Abstract

In developing political systems, the nature of conflict is far different from the developed ones. The type of conflict is also dependent on the composition of society; in heterogeneous communities, the nature of conflict is more complex and deeply rooted. In these societies, conflicts can impact the governance of the state and its format. These conflicts can be overcome through nation-building and by the engagement of people in specific ideologies. In the case of ideological affiliations, religion is the dominant factor that can engage and dominate other ethno-lingual and social differences. In Muslim countries, effective governance can be achieved by promoting social harmony. This paper investigates the role of religion in promoting social harmony and its implications for governance. Its role in creating a unified society based on social harmony, equality, and political and economic justice.

Key Words

Social Harmony, Governance, Religion, Nation Building, State, Society

Introduction

Social harmony is a subject that has implications for the members living in a state and society. For peace and harmony in society, the family institution must be strong. Stable and friendly relationship among the family members living in the same house contributes towards developing individuals that can have a respectful and supportive relationship with neighbours, and a peaceful and harmonious society at large. While the citizens of the state are responsible for peace and harmony in the society, the state is liable to maintain law and order, socioeconomic justice, distributional and redistribution mechanism to reduce societal, economic, and political inequalities among its citizens. The idea of social harmony is not only rooted in social sciences; it is also the core of all religions. Islam is known to be the religion of peace. Islam as a religion has provided detailed and multidimensional guidelines for setting up institutions that can maintain social harmony and peace in society.  

The authors  (Hook, Worthington, & Utsey, 2009) hypothesize that the act of forgiveness emits the selfishness, greediness, and conflict that arises due to individualism. Forgiveness has two folded purposes; one of them is to bring change in others' behaviour, and the second is the internal peace of the person. Forgiveness is the most vital tool to reduce social conflicts and is widely used in psychological therapies. In contemporary times human societies lack the value of forgiveness. Our societies are affluent in ego, and individuals often possess arrogant attitudes towards others. Ego, arrogance, and self-love destroy the personality of an individual; it also leads to an increased ratio of conflict among neighbourhoods, and family members; these negative values contribute towards cultural and societal conflicts. Pakistan is a multi-cultured country that has a high ratio of societal conflicts that can be balanced and harmonized by the practice of Islamic values. 

Islam is the most peaceful religion in the world. The word Islam is driven by the word SALAM which means peace; thus, Islam means the religion of peace. Moreover, Islam focuses not only on a single aspect of life, but Islam is also about peace in the universe, the world, country, society, community, family, and internal peace, i.e., peace of soul. (Hanfi, 1987) Islam is not just a religion, and it provides a comprehensive code of life for its followers. Islam focuses on individualism and provides a complete guideline for establishing institutions for conducting better social, economic, political, national, and international affairs. The sources of Islamic institutions are The Holy Quran – the words of Allah, The Sunnah – The life of our beloved holy prophet (SAW), and Ahdees Mubarak. Islam has given the complete structure of rights and responsibilities, such as individual responsibilities towards Allah, family, neighbours, community, society, country, and the world. Allah has associated lawful deeds with reward, heaven, and His Consent. 

On the other hand, unlawful deeds are associated with sin, hell, and His anger. Islam does not only focus on individuality but also focuses on collectivism. Islam is a complete code of life (Fratama & Samad, 2021). 

Islam has moderately described every aspect of life. Surah Hujrat prohibits all the deeds which could harm social harmony. Along with moral values, Islam has provided complete economic institutions to stabilize the lives of individuals and communities. In the conventional world, the major areas of the economy are production, consumption, income distribution, non-compulsory redistribution, and resource allocation. In contrast, in Islam and these areas, detailed institutions are available for redistribution of wealth to build a robust welfare system to support deprived people of society, and intergenerational distribution of wealth, which is called inheritance distribution. Islam supports the poor and supports and secures future generations through inheritance institutions i.e. Zakat and usher (Suryani & Ika, 2021; Sheikh et al., 2021; Abduallah & Suhaib, 2011). 

