Naturally...

Naturally, there should remain a small number for possible emergencies, and the others if trained should be trained to an extent and will fo rm a reserve army rather than a full time one. We have already mentioned in other books that Iran, in the days of the reformer al-Shirazi and the story of the prohibition of tobacco, had around ten million reserve soldiers - all of the population - and ten thousand men at arms for the times of peace.

In any case, it is imperative that the problem of war be solved in this way or in another way. This is as regards the amount of weapons. As regards to the type of weapons, it is imperative that weapons be reduced.

That is, there should be committees to change the advanced weapons into light weapons like the rifle, then to substitute these light weapons for primitive weapons like the sword and the spear for it is a grave error for humanity to prepare weapons which will annihilate both the fighter and his enemy. This is possible if we enable a general mobilisation for peace. Then the arms factories will become obsolete and the workers can be employed in other fields.

Large armies will be demobilised and complicated weapons will be destroyed and there will b e a return to light weapo ns. It is likely that the world will end with the sword as a weapon for it is found in certain traditions about the Imam al-Mahdi7 (May Allah hasten his appearance) that he will carry a sword and in some accounts it will be the sword 'Dhulfiqar' the same as was carried by Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Imam 'Ali ibn Abu Talib (A)8 in the battles of Islam.

It is related in some hadith that this sword descended from the heavens upon the Messenger of Allah (S). He then gave it to Imam 'Ali (A) after which it became part of the sacred inheritance of the impeccable Imams peace be upon them until it ended up with the Imam al-Mahdi (A). It is also found in the hadith that the area of the battle of the Imam and his companions will be between Makkah and al-Kufa, a very small area indeed.

As for the rest of the lands, they will unite under the flag of the Imam without warfare. Cutting the roots of war In our book 'al-Fiqh series: Sociology' we have said that the maintenance of peace is no t possible through only the media and peace organisations, for peace is not merely a superficial issue just as war is not a superficial issue. The roots of war must be cut so that peace reigns.