Conflict Resolution The Line Between Justice and Peace
By Omar Suleiman | 2026-01-06T17:51:51.334864+00:00 | Topic: Justice
Conflict Resolution: The Line Between Justice and Peace
By Sheikh Omar Suleiman
Opening Prayer
We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala by bearing witness that none has the right to be worshiped or unconditionally obeyed except for Him, and we bear witness that Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is His final messenger. We ask Allah to send His peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and his companions that served alongside him and those that follow in their blessed example until the Day of Judgment. We ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.
The Power of Individual Influence
Dear brothers and sisters, as you look throughout history and you look to those that were able to change the course of history and to influence change, a lot of times you look at the hero up front or you look at the villain up front, but you don't pay much attention to all of the elements that work behind the scenes. And sometimes those elements behind the scenes are intensely good and sometimes they're intensely evil, but nonetheless they have the ability to change the course of history for good or for bad. And Allah has put in us as human beings the potential to bring about enormous change, be it for good or be it for evil.
The Example of Dawud (عليه السلام)
And it's very powerful that when Adam (عليه السلام) the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) described to us that moment when Adam (عليه السلام)'s descendants were put in front of him and he noticed that bright shining light in Dawud (عليه السلام) that one man that just shone, that stood out to him. And Adam (عليه السلام) saw the benefit that he would bring - not just his worship, but that Dawud (عليه السلام) would bring in terms of establishing on this earth that which was righteous and institutionalizing khayr, institutionalizing good with the kingdom that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would give him. And Adam (عليه السلام) even dedicating or donating a few decades of his life to Dawud (عليه السلام) because he was so touched and so inspired by what would come out of his descendants that that one person shone.
The Capacity for Evil Influence
And then there's also the capacity of one person to influence in an evil way. Sometimes that person is representative of an evil current in society that's going untreated. So sometimes that person is a manifestation of an untreated sickness in society, right? And that could be the president, that could be an influential spokesperson for some political lobby or organization or group, that could be an influencer in sports and culture, but that they are representatives of something that is far more evil in society and that sickness has to get treated.
But one thing is for sure, what we learn in the narration is that one person can light a community on fire or could allow that community to become torch bearers for communities that are around it and communities that will follow. It can often be just that one person.
Fitna and the Prophetic Community
On one hand, fitna is always asleep in a community. The possibility of disunity, the possibility of dissension, the possibility of things erupting is always a risk that even the community of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) the most ideal community that ever existed, had to deal with. In their situation, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had to deal with Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, one man who could embroil the community of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in controversy and could hinder the ability of that prophetic community to move forward.
If you were to look at the progress that was made from the community of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) during Hadithatul Ifk, during the slander of Aisha (رضي الله عنها) and the things that Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul pushed for, started a trend, started a current within society, then surely a community that was so important, not just to its own world, but to the world after it as well, surely that community would be paralyzed and struck because of that one fitna inside that stopped it from being able to give to the world as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tasked it to do. It took one person, one person starts to say some things, one person starts to pass a current and the entire community is paralyzed of khayr, paralyzed of its goodness.
The Destructive Power of Slander
That's why Ali ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) said:
"The slanderer accomplishes in one hour what the sorcerer cannot accomplish in a month."
A nammam, a person who slanders, and namima is of two types. Namima is slander, but namima is also coding people's words to each other, forwarding an email, saying that, you know, "This person said this about you, and this person said this about you, and that person said this about you," forwarding one email, forwarding a text, passing words, stirring dispute with the truth, with the truth, but with the intention of falsehood, with the truth. They're not telling any lies.
They're truthful when they go and say "This person said this about you, that person said this about you." They're not lying, but it embroils the community. Ali (رضي الله عنه) said that in one hour, they cause a fitna that takes months to put out. It takes one tongue, one person to do all sorts of damage to a community, and then you've got the voices for goodness, and the voices of khayr.
The Unsung Heroes: Peacemakers
Now, I want you to imagine this image, to think of this image. When you have two parties fighting, or you've got all sorts of controversy going on, and you've got people going at it with one another, you know, just think about the, just the visual of the person that's in between trying to stop the fight. They're getting stepped on.
They're getting hit from both sides. One side accuses them of being, you know, too soft on the other side. The other side says that you are actually, you know, part of that element, because you're not willing to act with the same level of severity as our side.
They just get caught in between and are completely underappreciated, uncelebrated, and usually that person that plays the role of islah, the person of reconciling between the people, is never celebrated, because they're neither fully hero, nor are they fully villain. They're just in between there. And as history moves forward, their role in bringing things together is usually completely unrecognized.
The Building Analogy
The cement between the bricks, when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) described our community:
(Bukhari hadith 2446)
"Like a building, each part of it reinforces the other."
