M Nasir
First cause of discord
A form of discord that has reared its ugly head with all its force in the recent past – something that remains even today – is what ensues the slandering of prophets of other faiths and not having regard for them. Where the people of a nation show great love for their religious founders, emotional distress and eventual bloodshed can be the end result when those same religious leaders are needlessly maligned and made targets of hatred. The Holy Quran has presented a most perfect solution to this issue:
اِنۡ مِّنۡ اُمَّۃٍ اِلَّا خَلَا فِیۡہَا نَذِیۡرٌ
“… there is no people to whom a Warner has not been sent.” (Surah Fatir, Ch.35: V.25)
There is no people of the world – irrespective of location, region, the language they speak or their race – who are exceptions to this. We should remember through this Quranic verse that Allah has appointed someone in every area and every country on His behalf. Thus, there is no reason for the people of a nation to scorn the founders of another nation and look down upon them.
Second cause
Another major reason for unrest between nations is the mindset that a person’s nation is intellectually and racially superior to all other nations. This sort of mindset is common even in today’s world and, oftentimes, ends in bloodshed. In Surah al-Hujurat, the Holy Quran has uprooted such notions and mindsets and has emphatically explained:
یٰۤاَیُّہَا النَّاسُ اِنَّا خَلَقۡنٰکُمۡ مِّنۡ ذَکَرٍ وَّ اُنۡثٰی وَ جَعَلۡنٰکُمۡ شُعُوۡبًا وَّ قَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوۡا ؕ اِنَّ اَکۡرَمَکُمۡ عِنۡدَ اللّٰہِ اَتۡقٰکُمۡ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ عَلِیۡمٌ خَبِیۡرٌ
“O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female; and We have made you into clans and tribes that you may recognise one another. Verily, the most honourable among you, in the sight of Allah, is he who is the most righteous among you. Surely, Allah is All-knowing, All-Aware.” (Surah al-Hujurat, Ch.49: V.14)
In other words, “O mankind, We have created all of you from male and female and have divided you into nations and tribes. However, this division is only for recognising one another and not for spreading hatred or derision or proving others as inferior to you. Nobility and excellence is not in national or racial distinction, but rather, in the sight of Allah, it is in taqwa.
Those who excel others in taqwa indeed know themselves to be inferior to others. Do not think that God is unaware of these things; He knows full well and has knowledge of everything.”
Third cause
Another reason for grievances among peoples of different nations is natural resources that have been usurped and unjustly divided between nations by superpowers. The Holy Quran says:
ہُوَ الَّذِیۡ خَلَقَ لَکُمۡ مَّا فِی الۡاَرۡضِ جَمِیۡعًا
“He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth.” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.30)
That is to say that the earth Allah has created does not exclusively belong to a people of a particular region, race or language; it is for every one of us. That this is not practiced in today’s day is a major cause of unrest in the world. Due to international grievances, the earth has turned red with the blood shed through conflict and battles. The Holy Quran states:
وَ اِنۡ طَآئِفَتٰنِ مِنَ الۡمُؤۡمِنِیۡنَ اقۡتَتَلُوۡا فَاَصۡلِحُوۡا بَیۡنَہُمَا ۚ فَاِنۡۢ بَغَتۡ اِحۡدٰٮہُمَا عَلَی الۡاُخۡرٰی فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِیۡ تَبۡغِیۡ حَتّٰی تَفِیۡٓءَ اِلٰۤی اَمۡرِ اللّٰہِ ۚ فَاِنۡ فَآءَتۡ فَاَصۡلِحُوۡا بَیۡنَہُمَا بِالۡعَدۡلِ وَ اَقۡسِطُوۡا ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ یُحِبُّ الۡمُقۡسِطِیۡنَ
“And if two parties of believers fight [against each other], make peace between them; then if [after that] one of them transgresses against the other, fight the party that transgresses until it returns to the command of Allah. Then if it returns, make peace between them with equity, and act justly. Verily, Allah loves the just.” (Surah al-Hujurat, Ch.49: V.10)
This can be seen as to mean, “And if two parties from among the believers quarrel amongst each other, then you should reconcile between them. And if one of them exceeds all bounds against the other, then the culprit should be fought with until they return to Allah’s command. You should enact just reconciliation between the two and deal with them with justice. Verily, Allah loves those who are just.”
Allah says that in the scenario of warfare between two nations, it becomes the responsibility of other nations to seek reconciliation between the two fighting parties as far as possible. However, if a nation does not desire settlement while being in the wrong, it becomes incumbent on other nations to fight with the wrong and unjust nation for the purpose of preventing further bloodshed and as a right to the rightful party.
Fifth cause
Discord can also arise between nations – albeit smaller ones e.g. tribes, rather than bigger nations – as a result of linguistic disputes. From the perspective of the Holy Quran, all languages stem from one heavenly language, which eventually gave birth to many languages. For this reason, any linguistic clash between peoples is unjustified.
Conclusion
The aforementioned five reasons for discord between nations all encompass one underlying point:
If peoples belonging to different languages, races, cultures and regions accept their Creator and Master, then His unity can firmly unite mankind. If only the world understood this.
