When they saw the Imam they began to shriek...

When they saw the Imam they began to shriek: 'This is the murderer of our beloveds!' Meaning Imam 'Ali (A). The Imam gestured and said: 'If I was the killer of your beloveds I would have killed those who are in these rooms (pointing to the rooms).' At once the women fell silent and did not say a word. The people were amazed at this and wondered what the Imam had said that had silenced the women.

Later on the matter was disclosed to the comp anions of Imam 'Ali (A) that the leaders of the defeated army had hidden in tho se rooms and the women had gathered there as a ruse to cover up for them and to distract attention from them. So when the Imam pointed and said if I was the killer of your beloveds I would have killed those who are in these rooms they fell silent.

The life of the Prophet (S) and the life of Imam 'Ali (A) and the lives of the other Imams and great Prophets and the great reformers and great minds are summed up in the word 'peace' Hence the world Islamic movement must observe peace in all its affairs before, during and after action and on the occasion of victory and establishing the Islamic state by the leave of Allah Almighty.

The leaders should also educate the individuals in the Islamic movement about peace in the spoken word, thought, writing and action whatever the cost. Peace Safeguards Islam Allah Almighty is He says in the Qur'an: {O you who have faith, enter into a state of peace one and all.} (2:208) Peace then is the general principle whereas violence is the exception, and exceptions are taken at face value.

In the previous chapters we have mentioned the peaceful treatment by the Messenger of Allah (S) with his enemies and friends, his relatives and with strangers, and also that of Imam 'Ali (A). The Messenger of Allah and Imam 'Ali (S) are models for us as are the rest of the prophets and infallibles. Hence we should follow their lead whether we are in the beginnings of government or we have actually achieved government by the leave of Allah.

A question has been raised here: The Messenger of Allah (S) although he was infallible and will not be questioned about his actions, our task is not like his task. We see that he spared many hypocrites which led to many problems being caused for the Messenger of Allah. Had he killed Abu Sufyan and Mu'awiya on the day o f the conquest of Mecca then the Umayyad state which ditched Islam completely would not have b een formed, and it would not have caused the innumerable pro blems for the Muslims.