Islam Rediscovered

Peace and Justice

Islam Rediscovered — Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.

Contents (113 chapters)
  1. Preface
  2. Search for Truth
  3. Philosophy
  4. Science
  5. Mysticism
  6. Faith and Reason
  7. Natural Argument
  8. Philosophical Argument
  9. Spiritual Argument
  10. Scientific Argument
  11. The Concept of God
  12. One God versus many gods
  13. A Personal God versus an impersonal God
  14. Religion
  15. Religions Other than Islam
  16. Islam in Brief
  17. True Guidance
  18. A. Individual
  19. B. Society
  20. C. State
  21. The Creation Plan of God
  22. Discovery of Islam
  23. Why Islam Alone
  24. Prophetic Perspective
  25. Separation of Spirit and Form
  26. Communalization of the Religion
  27. The Veil of Interpretation
  28. The Obsession with Historical Glory
  29. The Man Islam Builds
  30. Internal Development
  31. External Activities
  32. Intellectual Development
  33. (Razin)
  34. The Islamic Way of Life
  35. Iman (faith)
  36. Ibadah (worship)
  37. Akhlaq (morality)
  38. The Quran portrays Muslims as individuals who “repel evil with good.” (28:54)
  39. “One who is not grateful to man cannot be grateful to God either.” (Al-Bayhaqi)
  40. Social Relations
  41. A. Individual Responsibility
  42. B. Family Life
  43. C. Legitimate Livelihood
  44. Islam As It Is
  45. Non-Violence and Islam
  46. Peaceful Beginning
  47. Success Throgh the Non-violent Method
  48. Political Revolt Unlawful
  49. The Command of War in Islam
  50. The Modern Age and Non-Violence
  51. The Manifestation of Religion
  52. A Great Opportunity
  53. Islam in the Present Age
  54. Dawah Activism
  55. Through dawah even the direst of enemy turns into a dearest friend. (41:34)
  56. Muslims Displaced
  57. Peace and Justice
  58. Conclusion
  59. Islamic Fundamentalism
  60. On Islam and Jihad
  61. Ideological Hatred
  62. Terrorism in the Name of Islam
  63. Fundamental Principles of Islam
  64. Islam and Politics
  65. The Challenge of Fundamentalism
  66. The Shariah and Its Application
  67. Lead all men to the path of your Lord with wisdom and mild exhortation. (16:25)
  68. Bear up then with patience, as did the steadfast Apostles before you. (46:35)
  69. Fight for the sake of God those that fight against you. (2:190)
  70. The Secret of Guidance and Ignorance
  71. Spirituality in Islam
  72. The Universe—a Source of Divine Inspiration
  73. A Personal Experience
  74. “God plants wisdom in the heart of one who shows disinclination for the world.”
  75. Preservation, Updating, Dawah
  76. (c) Process of dawah
  77. Contribution of Muhaddithin (Scholars of Hadith)
  78. Religious Institutions
  79. Updating
  80. Updating: Reapplication of Shariah
  81. Dawah
  82. Islam Stands the Test of History
  83. Prophetic Vision
  84. Envisioning the Future
  85. Seeing an Advantage Amidst Disadvantages
  86. Introducing Peace as the Most Powerful Weapon
  87. His Words Determine the Course of History
  88. Islamic Activism
  89. 1. Positive Status Quoism in Religious Affairs
  90. Unlimited Scope of Patience
  91. The Islamic Concept of History
  92. Creation Plan of God
  93. The Age of Perversion
  94. The Reasons for Perversion
  95. The Problem of Evil
  96. The Revolutionary Role of Islam
  97. Historical Revolution
  98. (This kind of persecution has been mentioned in the Quran as ‘fitna’). (8:39)
  99. Freedom of Choice
  100. The End of the Superstitious Era
  101. Truth Unveiled
  102. Islam in History
  103. The Eradication of Fitna
  104. The Age of Religious Freedom
  105. The Peaceful Propagation of Islam
  106. The Role of Non-Muslims in Islamic Development
  107. Conversion: An Intellectual Transformation
  108. Islam and Conversion
  109. Conversion—A universal principle
  110. The reality of Conversion
  111. Conversion—A healthy historical process
  112. A Case of Discovery
  113. Conclusion

Peace and Justice

One great problem for Muslims is that peace does not necessarily guarantee them justice. This has caused Muslims to become violent and to neglect opportunities for da’wah. In modern times Muslims want a peace which brings them justice. But according to the law of nature, this kind of peace can never be achieved, that is why Muslims the world over are in a state of physical and mental unrest. Distressed in their minds, they have become violent in their thinking and in their actions.

The truth is that peace does not automatically produce justice. Peace in actual fact simply opens up opportunities for the achievement of justice. At the time of Hudaybiyya the Prophet Muhammad had not found justice. He had achieved peace but only by delinking it from justice. The Prophet had made this peace not to extract justice but to receive the opportunities. And great opportunities for da’wah action did open up with the establishment of peace. The Prophet exploited these opportunities in full measure. Therefore, in just a few years’ time the Prophet not only ensured justice but set Islam upon a much more solid footing.

The Muslims of the present day have to understand this secret of nature. Only then will it be possible for them first to find peace, then ultimately their desired goal of justice.