Conventional world lack in creating social harmony and peace among their societies, while during the times of the four Caliphs of Islam, Hazrat Abu Bakar RA, Hazrat Umer RA, Hazrat Usman, R.A and Hazrat Ali R.A the Muslim society observed peace and harmony. They have exercised the Islamic institutional framework for social, economic, political, and individual aspects of life. They have focused on a law-and-order situation with a strong justice system that led people to exercise Islamic rights and responsibilities towards each other and the state. The fear of Allah by exercising unlawful deeds was strong at that time. People live for Allah's Consent rather own selfish interests (Pryor, 1986; Shirazi, 2014; Khan & Hossain, 2021). 

In this paper, the struggle of the conventional world to build social harmony and peace in societies will be discussed. Moreover, the proven institutions of Islam that can bring harmony and peace to every aspect of life will also be addressed. 




Interdisciplinary Nature of Social Harmony

Social harmony is defined as the process of valuing, expressing, and promoting love, trust, admiration, peace, respect, generosity, and equity among each other. This world is full of diverse civilizations, cultures, and societies. Moreover, man is a social person, i.e., people cannot survive without economic, political, and social dependence on each other. Children are emotionally and economically dependent on their parents. Producers are dependent on labour and vice versa.

Political leaders are dependent on their voters; that is why they continue working to increase their vote bank. To create a successful and peaceful environment of coexistence, these dependencies need respect, trust, love, sympathy, and morality. The combination of all these positive values related to the interdependence of the human race is known as social harmony. Social harmony cannot be brought about by only one aspect of life. Social harmony is required in the family, office, neighborhood, and between the government and its citizens (Wong, 2009). If the element of social harmony is absent, such a society experiences a lack of trust, respect, and moral values that eventually leads to an increased crime rate and conflict ratio in the society. It is the government's responsibility to maintain a law and order situation and ensure a viable justice system for achieving the goal of social harmony in a state. The attributes of good governance are associated with social harmony. An example can be given of China, which has focused on improving its education system, which can produce individuals with a similar thought process focused on maintaining social harmony in the state. The politicians of China get special training during their political careers to formulate and implement law and order policies at the macro level. They are also trained in developing a socioeconomic justice system that can develop individuals that can enhance social harmony in China (Ho & Chan, 2009).




Promoting Social Harmony in Society 

All religions, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, etc., describe the values for developing strong relationships among their followers that can eventually maintain peace and harmony in the society. Nowadays, Chinese society is considered one of the most harmonious and peaceful societies in the world. The author (Sharma, 2015) has defined and discussed the societal values adopted by Chinese leader Hu Jintao. He adopted the doctrine of scientific development theory given by Plato in the 5th century. 

“Social Harmony is defined as a process of valuing, expressing, and promoting love, trust, admiration, peace, harmony, respect, generosity, and equity upon other people in any particular society regardless of their national origin, weight, marital status, ethnicity, colour, gender, race, age, and occupation, etc. among other aspects”  (Sharma, 2015). 

This definition highlights that bringing social harmony to society is not only the training of citizens but is also the core responsibility of the state. Thus, the author has summarised the causes of societal harmony in four types of institutions, i.e., family, nations and government, organisations, and community and neighbourhood. If all these institutions are firmly stable, developed, and well-organized, it will ensure peace and harmony in a society. 

Social and cultural conflicts destroy social harmony, and forgiveness has a greater degree to reduce these conflicts. The act of forgiveness guides people to move from individualism to collectivism. Individualism promotes selfishness, favouritism, and greed in society, while collectivism leads to the development of a sense of help, social norms, and moral values. The authors (Hook et al., 2009) have discussed several concepts that are behind the act of forgiveness which might reduce different kinds of conflicts in a society. Forgiveness brings internal peace and positivity to others' behaviour towards society. The act of forgiveness can repair society’s health (Callister & Wall, 1997; Exline et al., 2003). 

