Page 222 - Seekers Guide Book

Peace: The Summum Bonum
eliminated. The focus of the Prophet was to accept the
status quo and to discover and avail of opportunities
of co-existence, instead of focusing on differences. This
approach proved to be very successful.

Our world is a world of conflict and differences. And the
biggest question facing us is – where to make a start so as
to resolve these differences? The answer, in the light of the
above example, is to accept the status quo in controversial
matters and divert your activities to the non-confrontation
field. For example, the mission of the Prophet was to
convey the message of tawhid (monotheism). The Kabah
built by the Prophet Abraham as a centre of tawhid. But
by the seventh century AD, Makkah had been converted
into a centre of idol worship, with over three hundred
idols being placed in the Kabah. It would apparently
have been necessary for the Prophet first of all to remove
these idols from the Kabah, but this kind of beginning
would inevitably have resulted in confrontation between
the Prophet and the idol worshippers.

So, the Prophet resorted to a practical method. He decided
to ignore to presence of the idols in the Kabah and only
addressed the audience gathered to worship the idols,
conveying to them the message of the Quran. Because at
that time there was only one meeting place in the town of
Makkah where the Prophet could find an audience – the
courtyard of the Kabah. Instead of confronting with the
idol worshippers, the Prophet worked towards availing
the opportunity of their coming together to the fullest
by preaching to them the message of Islam.

Another instance from the life of the Prophet is the

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