It stands laid out: “Nor can Goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better, then he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!” (41:34)
Evil could never be the equal of goodness, as evil represents forces of darkness. However thick and deep the darkness might be, a ray of light is enough to penetrate it, just as an antidote might be enough to counter the poisonous effect. To repel the effect of evil, what is better needs to be brought into play, the most effective tool is goodness. And, this is the tool that was brought into play by Holy Prophet Mohammad [SaW] as he strove to combat the forces of evil that had cast its net in pre-Islamic Arabia.
Nothing could illustrate it better than the day, when the Islamic republic of Medina re-claimed Mecca–the city that had grown around Kabba–the house of God build by patriarch of prophets–Syedena Ibrahim [A.S]. Exhibiting the height of goodness, of fortitude, of statesmanship, Prophet Mohammad [pbuh] declared general amnesty. Islam might have reclaimed Makkah, the hearts remained to be claimed.
It was declared that whosoever stays indoors, whosoever takes refuge in house of Abu-Sufiyan shall be safe. Abu-Sufiyan had led the major campaigns against Islam, but where hared existed, friendship and intimacy had to be substituted. For this to happen, the age old distinction between the victor and the vanquished had to be totally erased. The embodiment of Al-Quran–Prophet Mohammad [A.S] did exactly that, as what the Holy Verse meant was displayed in practice. Evil had been repelled by what is ever and always better–Goodness, as hatred melted paving way for friendship and intimacy.