PEACE has been defined by scholars as the absence
of war. Technically speaking, this definition is quite
right. When there is no armed conflict in a society, a
state of peace will automatically establish itself. The
establishment of peace in a society is, however, not
just a matter of putting an end to war and violence:
that is only its initial phase. Whenever the state of
peace prevails in a society in the real sense, its
members will necessarily engage themselves in
positive activities. Their energies will be
channelised into the reconstruction of their own
lives and of their social environment.
The establishment of peace in a society can be
likened to removing a dam from a river. Human
life, like a flowing river, wants to surge forward
under its own momentum. When there is no
obstruction, all life’s activities will be set in motion,
propelled by human nature itself. They come to a
halt only when the artificial barriers of war and
violence are placed before them. Peace, from the
point of view of its result, is like an opening of all
the doors of life to the fullest possible extent.
There are some who call this kind of peace negative.
They say peace has no value unless it is
accompanied by justice. If they are offered peace,
pure and simple, they will not accept it. They hold
that they should first be given justice and their
rights, and then only can they live peacefully with
others. “Peace with justice” is their watchword. This
shows a lack of realism in their thinking. The truth
is that justice does not directly follow on from a
state of peace. The aim of establishing peace is, in
fact, to open up opportunities for the achievement
of justice, rather than the actual bringing of justice
into being.
Peace, of course, is a highly desirable state of being
because, once it is established, everyone has the
opportunity to make plans, and then achieve
whatever he wants. But those who insist on the
prior condition of justice going hand in hand with
peace will find neither peace nor justice. And they
will continue to fight in the name of securing
justice. In this way they will never let such peace
prevail as will provide an atmosphere conducive to
securing justice.
Peace is generally studied as the antithesis to war.
But this is an extremely limited concept of peace.
The truth is that peace relates to the entire spectrum
of human life. In itself it is a complete ideology.
Peace is the master key, which opens all doors to
success. It paves the way for the success of sincere
efforts in all spheres. In a state of peace, we can go
about any task: without peace it is impossible to act
constructively. This is true of all matters in life, both
great and small.
Ref -The Ideology of Peace
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
