Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 119impossible, therefore, to say what value this teachingmay have in terms of war and peace. Mr. Gandhi livedlong enough to see the Indian Congress attain topolitical independence. Yet the Congress Governmenthas not disbanded either the army or the other armedforces of India. It is only making plans for theirIndianization. It also has plans for the reinstatement ofthose Indian officers who constituted themselves intothe Indian National Army (and who were dismissed bythe British authorities) during the Japanese attack onBurma and India in the last stages of the recent WorldWar. Mr. Gandhi has himself, on many occasions, raisedhis voice in extenuation of crimes of violence, and urgedthe release of those who committed such crimes. Thisshows at least that Mr. Gandhi's teaching cannot be putinto practice and that Mr. Gandhi knows it as well as allhis followers. No practical example at least has beenoffered to show the world how non-violence can beapplied when armed disputes arise between nation andnation and State and State, or how non-violence canprevent or stop a war. To preach a method of stoppingwars, but never to be able to afford a practicalillustration of that method indicates that the method isimpracticable. It would, therefore, seem that humanexperience and human wisdom point to only one methodof preventing or stopping war; and that method wastaught and practised by the Prophet sa of Islam.SPORADIC ATTACKS BY DISBELIEVERSThe Arab confederates returned from the Battle ofthe Ditch defeated and depressed, but far from realizingthat their power to harass the Muslims was over.Though defeated, they knew they were still a dominantmajority. They could easily maltreat individual Muslims,beat and even kill them. By assaults on individuals theyhoped to wipe away their feeling of defeat. Not long afterthe battle, therefore, they began to attack Muslims