The very name of Islam has been derived from the Arabic word “Salama” which means peace. The literal meaning of Islam is “to enter peace” by submitting to the will of Allah. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) as a practical manifestation of what is written down in Allah’s book has always been the flag-bear of peace and tranquillity.  This is evident in his inclination towards peace in even the most critical of times.

Even before Islam the Holy Prophet Muhammad was so fair in his dealings and so inclined towards peace that he proved to be one of the major personalities behind the agreement between that was signed between Meccan tribes for the establishment for trade and commercial dealings. Another important event of the pre-Islamic period was his role in the resolution of a major dispute regarding the installment of “The black stone” in Kabba. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) resolved the issue so amicably that even some of his the ardent opposers started calling him “Al-Amin” and “Al-Sadiq”.

When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) started preaching Islam in Mecca, the Meccan tribes turned against him and his companions and began to torture Muslims mentally and physically. In that situation, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) instead of resorting to violence kept on preaching his message with love and peace.  When their mental and physical abuse crossed a limit he along with his companions migrated to Medina where he unified the people of Medina into a pluralistic entity. The state of Medina not only comprised of Meccan and Medinite Muslims but also of pagans and Jewish tribes collected into one constitutional unity by the constitution of Medina. This was the level of tolerance the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) had towards the Non-Muslims.  He bound them in a brotherhood with Muslims to extend the hand of peace towards them.

When the Muslims were stopped from offering pilgrimage to the Mecca by the Meccan military force, Muslims under the leadership of Muhammad (s.a.w) diverted journey towards Hudaybiyya in order to avoid bloodshed. The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) signed a peace deal with the Quraysh tribe even though most of the conditions laid down in the treaty were against Muslims and even the companions of the Prophet strongly resisted strongly against the conditions of the agreement. This resulted in a temporary peace between the Meccan tribes and Muslims till the Meccan tribes unjustly sided with Bani Bakar against the Muslim-allied Khuza’a tribe.

When the Muslim Army conquered Mecca, some companions of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) started chanting slogans, “Today is the day of revenge, today is the day of revenge”. When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) heard such slogans being raised, he called upon the companions to avoid such slogans. He strongly instructed Muslims to raise slogans of peace and said, “Today is the day of mercy, today is the day of mercy”. This impressed even the staunch anti-Islamic leadership of the Meccans so much that they embraced Islam. The Quran clarifies the personality of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) by saying, “We have not bestowed you but as a blessing for the universe” (Surah Al Anbiya).

His humility, truthfulness, and compassion towards his enemies and his inclination towards peace can truly be gauged by his loving overtures towards an old lady who used to throw dirt at the Prophet when the Prophet (s.a.w) would go to the mosque. Similarly, his non-prejudice behavior can be judged from the fact that his most close companions included Hazrat Bilal (r.a) from Africa, Hazrat Sohaib from the Rome and Hazrat Salman (r.a) from Iran amongst others.