The cement that holds the bricks together is not seen, is not recognized. And it takes one person, sometimes, to quell all of those elements, to play that role.
The Challenge: Justice vs. Peace
Now, here's where the discussion gets a little tricky. There's the peacemaker, and then there's the voice of justice. Often, the peacemaker, in his desire for peace at any cost, allows for the truth to be obscured.
And in wanting to avoid all sorts of conflict, avoids even necessary conflict, because at the end of the day, they have conflated peace with the absence of tension. That as long as we can remove tension from the public space, then that's what we need to have. And in that process, the truth is obscured.
The Umar Complex
Then you have another person who considers themselves a voice for justice. You know, when you look through the seerah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),everyone wants to be Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه). Everybody, everyone wants to carry the stick of Umar, but no one wants to pray the qiyam of Umar.
Everyone wants to make wrongdoers cry the way that Umar (رضي الله عنه) made transgressors and oppressors shake in their boots, but no one wants to shake and cry the way that Umar did at the thought of his own transgressions and his own possible injustices. But everyone looks to the seerah and says, "I'm going to be that guy. I'm going to be the one that's going to make sure the truth is established."
And conflates the call for justice with the call for perpetual conflict. Brings in conflict even when it's unnecessary. And when trying to fight one injustice actually brings more injustice.
"And evil is not changed by evil."
It becomes always this fight. And we've got to always be in controversy because the truth must prevail.
But in reality, that is not about a cause. It's about an ego. It's about a person. It's not about the cause that's being articulated. It's about the voice that's articulating the cause. And a person gets too comfortable in that role and in the process takes the community on a ride.
Finding the Balance
So where do you find the balance between the voice for justice and truth, and the voice for peace and civility? How do you find that?
Well, first of all, it's important for us to recognize that Allah has given us all very unique personalities, very unique capacities, very unique inclinations. We're a collection of our experiences. The things that we went through in life shape how we view life today.
And as long as you can channel those experiences and those inclinations in a way that you are the most productive to your community, the most pleasing to Allah and making that quality most in accordance with the sunnah of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), you're doing well.
The Prophet's Approach to Different Personalities
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not turn Abu Bakr into Umar, nor did he attempt to turn Umar into Abu Bakr. He made Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) the best possible Abu Bakr he could be. And made Umar (رضي الله عنه) the best possible Umar he could be. And Uthman the best possible Uthman he could be. And Ali the best possible Ali he could be.
You take that personality and you are very conscious and aware of the pitfalls of well-meaning, well- intended courses of action that you could take based upon those personality traits that you have. So yes, some people are going to inherently be more devoted to the justice of the situation than the peace of it.
And some people will be more devoted to the peace rather than the element of justice and actually solving the underlying causes of a situation.
But at the same time, the way that those two make sure that they don't fall out of bounds is by ensuring that the truth is never lost in what they do. The truth is not lost in the loudness of the voice for justice and the truth is not lost in the quiet of that voice for peace. The truth does not get obscured.
The Prophet's Pre-Prophethood Examples
And if you look at the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and how he was able to walk that fine line, it's beautiful. Two incidents before he received prophethood (عليه الصلاة والسلام). He knew when to employ both.
Hilf al-Fudul: Standing for Justice
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was the youngest member to participate in Hilf al-Fudul, in the coalition of virtue that would ensure that no person is taken advantage of on the basis of having a lower status in society. It was the injustice of one man to another man that didn't belong to the tribe of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that drove the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and others to take a pledge, to take a pact. Now, that was a good tension that was forced.
That was a good tension that was forced because status quo was unacceptable because the weak were constantly exploited. Those that did not belong to the more powerful tribes were, you know, had no protection whatsoever. So when that one man raised his voice and wrote a poem about Mecca and embarrassed and humiliated those tribes that were masquerading as noble tribes for the way that they were failing to protect the weak amongst them, it forced a societal change and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) responded to that call and he said that if I was to be called to it, even after becoming a prophet, I would still respond to that call.
"I would always come to that table. If it's going to protect one element of the vulnerable, I will come to that table. Even if it's believers, non-believers, whoever it is, even as the Prophet of Allah, I will come to that table for that specific cause."
But you know what? There's another element. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) there responded to the tension and participated in a productive way and making sure that that healthy conflict led to a healthy resolution. "We're not going to brush our problems under the rug again. We're going to come up with healthy solutions to this healthy conflict because if we don't, then the problems will only perpetuate. So we've got to do something about it." The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) moved forward.
The Black Stone: Facilitating Peace
In another situation, the situation of the placing of the black stone, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, in the place of the Kaaba, where it was in the Kaaba. I want you to understand all the dimensions of this because it's profound. You have a bunch of tribes and they're hesitant as to who will put the black stone in the corner of the Kaaba, which at that time is occupied by idols inside and out, hundreds of idols.