Danah Zohar (1995; 2021) has discussed the responsibilities of the state to organise a quantum society. The author postulates that the government of such a society is a strong entity that plays a central role in building a nation-state, according to the author:

 The government of a Quantum Society must have in place a strong, central "operational system" that sets certain national values, standards, and goals, legislates a basic legal framework that defines and protects the rights and responsibilities of citizens and future generations, and has the centralizing capacity to organize and coordinate all more local elements of the system in times of national emergency or when urgent national priorities must be set. But in keeping with the principles of Quantum Management, all such standards and laws should reflect a commitment on the part of the government to leave as much freedom as possible for citizens to live their personal lives as they want and to self-organize in the special interest, community or local government groups as they wish.” 

Zohar (2021) has discussed the two models of societies, American and Chinese. China has the most organised and disciplined society out of these two models. The focus has been on a strong governmental setup and on the moral self-cultivation of Chinese citizens. China has built three types of values, each with four dimensions in its population. These three types of values include personal, social, and national values. Patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship are personal values. Freedom, democracy, justice, and the rule of law are the characteristics of social values. Prosperity, democracy, civility, and harmony are attributes of national values. All these values are cultivated in their citizen to develop a peaceful and strong society. On the part of political leaders, the candidates must pass through learning and experiences during political careers  (Zohar, 2021). Maintaining social harmony in society is not only the duty of citizens but also the state's responsibility.

Good Governance and Social Harmony – Role of Government, Citizens, and Institutions

Social harmony is the product of the East, and China has been known to have worked on its society to reduce conflicts, and contradictions among people and government, classes in society, ethnic groups to bring peace and harmony to their society (Han, 2008; Callister & Wall, 1997). China was able to deal with issues related to good governance by reducing the income gap, unstable development process, and controlling corruption (Wong, 2009).

An example can also be given of the government of Thailand, which has been facing ethnic and religious conflicts. Turkey has also been struggling to reduce the tension between the government and its citizens. China has not focused on high standards and following the richness; the government of China has made their state the welfare state and provided basic needs to their citizens among maintaining trust and cooperation. The governance method followed by China is different from European governance. European governance system focuses on democratic institutions, and their welfare structure is stronger than the Chinese welfare structure (Walker, 2005). China has focused on self-cultivation of nationalism, patriotism, and unity, but its welfare structure is not strong as European states  (Chan, 2005).

The empirical study of Ho & Chan (2009) has discovered a significant relationship between governmental policies, the positive role of institutions, and social harmony. The study conducted on Hong Kong's society has shown results that public governance, respect, economic stability, social work, family, social progressiveness, and social tolerance has a substantial positive impact on social harmony. The policy-making of any government will only have a noteworthy impact on social harmony only if it has a justice system that is earnest in communication, dedicated to its job for the community by helping the needy persons, creative and progressive with tolerance, has mutual support and respect with integrity and dedication.




 

Table 1. Social Harmony and Role of Government

Responsibility of Government to Maintain Social Harmony
Social Responsibility	1.      Law and enforcement 2.     Strong judicial system 3.     Implementation of punishments
Economic Responsibility	1.      Reducing income inequality 2.     Effective distribution mechanism 3.     Reducing fiscal imbalances 4.     Economic growth 5.     Managing externalities 6.     Job opportunities
Governance	1.      Transparency 2.     Accountability 3.     Responsiveness 4.     Participatory

 




The role of a government is broadly divided into three main levels of responsibilities it has towards its citizens (see table no.1). First, the social responsibility of the state is to create a strong judicial system, enforce law and order in the state and implement an effective system of sanctions/punishments for the citizens that break the law. Second, the government is responsible for working towards a stable economy by making economic policies that can reduce income inequality, a viable distribution mechanism for economic resources, reducing fiscal imbalances among all classes, ensuring economic growth, and providing employment opportunities for its citizens. Third, ensuring good governance through transparency, accountability, responsiveness, and participation of its citizens.

