Living in harmony

Live in harmony and let people live in harmony. This is the message of Islam. To realise this objective, Islam advocates certain regulations and disciplines that each individual must adopt. Following these regulations, in itself is called Taqwa.

Whatever we do, good or bad, must have a goal. It is insane people or people who have lowered themselves to the level of people who are not sane, who do things without any goal. The main purpose of Taqwa is the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala. A person must always follow these principles solely for the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala. In return, Allah Ta’ala will grant Him a pleasant life in Dunya and total well-being in Aakhirah. Therefore, without people recognising His Creator and following His rules and His commandments that He has imposed on them, there cannot be peace in the Dunya. The oppressed one will always undergo misery in this Dunya and if he is a good person, he will get well-being in Aakhirah. And the oppressor also will not be able to live in harmony. He will always live in tension and upheaval. Moreover, after his death, he will have to suffer for his misdeeds that he committed in the Dunya. Finally, there will not be something called peace or tranquillity in the Dunya. This allows us to say that there is neither tranquillity nor peace without following the commandments of Allah Ta’ala.

"... Behold! Hearts are contented with the Zikr of Allah Ta’ala." (S 13: V 28)

If you want to live peacefully, you must learn to let people live peacefully. By allowing people to live in harmony, you will not lose anything. On the contrary, you will get peace also.

But we must not think that a person does not have the right to react. It is completely normal that a person will react if they feel that they or their family or their wealth or their honour is threatened. The Deen of Allah Ta’ala grants each individual this right. And even the "man-made laws" have nothing to say against it. According to the law of Allah Ta’ala, a person is a Shaheed if he lost his life while saving his life or his family, or while protecting his wealth or his honour. 

It is good to know that Islam condemns injustice in all its forms to such an extent that the Shari’ah is very severe towards those who mistreat animals also. If you do not like an animal, this does not allow you to kill it or make it suffer.

Life is a sacred thing that must be respected. All those who will show respect for life will be respected and protected in return. And it is completely normal that they will have to suffer the consequences due to their negligence in regards to the lives of others. In the same way, the wealth of a person is also sacred. It is not permissible to interfere with the wealth of someone by snatching it away from him, by deceiving him, or by stealing it from him.

Sometimes, Shaitaan fools one and traps one in such a way that one finds it very good and very interesting. For example, he gives you the idea to steal from the rich and to distribute it to the poor. This scenario is merely good for drama. It does not have any basis in the Shari’ah. The Sahaabah-e-Kiraam (Radiyallahu Anhum) used to work as porters in the bazaar to be able to give Sadaqah and charity. The one, who has great pity for the poor, must show it through his perspiration. He must not show generosity with wealth that is not his. In short, this practice of stealing from the rich to help the poor, has nothing to do with Islam even if it seems to be a great idea. It is purely injustice and oppression which prevent people from living in harmony.  

[English version of "Vive bien" – Al Jamiat – Vol.4 No.13]