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[The following article is the text of a talk given by Mr Ahmed Youssef, of the Canberra Islamic Centre, at the Canberra Inter Faith Forum, on Sunday 16th September 2001. Under the Lord's Providence, the topic for the meeting was "Peace". Unfortunately, we are unable to reproduce quotations from the Qur'an in Arabic. The translations are printed in italics.]

I greet you all with the salute of Islam:

Peace be unto you and the mercy and blessings of God.

Peace is an essential component of this life which leads to eternal peace in the hereafter. One of the favourite supplications to God is:

O God, you are peace, from you emanates peace and to you peace returns. Greet us with peace and and let us enter the abode of peace.

To achieve peace, we must be ready to give everyone his dues and reciprocally receive the same, our rights through individuals and communities in an atmosphere of justice and equality.

Your Lord has dues on you, your family has dues on you and yourself has dues on you. So give everyone his dues.

Peace with the self

It begins by accepting gratefully that which God has given us, form, colour, proportions, parents and so on. This means that we do not have to change our bodies to fit the "ideal form" to have plastic surgery to 'correct' the divine 'mistakes'. To love oneself implies accepting also others as they are.

The mind is the best gift given to mankind. It is the mind that must control man's actions according to divine guidance irrespective of the temptations of the ego. Therefore, the mind should never be obliterated by drugs or alcohol:

O you who believe, intoxicants and gambling .... are an abomination and satan's handiwork. So avoid them in order to be successful. Satan wants only to excite enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the rememberance of God and from prayer. So, will you then not abstain?

Peace is a spiritual dimension! nourished by prayer meditation and the rememberance of God.

Verily in the rememberance of God do hearts find rest.

This is why we are required to pray 5 times a day at certain times.

Verily prayer prevents from great sins and evil, and the praising by you of Allah is greater.

Peace with the self is the stepping stone for peace with the world at large. It is the antithesis to suicide as a solution to conflict and depravation. That is why suicide is prohibited in Islam and severely punished in the hereafter, with no hope to enter paradise ever.

Account to yourselves before you stand in judgement.

Peace in the family

Peace in the family begins with choosing the marriage partner. According to islamic tradition, religion is paramount in this respect over beauty, wealth and social status.

Marriage is the essential institution for peace and harmony in the home and outside and replacing it by any other arrangement has proven an invitation of anxiety, insecurity and suffering. The dress code is meant to promote decency and respect.

In Islam, parenthood, especially motherhood are highly rewarded positions,

Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.

Illegitimate offspring carry no fault of their own. Adultery is severely punished in order to safeguard the sanctity of marriage and purity of lineage. Divorce is the most hated lawful act before God and should happen only as a last resort.

Peace with the society

When a society considers hedonism as a way of life, making money by gambling as an aspiration, idleness as an aim of life and usury as an investment, then it is about time to stop the spiritual rot it has slipped into.

Allah will destroy usury and increase charity

And what you give (in charity) in order to increase (your own wealth) will not increase with Allah.

Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury.

We can easily see how the system of interest has destroyed individuals, businesses and nations

Wealth will not be diminished by charity.

Honesty in transactions is essential for peace in the society

Whoever takes that which is not lawful for him, he is appropriating for himself a piece of hellfire.

Litigation for fake reasons or a larger share of inheritance is equal to oppression.

Beware of oppression as it will be darkness on the Day of Jugdment.

Trust, equity and truthfulness are essential ingredients for peace in society,

Allah commands that you should render back the trusts (given to you) to whom they are due. And when you judge between people, you judge with justice.

Educating young people on a daily dosage of crime and cruelty through TV and computer games is not conducive to good behaviour in society. The media are supposed to be a means of information and education and not of sensationalism and exaggeration. Theft for drugs and fun should be properly punished. Even it may look cruel, but after all the deed was a personal choice.

Peace with the world

Peace with the world begins with abolishing all forms of exploitation which have substituted the old forms colonisation. Destroying countries and cultures to get cheap raw material and labour is plain theft and agression. Enslaving people into debt as a means to let them survive is not conducive to peaceful co-existence. Governments and bankers should remember the simple laws of humanity and compassion before calculating possible profits. There is no equity if some nations have the right of veto even when they are wrong.

In Islam, war is an act of last resort.

And if two parties fall to fighting, then make peace between them both. But if one of them outrages against the other, then fight you all against it until it complies: Then reconcile between them justly and be equitable.

if they incline to peace, you also incline to it, and put your trust in Allah. Verily He is the all-hearer the all-knower.

Islam teaches that Allah creates sustenence for all HIS creation, but some of them steal the shares of others. This is what makes the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Peace with God

God's instructions are meant to be for the sake of humanity at large. Disobeying them may make consumerism florish, but it can never bring peace on earth.

I did not creates the Jinn and Mankind (for any other reason) except that they should worship Me. I seek no provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed ME. Verily, Allah is the all-provider, owner of power, most strong.

Peace with God implies peace with His creations, including flora and fauna and the environment. Therefore, to destroy habitats and hunting for fun are strictly prohibited in Islam.

To whomever knows my orders and disobeys me, I will give power over him to the one who does not know me.

One of the most impressive supplications was made by to Jonas inside the whale. He said (according the Qur'an):

None has the right being worshipped but YOU. Verily, I was one of the wrong-doers.

The rememberance of the here-after and the duty of accountability are (or should be) always in the mind of the (true) Muslim, as he stands in prayer five times a day.

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