An example can be given of the Chinese leadership that has been working on social harmony as they have created job opportunities, reduced the income gaps, and established safety nets for their citizens. Hong Kong has adopted the policies of China to develop social harmony in their country  (Ho & Chan, 2009). The attribute of good governance is that it reduces tension between government and citizens and increases a sense of trust, responsibility, and protection among citizens. China has adopted all the aspects of good governance as well as socioeconomic values to stabilize their country economically, socially, and politically.

The role of citizens in promoting and maintaining social harmony (see table no. 2) can be divided into three levels. First, citizens have a social responsibility towards each other, i.e., they must be respectful, forgiving, tolerant, and exercise good moral values. Second, citizens should play their role in maintaining social harmony by fulfilling their economic responsibilities, including supporting each other financially. Third, citizens are responsible for developing and promoting a sense of nationalism amongst themselves, which can be done by staying patriotic and remaining dedicated towards one's state.




 

Table 2. Social Harmony and Role of Citizens

Responsibility of Citizens for Maintaining Social Harmony
Social Responsibility	1.         Respect 2.        Forgiveness 3.        Tolerance 4.        Exercising moral values
Economic Responsibility	1.         Helping each other 2.        Supporting financially
Nationalism	1.         Patriotism 2.        Dedication




Table no. 3 shows the means and ends of achieving relational well-being and social harmony in society  (Sharma, 2015). This table explains the rights and responsibilities of different institutions as intermediate goals that collectively achieve the final goals of social harmony in society.




 

Table 3. Role of Institutions in Maintaining Social Harmony

Institutions	Intermediate Goal	Final goals
Family	Family cooperation and welfare provision - Low divorce rates, socially sustainable birth rate - Effective family care for older members. - Gender cooperation inside and outside the family etc	Righteousness’ (tsdq) and harmony in all relationships respect for God love/empathy justice, fairness, parity faithfulness  truth forgiveness hope generosity Compassion.
Nations  and Government	Civil peace - Economic and political liberty - Criminal justice - Equality - Protection of human rights - Transparency in administration and execution etc.
Organizations	The broad distribution of property assets - Integration of business and community life - Absence of persistent indebtedness - High levels of family business/self-employment - Incentives for risk-sharing and direct financial relationships - A weekly shared day off etc.
Community and Neighbourhood	Community courts and other forms of local justice -Widespread/universal knowledge of what the law says - Offender’s reintegration into society after punishment. - Understanding others’ problems and trying to help etc.

 




Economics and Social Harmony

In the conventional world of economics, social harmony is the subject of social sciences rather economics. Economics studies the selfish behavior of human beings by assuming that man is rational and wants to maximize his/her utility, profit, wealth, or income. But as the subject of economics grows, it has been explored that social harmony has its roots in welfare economics, and it is possible by the interference of government in economic activities.

 

Utility System in Conventional Economic World

 In the conventional economic system, it is assumed that an individual is rational; whatever he purchases, sells, produces, he tries to maximize his/her utility by using the optimal allocation of available resources. Consumers maximize their utility by purchasing goods and services within the limits of the available budget. Producers maximize/her utility by maximizing his/her profit. Labour maximizes its utility by achieving higher wage rates. In the game of this maximization of utility, an individual reaches the Pareto efficiency which implies that no one can be better off by making another person worse off. In other words, individuals become better at the cost of others. In such a selfish economic scenario, it is difficult to maintain social harmony. Social harmony is achieved by minimizing selfish interests and maximizing community interests  (Koutsoyiannis, 1977).

 

Markets, Income Distribution and Responsibility of Government

In the conventional market economic system, the most famous and adopted system was Capitalism. It was the market system with less or no government interference. The only function of government was to provide an institutional framework. But the capitalism has increased income gaps. Owners of businesses were becoming rich, and the poor were becoming poorer. Moreover, the industrial structure of the capitalist system was increasing negative externalities which were polluting the environment. With the passage of time, the role of government kept on increasing, and some countries adopted the system of Socialism and Communism  (Koutsoyiannis, 1977). In the Capitalist system, income was distributed for services; when the government increased its role, it developed a redistribution structure by adopting welfare policies  (Walker, 2005), such as transfer payments, pension programs, social safety nets, etc. The capitalist system was dangerous to social harmony.

