Introduction
The Divine Promise to the human species at the time of its exit from the heavens – Q.02:38- 39 – was held through ages of human history. It started with Adam, continued through Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and culminated with Muhammad. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them.
The foundations of Faith are, prima facie, based on the Absolute Supremacy of One Divine Being. The teachings of all Scriptures came from the same Divine Source with the purpose of providing guidance for a life of righteousness within societies along a Straight and Optimal Path
– Qur’an 06:126, 07:16; and The Torah/Proverbs 4:23-27.
The Qur’an is the grand finale of all Divine Revelations and the Ultimate Truth. Allah, The Exalted and The Almighty, guaranteed to preserve its Sacred Arabic Text in its entirety and original form safe from any satanic change – Q.15:09.
Enriched with themes, history, law, images, symbols, language, recitation and a unique literary style – it is a master piece of a revelation that has been bestowed on humanity as a matchless text signifying the very name it carries – Al Kitab – The Book.
As The Qur’an was being revealed on to the last of the Prophets - Prophet Muhammad, in the Arabic language, he would dictate it to his appointed companions to serve as scribes over the 23- year period of its phased-revelation.
The Qur’an contains the narratives of past nations and the events of future generations to facilitate comprehension of the meaning and value of the Qur’anic Message. It also sets out examples and analogies for people so that they may reflect and take heed - Q.39:27. Its message transcends...
This research addresses Islam's view of the social ties that man creates by virtue of his living among the people or in which he borns as its member, and aims to answer several questions about the relationship of these social ties with the Islamic brotherhood bond that Islam has brought. Does Islam recognize the social ties? On which basis does Islam recognize them and why? What is their position in front of Islamic brotherhood? How does Islam invest these ties to achieve religious, psychological and social security? Are there any conditions that Islam has developed to recognize and nurture these ties? The answer to these questions comes through the Qur’ānic texts, the prophetic Hadiths and the events of the Prophet's biography, based on open and direct reference, and away from the ambiguous interpretations or weak evidences; in order to clarify this matter clearly, and to check the validity of the results of the study.
All the formal and informal endeavors at intra and interpersonal, group or national level to promote conducive peace environment by bringing attitudinal change through imparting knowledge, skills and values regarding mutual coexistence, elimination of violence and promotion of a culture of peace come under the purview of peace education (PE). However, the dream of PE, developing and maintaining a culture of peace, has not yet materialized in Pakistan. Youth in Pakistan have not fully acquired the values, skills and practices to resolve conflicts and minimize violence. There are many socio cultural and political reasons, yet the most pressing is related to school/classroom practices of the teachers, curriculum, school environment and institutional policies. The focus of this study was to explore the perceptions and practices of teachers about PE using the case study method under the qualitative research paradigm. Data were collected through semi structured interviews, observations and document analysis, which were later on transcribed and analyzed. The major conclusion from the study is that peace is contextual and different people perceive it differently. Hence, strategies used in PE also vary accordingly. That is the reason why teachers are using different strategies to teach for peace. Moreover, curriculum, co-curricular activities and the school environment help teachers to impart the skills and values related to peace. Adding to this, peace pedagogy is essential in making the content fruitful. However, teachers believe that certain topics in the curriculum and unbridled access to media obstruct the objective of attitudinal change in favour of peace. The study has some implications for teachers and schools. Unless teachers build their pedagogy on a peace principle, the desired objective even in the presence of useful content, cannot be achieved. Moreover, peaceful school environment and eliminating stereotyped contents from the curriculum can help in meeting the objectives.