“…then restore the peace that was between them with justice...

“…then restore the peace that was between them with justice and act with equality (between the parties involved).” Those who possess true faith and genuinely recognize Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and who do not stand to profit from the disagreement must be the ones who oversee the peace treaty.

Anytime one of the two parties thinks about expansion (of their area or land) and try to take steps that go against the peace treaty, then those who are the arbitrators and the neutral party involved must inform the aggressive party about the outcomes or effects of them starting a war.

This must be done so that the person who wishes to oppress others and go against the laws of Islam would know that there is no room in an Islamic society for such people and these two fundamental conditions are found in the Qur’an in the following verse: فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدٌهُمٌا عَلى الأُخْرى فَقٌاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي...

“However, if one party revolts against the other party, then fight the revolting party until they submit…” Fighting against the oppressing party must not take on the form of revenge or retribution.

Rather, any form of opposition to the oppressor must be due to the fact that he has gone against the laws of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and one must try to remove the thoughts from his head in which he feels that he is able to violate and encroach upon the rights of the believers, and this can be deduced from the section of this verse that states: ...حَتٌّى تَفِيءَ إِلـى أَمْرِ اللٌّهِ “…until they submit to the command of Allah.” Thus, opposition to oppression must continue until the oppressor returns back to the path of justice and fairness – which in essence are the commandments of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) – as have been mentioned in this verse.

At the end of this verse, we have been reminded of an important point which is that those people who have true faith must constantly strive to make sure peace is attained and any wars that take place must not make them hopeless or discouraged of trying to attain peace.

This must be realized and carried out even to the point that after the oppressors have subjugated a group of people, we must still keep our spirits high and try to formalize a new peace treaty that is based upon justice, just as it has been mentioned in the verse: فَإِنْ فٌائَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمٌا بِالْعَدْلِ وَ أَقْسِطُوا...

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