And one element of that idolatry is the self-worship that those tribes had that, "Well, which one of us is going to be the one that's going to put the stone forward?" It's silly. It represents something lower about that society, that that's even a thing.
"That I can't even trust the other tribe to pick up the stone and put it in the corner of the Kaaba because that's going to somehow give them leverage over my tribe." So they made the decision that whoever walks through the door next, that's the person that's going to do it. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) walked in, they said, "Al-Ameen, radheena" - "The trustworthy one has come. Radheena, we are satisfied."
When they said, "The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),the trustworthy one has come," what were they implicitly admitting about each other? That they knew that none of them could trust one another, that none of them felt safe with one another, that they knew that every one of them had the agenda of superiority of tribes.
So actually some of the ulama of sira say that's the first time the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was called Al-Ameen. The first time they actually used that nickname of the trustworthy. "Al-Ameen, radheena, we're all pleased with him because we know he has no agenda. His agenda is the goodness of our community, the goodness of our society."
That's a beautiful testimony of those people to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The irony is that one day the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) will walk in that Kaaba and break stones. One day he will take down all their idols. But what is the moment called to? The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wants to address a specific ill. They say "Al-Ameen, radheena."
The Prophet's Solution
What's the solution of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? He takes his own cloak, puts it on the ground, says "Put the stone on the ground and let a representative of each tribe carry that cloak and then place the stone together."
The hikmah, the wisdom of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in that moment. Now usually when you come to a peace agreement or a peace treaty, no side is really satisfied. Because internally some people were hoping that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was closer to them and that maybe he would say "Well this group of tribes, this tribe has been here longer. They do more khidmah to the people, more service to the people that come." But they knew the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had the best interest of the community at heart.
Now the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) could have taken that moment to say "What's wrong with you people in the first place fighting over who's going to put the stone." But he recognized the moment that at that moment the best thing to do was islah, was to bring people together, was to show people that it was possible to compromise amongst their tribes. And continue what he was really moving towards of tawheed, of monotheism and its implications which would be the eventual fall of all of those other 360 stones that were in and out the Kaaba. But there was a moment there.
It took one man to solve a potential conflict that would have embroiled the Arabs for decades. That hikmah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), that wisdom of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in those moments.
Now when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did that, there probably would have been some younger people within some of those tribes that were looking at the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) like "I can't believe he did that. Why couldn't he have done this? And why couldn't he have done that?" But eventually it was their voices that became irrelevant. At those moments the voices would have been the loudest. Eventually their voices became irrelevant and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) spared the Arabs of a major major conflict.
The Personality of the Peacemaker
Let's get to that personality trait for a moment. The person who is always looking for the interests of the community and is trying to build wants to be that cement. When people fall apart, people know that's a person of islah, that's a person who will reconcile between people.
That's a person that will come together, that will put his own feelings, his own agendas on the side, his own interests on the side, his own name on the side and will do what they can to sit people together and to move forward without losing the cause - because that's the pitfall of that personality as well.
When Allah talks about a situation arising amongst the community and Allah talks about everyone coming together against a clear transgressor and trying to bring people together, Allah mentions at the end that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves those people that reconcile, that uphold justice.
The Greatest Forms of Worship
In a hadith in At-Tabarani the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) called it "The greatest charity to a community is islah, is to reconcile between people, is to bring people together." (Tabarani)
In a hadith in Ahmad the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) called "The greatest of worship is to bring the people together, to build amongst the people, to let that community experience its full productivity, even though you won't be celebrated for it because it's not about you. It's about something greater than you and greater than the two parties that are fighting as well." (Ahmad)
It's not about you and you immediately should think in that capacity when things go down. "How do I fix the situation without losing the core of it, without losing the underlying issue? How do I move this community forward in the most productive way?"
The Example of Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain
So I want to give you all an example by the way. When we look through the history, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) called Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain, may Allah be pleased with them and their father and their mother and their grandfather, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and their grandmother, the Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم) called them:
(Tirmidhi hadith 3768)
"The chiefs, the masters of the youth of Paradise."
When we enter into Al-Jannah, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst them, Allahumma ameen, when you enter into Jannah, the chiefs, the leaders of the youth of Paradise will be Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain, may Allah be pleased with them.
Al-Hussain: The Voice of Justice
Now Al-Hussain (رضي الله عنه), we know his sacrifice. We know the call for justice, the way that Al-Hussain (رضي الله عنه) was driven to be a voice for truth in the face of a situation where there were clear injustices and oppression.