When people are not stable economically, they will be involved in criminal activities, societal pressure, and psychological issues. In case of full interference of government, the country may be deprived of innovations, technological progress, and competition among producers. Economic and technological progress happens because of the self-interest of the business owners, i.e., utility maximization leads to innovations at all levels. Some countries have adopted a mixed economic system to reduce the extreme impacts of Capitalism and Socialism. However, this mixed way of the economy is not strengthening the individuals and society or is not promoting the creation of social harmony. Every country is trying hard to achieve social harmony. For example, Turkey is fighting to reduce the government and citizen gap, and Thailand is trying to reduce religious and ethical conflicts  (Han, 2008). 

Islam, Peace and Social Harmony

The meaning of Islam is “religion of peace” once someone accepts Islam as his/her religion, its all-institution, rules, and belief system become the action of his deeds and life. The sources of Islamic law and institutions are the Holy Quran (i.e., words of Allah), Sunnah (i.e., the life of Prophet Muhamad PBUH), and Ahadith Mubarak (i.e., teachings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH). Even the greetings which Muslim use, when they meet each other, is "Assalam-U-Alaikum," which means "peace be upon you ."Islam does not only seek peace in society, but it is a universal religion which means that peace is needed in every dimension of the universe. Islamic teachings and values are the blueprints for individual and social actions. The contemporary world has some contradictory concepts regarding ethical, social, economic, and political values. On the other hand, the conventional world has multiple standards because of multiple theories. While Muslim follow the concept of Oneness of the divine Being, i.e., Allah. Muslim institutions are derived from the same faith and belief system. Allah has created this world and man must submit his will to Allah's Will. Every deed of man must be for Allah's consent (Hanfi, 1987; Elius et al., 2019).




Moral Values in Islam for Social Harmony

Muslims are tied in the structure of rights and responsibilities with the conditions of lawful and unlawful deeds. Lawful deeds are associated with Allah’s consent, sacrifices, patience, faith, the reward of Jannah, and levels of Jannah. Unlawful deeds are associated with sins, levels of hell, anger, and punishment from Allah. All this environment is created for a peaceful and sound social system. Sura-Al-Hujrat conveys the message of individual and collective conduct (Anwar & Romadhon, 2021). 

O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate (the truth behind information), lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful” (49:6). 

This verse of the Quran postulates that investigate the information before taking any action. If Muslims adopt this verse in their lives, many conflicts may be reduced, such as conflicts among family, neighbours, corporate sectors, national level, and between government and its citizens. Media plays a  very important role in developing citizens' thinking patterns, choices, and decisions by promoting the type/kind of news. Thus, the existing conflicts between the government and citizens can be reduced by formulating and implementing stringent policies for the media. Another verse of Surah Al-Hujrat is about the settlement between two factions  (Anwar & Romadhon, 2021). 

And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make a settlement between the two (factions), but if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of Allah. And if it returns, then make a settlement between them in justice and act justly. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly" (49:9). 

The next verse of Sura Al-Hujrat is:

The believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers and fear Allah that you may receive mercy" (49:10). 

In these two verses mentioned above, Allah asks mankind to settle between two groups or two people and act justly so the tension and contradiction in the society can be reduced. If we apply these verses of the Quran at the national level, government and citizens can be seen as two groups. Thus people/men must not behave in a manner that creates tensions among these two groups. It is the responsibility of the citizens and the government to act in a manner that maintains social and national harmony. The verse 11 of Surah Hujrat, Allah says:

Do not make fun of others, do not call others by false names, do not insult others” (49:11). 

