So, what was the cause of this disaster which transformed Europe into an ocean of blood? Why did the leaders of powerful countries push their nations into such a meaningless pit of death?

Before the war, many people thought that such a war would be very beneficial, and even that it was necessary. Many people welcomed the war and were overjoyed when war was declared. Leaders were proud to send off their soldiers to the battlefields.

The main cause of this great mistake was their belief in a concept, namely Darwinism. American historian Thomas Knapp explains this as follows:

The war itself was not a surprise. It had been in fact anticipated in wide European circles in the decade or so before 1914. There is even a fair amount of evidence to show that the number of Europeans on all sides welcomed the war. War was to be cleansing, exciting, rejuvenating. Educational systems in most European countries were shot through with the kind of Social Darwinist competitive mentality in which war was seen as exhilarating and ennobling.

Social Darwinism was the application of Darwin's evolutionary theory to society.

In his theory, which was later disproved, Darwin claimed that all creatures in nature were engaged in a struggle to survive. He claimed that humans were an advanced form of animal which moved ahead through conflict. This mistaken theory, which looked like a scientific fact to many people considering the technological level of that age, formed the foundation for World War I, as well as a number of other social disasters.

The diaries and personal correspondence of European leaders from that time show that they were influenced by Social Darwinism. These leaders rejected the path of love and mercy-based morality which God had revealed to the people in favor of Social Darwinism instead.

For instance, General von Hoetzendorff, the Austria-Hungarian chief of staff, wrote this in his postwar memoirs:

Philanthropic religions, moral teachings and philosophical doctrines may certainly sometimes serve to weaken mankind's struggle for existence in its crudest form, but they will never succeed in removing it as a driving motive of the world… It is in accordance with this great principle that the catastrophe of the world war came about as the result of the motive forces in the lives of states and peoples, like a thunderstorm which must by its nature discharge itself.

(James Joll, Europe Since 1870: An International History, Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1990, p. 164)

Friedrich von Bernhardi, another First World War general, also drew a link between war and the so-called evolutionary laws of nature:

War is a biological necessity. It is as necessary as the struggle of the elements of nature; it gives a biologically just decision, since its decisions rest on the very nature of things. (M.F. Ashley-Montagu, Man in Process, World. Pub. Co., New York, 1961, pp. 76, 77)

In sum, World War I was caused by European rulers who believed that fighting, bloodshed, suffering and making others suffer were all part of the "law of nature." It is Darwin's evolutionary theory which pushed an entire generation into these mistaken beliefs. The dark figure of Darwin lurks behind the curtain of war.

However, contrary to Darwin's claims, humans are not animals that survive in order to do battle with each other. In the Qur'an, God has this to say about those who start wars:

…Each time they kindle the fire of war, God extinguishes it. They rush about the earth corrupting it. God does not love corrupters. (Qur'an, 5:64)

God created people, gave them a spirit that is unique among all other living things, and commanded them to lead a moral existence. This way of life requires love, fraternity, mercy and peace. Only if people obey this instruction can the world become a place of peace. The divine order that will bring peace and salvation to all humanity is expressed in the Qur'an as follows:

... And do good as God has been good to you. And do not seek to cause corruption in the earth. God does not love corrupters. (Qur'an, 28:77)