And the Sahaba that did not want Al-Hussain (رضي الله عنه) to go forward did not disagree with his cause, admired his passion, but were worried about him and were worried about whether or not Al-Hussain (رضي الله عنه) would have the necessary support as he was calling out that injustice as he saw it. And if he would be able to achieve his goals, no one could question that man's heart, his passion, what the blood of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in him and that capacity that drove him to fight against dhulm and he should be acknowledged and respected and celebrated in love for that. We don't diminish Al-Hussain (رضي الله عنه).
Al-Hassan: The Hand of Peace
But do you hear about Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) as well? Not really. What he did is not as celebrated, is not, and again, I'm going to say this again, do not diminish Al-Hussain (رضي الله عنه) with what I'm about to say about Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) Al-Hassan, the other of the two masters of the people of Jannah, the youth of Jannah.
You think of Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) in history, most people cannot name the remarkable incidents of Al- Hassan (رضي الله عنه) or what he contributed to Islamic history and what he was able to do for society, but the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was giving a khutbah in Jum'ah and Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) walked in
and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in the midst of his khutbah, he looked at the people, then he looked at Al-Hassan, then he looked at the people, then he looked at Al-Hassan again. And he said about Al- Hassan (رضي الله عنه):
(Bukhari hadith 2704)
"This son of mine is a master. He's a leader. It may be that through him Allah will reconcile two great armies from amongst the Muslims. Allah will bring people together through this son of mine, this descendant of mine, this leader Al-Hassan."
The Peace Treaty
What did Al-Hassan do? Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) when the Khilafah of Ali (رضي الله عنه) transferred to him, Al-Hassan made peace. Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) made peace between those two armies, the army of Ali which was left over and the army of Muawiyah. And in the process of going to the table, yes, Al- Hassan had (رضي الله عنه) followers that loved him and that did not want him to do that.
That like those who told Al-Hussain (رضي الله عنه) "We will be behind you and we will fight," told Al- Hassan (رضي الله عنه) "If you decide to fight, we will fight behind you." But he saw the interest of the community difference. And he had the most to lose by doing so.
He is the Khalifa giving up his Khilafah, giving up his leadership, choosing to go anonymous instead, politically anonymous instead. Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) became politically anonymous after that moment when he hands over the Khilafah as part of a bigger treaty. And you know what that ushered in? The years of the golden age of the Ummah.
The Results
The Muslim Ummah was able to focus on growth because it wasn't embroiled in fitnah. Now most people when we look back, we'll see islah and we'll see what, you know, Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) will not get the praise of Al-Hussain (رضي الله عنه). Al-Hassan was the hand of peace, Al-Hussain was the voice of justice.
May Allah be pleased with them both. They both had a crucial role to play. But the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wanted the community to particularly take note in that moment of what Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) would do.
He didn't obscure the truth in the process. In fact, he tried to protect it. He did what he thought would protect it best. He moved the community forward in the way he thought best and he was driven by the same thing that drove Al-Hussain which was Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and the benefit and the continuity of the community. They're both driven by the same motive, not by ego, not by themselves. Al-Hussain (رضي الله عنه) did not want the praise of the people.
Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) did not want the money of the people to give up, to seemingly give up and compromise. But the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wanted us to take note what Al-Hassan (رضي الله عنه) did to courage, make no mistake about it, that took courage, that took a lot to swallow, to go to that table and for the sake of the Ummah, say, "You know what, how do we move this community forward? How do we do what's best for the Ummah at this point?"
A Final Reflection from Isa عليه السلام
I want to end with this thought. Ibn Al-Qayyim rahimahullah has a narration from Isa عليه السلام. One of the aqwal, the sayings of Isa عليه السلام Jesus peace be upon him. The sayings of Jesus peace be upon him come through Wahb ibn Munabbah and Ibn Al-Qayyim and Abdullah Mubarak and Allah knows it's not through the rigorous sanad of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)but these beautiful sayings that existed amongst the Ummah and were in our books of Tazkiyah.
Ibn Al-Qayyim rahimahullah quotes that Isa عليه السلام said: "May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or there's a valley of Jannah guaranteed for the musliheen, for those that reconcile, that bring people together, that play that role of cement in communities in this dunya. People who occupy, humble reconcilers, people who will occupy pulpits close to Allah."
You know who else has that according to the hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? People of justice. Will be on manabir, pulpits of light on the Day of Judgment, more vocal, more out there doing what they do.
But those two acted out of the same importance, out of the same motive, out of the same agenda of pushing forth the community of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم).
Closing Prayer
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to guide us to that which is best for us and in guiding us to that which is best for us to utilize that for what is best for the community, to utilize that for what is best for the Ummah, to utilize that for what is best for humanity and more than all of that to utilize that for that which is best for our Akhirah, for our Hereafter, and our reckoning and standing in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the Day of Judgment. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us to those pathways of khayr and avoid or remove us from those pathways of evil.