This verse guides towards respect between two people, societies, government, and citizens. If people respect the differences and the diversity among them, they are less likely to hurt one another. The end result will be a peaceful and harmonious society. In verse 12 of Sura Hujrat Allah Subhanwata orders that:

Do not spy on others and do not backbite" (49:12). 

Spying on others for exploiting them or for selfish interest is strictly prohibited. According to Islamic teachings, backbiting is also prohibited and a heavy sin. In Surah, Hujrat Allah has specifically mentioned these two acts to be harmful to society as they increase conflicts, distrust, and an unpleasant environment in the family, at the workplace, in society, and neighbourhood. Allah has associated all these acts with the degradation of man, and they also invite Allah's wrath (Anwar & Romadhon, 2021). 

Economics and Social Harmony in Islam 

Islam is a modern and moderate religion. The messenger of Allah has preached all rules and regulations for managing all sides of a person’s life. This includes economic, political, and social aspects. By nature, man is a selfish individual, and Allah has applied constraint on man's actions by the fear of His anger and hell for maintaining social harmony.  

Concept of Utility in the Islamic System

The concept of utility or satisfaction is different in Islam. The utility of Muslims is maximized when they achieve the consent of Allah. Allah says in Quran that those who follow my messengers, They Obey Me. Allah has an obligated man with two kinds of responsibilities "Rights of Allah" and "Rights of Humans." Those who take care of these rights will have a higher place in Jannah. Those who disobey Allah's ordinance will be sent to hell for eternity on the day of judgment. Allah has described the lawful deeds and unlawful deeds in The Holy Quran and stated clearly that those who will sacrifice, be patient, forgive others, for the sake of Allah's consent would be rewarded by inner peace and a higher place in Jannah. Thus, Muslim's utility will be maximized when they live their lives for the sake of Allah, and they will have a place in Jannah. And for worldly achievement or those who seek utility in selfish interests, for those Quran says in Surah Aser (103):

By Time. Indeed, Mankind is at a loss. Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience" (103:1-3).

The concept of the utility of Islamic economics is totally different from conventional economics. This concept of utility changes the origin of societies. In the current economic situation, everyone is after their own selfish interest and maximizes it until adequacy is achieved. While In the case of Islam, no one can exercise selfish interests. The rights of other humans are above one’s selfish interest. If someone exploits the rights of other humans, he/she will be punished until the next person is not satisfied. Thus, the concept of “Pareto optimality" is unlawful in Islam. It is prohibited to get well off at the cost of others. If the Islamic economic system is exercised, societies will be moved towards harmony (Tlemsan & Matthews, 2021). 

Economic System of Islam 

The economic system of Islam is much stronger than any other economic system. The institutions of the Islamic system are clearly described in the holy Quran. Muslims can get into a private partnership called Musharkah, Mudarbah, and Mazarbah. Complete institutions are available for Islamic partnership. The most distinguished part of the Islamic economic system from the conventional economic system is the distribution system of income and wealth. In a conventional economic system, the distribution of income has only two aspects, distribution of income against services such as wages or rent and redistribution of income such as government transfers, pensions, and social safety nets. Islam has the concept of redistribution of wealth and intergenerational distribution of assets (Abduallah & Suhaib, 2011; Abbasi et al., 1989).  

The distribution of wealth includes the strongest system of alms (Zakat). The word "zakat (alms)" has been mentioned along with salah (praying five times a day) in the Quran. Paying alms (Zakat) is as important as praying five times a day for Muslims. Zakat means the purification of wealth. Zakat is levied on the person who has gold equal to 7 and a half tola, 52 tolas of silver, or money of equal value that is possessed by a person for a year. Allah has set the proportion of wealth to be distributed as Zakat and provided the list of deserving people of the society that can take Zakat. Along with Zakat, sadaqat (charity) has an important place in Islam. Sadaqat (charity) is an act of helping the poor by any means of living necessities (Lahjouji &Rouggani, 2016; Abduallah & Suhaib, 2011). A study conducted in Malaysia found out that the distribution of alms has a short run significant impact on society's consumption. The short-run impact is because of the small percentage and once in a year system. It is also suggested that Zakat must be collected and spent to reduce poverty  (Suprayyitno, Qadir, & Harun, 2013). Allah says in Quran:

The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed that grows seven spikes; in each spike are a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies for whom He wills, and Allah is encompassing and knowing" (2:261). 

