unto both (than ye are). So follow not passion lest ye lapse (from truth),
nor ye distort truth or turn aside, verily God is well informed of what
ye do (4:135).
Devotion to justice means much more than being just ourselves. We
should also see to it that justice prevails everywhere. It is the duty of
the Muslims to fight against injustice wherever and in whatever
form it raises its head. Here the question naturally arises: how are we
to fight against injustice? The answer is that as far as it is possible, we
should fight injustice by peaceful means, such as persuasion and
rational argument. Only when all these efforts fail, are we justified in
resorting to force. At this point we face the question of war and its
causes.
VI. War and Ideological DifferencesCan war be abolished, and if so how? Is war ever justified and if
so when? The Qur'an's attitude to these questions is eminently
realistic. While denouncing war as an evil, the Qur'an concedes that
it may be necessary as long as "it does not lay down its weapons"
(47:4). If the peaceful people of a country are attacked by an
aggressive ruthless enemy, the only honourable course of action for
them is to fight in self-defence. The physical force of the enemy
must be overcome by a combination of physical and moral forces.
When successful resistance has put the enemy into a reasonable
frame of mind, the way will be open for a peaceful solution of the
dispute. Islam permits the use of force for the purpose of self-
defence, for the protection of places of worship of all religions, for
the eradication of injustice, cruelty and tyranny, and lastly, for
preventing a war, more frightful and on a larger scale.*
Islam's attitude to the question of the abolition of war is cautious
and realistic. Abolition of war should be our goal but we should
realise that it can be attained only gradually. The Qur'an offers
concrete proposals which, if carried out, will lead to the exclusion
of war from the world. Firstly, men should be persuaded to accept
the view that as rational beings, it befits them to settle all their
disputes and compose all their differences in a peaceful and rational
238
- The question about war has been dealt with in detail in the next
chapter.
Political System