“Beware of extremism in religion for those before you were only destroyed because of extremism”.
Islam condemns violence and causing harm to others, and rejects the taking of innocent life, as another prophetic narration states: “Faith is a restraint against all violence, let no believer commit violence”.
The Quran instructs people to live in peace and harmony with each other. The value of life is sacred in Islam and to violate it goes entirely against its principles.
The Quran states that if anyone kills a person, “it is as if he kills all of humanity, while if any saves a life it is as if he saves the lives of all of humanity”.
Jihad is a means towards establishing security, peace and social justice in society. Prophet Muhammad encouraged the community to spread peace in order to love one another.
The Prophet instructed the Muslims with beneficial priorities that served others by saying: “What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of a human being, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the wrongs of the injured”.
The true goal of jihad is to establish peace within ourselves and in wider society.