Another verse for charity is Those who in charity spend of their goods by night and by day, in secret and in public, have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve (2:274).”

In the second surah of the Quran, Allah has focused on charity, i.e., Sadaqat, and alms, i.e., Zakat. These are the obligation of Muslims to pay sadaqat and Zakat to achieve Allah's consent and a higher place in Jannah. Allah loves those who take care of others, and Allah increases the rewards for them in this world and hereafter.

The distribution system for wealth in Islam does not stop here; there is the concept of inheritance in Islam i.e., intergenerational distribution of Islam. In Islam, assets are transferred to the next generation according to the will of the asset holder, either after death or before death. If the asset holder does not specify any will, then assets will be distributed according to the institution of inheritance in Islam. Islam has specified the 2 portions of a son and one portion of a daughter and the 8th portion of assets for a wife. The intergenerational distribution stabilizes the next generations economically as well as socially. If the next generation has no assets, they will not survive socially and economically (Abduallah & Suhaib, 2011; Adachi, 2018). 

On the part of the Islamic government, it is the duty of the state to regulate Islamic laws and institutions in the country. The social and economic justice system of Islam is much stronger than any other system in the conventional world. Islam has suggested punishment for wrongdoings in this world. The time period of the four Caliphates was the golden time period because the state-regulated the Islamic laws and decisions were made by a strong justice system even for the non-Muslims of the state. Islam is not the religion for those who accept it. It is the religion of humanity. Islam has not only provided the rules for Muslims, but it is for all human beings.

Conclusion

In heterogeneous societies, the nature of conflicts is different from in homogeneous societies. For the solution to these conflicts, different institutions are established. The institutions to maintain Law and order should maintain peace and try to reduce society's criminal activities. A strong system of justice and good governance can build up trust and reduce tension among society's people. On the other hand, the institution of a family plays a very important role in the development and growth of children and future generations. If children have a peaceful and sound environment, they will have a calm and stable personality that is more likely to achieve their goals in life. If children are brought up in an unstable socioeconomic and emotional environment, they are less likely to contribute to society positively. Chinese society and European societies are examples of societies that have strong social harmony and social quality; despite this, all these countries are suffering from some sort of conflicts and contradictions (Han, 2008; Sharma, 2015; Wong, 2009). 

The meaning of Islam is peace which is necessary for a harmonious society. Islam teaches about peace in society, the world, the state, and internal peace. Internal peace is driven when an individual's utility is maximized by the consent of Allah, when he/she sacrifices, remains patient, and is thankful in every situation of life. When each individual of society maximizes such utility, he/ she practices lawful deeds and moral values and takes care of responsibilities, leading to a harmonious society. That is why Allah has provided a strong structure for the distribution of wealth. It includes the income distribution, distribution of wealth, redistribution of wealth and intergenerational distribution of wealth; all of this becomes the stepping stone for an economically strong society at all times.

Social harmony is achieved when a society has a strong economic, social, and justice system. The conventional economic system is lacking in its distribution mechanism. There are only two tiers of distribution in conventional economics, i.e., distribution of income(wages/rents), and redistribution of income (transfer payments/pensions/social safety nets). Along with these two tiers, Islamic economics has two more tiers, i.e., distribution of wealth (Zakat & Sadaqat) and intergenerational distribution of assets (Law of inheritance). People are at peace when they have economic and social security. Stable economic security for individuals, strong moral values, and a strong justice system provided by the state will lead to social harmony in societies, countries, and the world.

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