Mar 2007, Opinion-Editorial, printed in the Finger Lakes Times (NY)

Neuroscientists at the University of Wisconsin recently performed brain scans of meditating Buddhist monks. Results discovered that meditation induced dramatic changes in the brain associated with happiness. Immediately, I began to wonder, “Is this the attainment of peace man has sought after since time immemorial? Is peace to be defined as happiness?” I decided that in order to be able to attain “peace”, whatever that may be, I would have to first have to define “peace” according to the major world philosophies and religions.

Yoga states that peace, by delving deeper into one’s soul through exercise, allows a person to be without any agitation. Hence, yogic philosophy defines peace as the absence of agitation due to desire. Taoism and Buddhism state that peace means to delve deeper into one’s own soul until one finds truth. So, Oriental philosophies believe that when you reach truth, you reach peace. In Islam, peace is not one-dimensional, nor is it an individual concept. Peace is first to be at rest with one’s own desires and ambitions, having a balanced internal affair. Secondly, peace is to have peace with the world, an external reality, assuring everyone that he/she poses no threat to any other individual. Consequently, the Islamic concept of peace states that for a believer to be at peace with himself de facto means he must also be at peace with his fellow man.

As a great number of the readership is aware, the very word Islam literally means ‘peace’ as well as ‘submission’. From a cursory glance, the two words seem to be haphazardly placed together. In fact, what is indicated in the dual meaning of the word Islam is the object, and the means of its attainment. Islam argues that no peace can be conceived, let alone established, by human effort. Peace cannot be conceived without man first recognizing the Hand of the Creator universally at work in nature. You are not to do anything that creates a distance between you and your Creator, the essence of submission. Submission to the Will of God is the only means of attaining peace with God, a declaration proven by human experience. If you submit to the will of someone so that nothing in you is at war with his or her will, you will be at peace with that entity. For example, if children are at peace with their parents, it is impossible for them to defy their wishes.

But what method has Islam prescribed for submission? “It is the remembrance of Allah that hearts can find solace” (13:29). Islam states that as the journey to peace begins with the attainment of peace with your Lord, one must first understand and imbibe God’s attributes within oneself. We must know what He is and this cannot be achieved through delving deeper into yourself because you can make many mistakes. If there is a God, He has to be an external reality. If so, then He must introduce himself to man, which is in fact what transpired in the comity of religions. It was God Who revealed Himself to mankind; never did man reach God by his/her own efforts.

Why can no peace be established without returning to God? It is because God has created man according to His attributes – peace is then only attainable by creating a complete balance between God and man’s attributes. When no friction exists in any aspect of human behavior because one is not at variance with God’s attributes, this is defined as the ultimate peace. It is the lack of balance between God and man’s attributes that causes disturbance in human relationships with one another and in international relationships between people and states.