to all,
the noblest line of conduct is to refrain from opting
for it.
The conditions prevailing in ancient times allowed
for war in self-defence. But this permission to go to
war conformed to the law of necessity. Now, in the
present situation, this need no longer exists,
therefore there should be a general ban on war.
Ref -The Ideology of Peace
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
