Mosques around the World — Page 122
eati 122. T. Towards the Unification of Mankind. Naeem Osman Memon. The Holy Quran declares the universality of mankind as one community in no uncertain terms and deplores the fact that mankind has divided itself into different groups1, rejoicing in its own confined environment2 a sad state of affairs brought about by man's refusal to keep stride with the constant process of evolution in religion, thereby dividing itself in a large number of different religions, sects and creeds. This, it has done, despite the realization that the only object of man's creation has been that it worship the One and Only. Lord, God Almighty so that it may become a manifestation. of Divine attributes. 3 The Quran also alludes to the repeated blessings of God which has been finding. expression through the constant chain of messengers sent unto mankind to invite it under one banner and, regrettably, mankind's persistence in differing amongst itself. It states: 'Mankind were of one persuasion, then they developed. differences, so Allah raised Prophets as bearers of good tidings and as warners, and sent down with them the Book comprising the Truth, that they might judge between the people on that wherein they differed. Then those very people to whom it was given, differed about the Book, after clear Signs had come to them, out of insolence and envy of one another. Whereupon, Allah guided by His command those who believed to the Truth in regard to which the others differed. Allah guides whomsoever He pleases to the right path. '4. Islam, which is designated the final culmination of the constant process of evolution in religion by God Almighty5 proposed to redress the situation with its universal call to mankind to unite under one banner, that of humanity. It eradicated the influence of segregative tendencies and gave religion a totally new meaning and a unique force towards achieving the unity of the entire human race. It acknowledged the truth of messengers sent unto all nations of the world6; called upon mankind not to create distinction amongst them7; recognized the divine nature of the laws revealed unto these messengers8; admitted the equal creation of every individual9, whether male or female 10 or of diverse language and color11 and denied the superiority of one race over another. 12 And, in doing. so, it provided mankind with the infra-structure upon which to work towards the unification of mankind. . It is said that Muslims, who were bestowed with this bounty by God Almighty and entrusted with the task of finally bringing mankind under one banner, lost their sense of direction after the death of the Holy Prophet of Islam,. Hazrat Muhammadsa and his four righteously guided. Caliphs. They became engaged in building kingdoms based upon confined tribal loyalties and hence, the history of the Islamic peoples witnessed the rise and fall of racial dynasties, beginning with the Umayyad's. But since God. . Almighty, had decreed the final task of the unification of mankind with Islam, He had caused His apostle, Hazrat. Muhammadsa to pronounce a prophecy in relation to the advent of a prophet who was to appear in the distant future to unite mankind under one banner and rid it of spite, hatred and jealousy. 13 And, this latter day prophet finally appeared in the closing years of the 19th Century C. E. in the person of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas of Qadian, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim movement in Islam. . He declared that it had been made clear to him through. Divine revelation that the Messiah whose advent had been promised from the beginning 14 and the Mahdi whose advent had been decreed 15 at the time of the spread of error and who was to invite people to partake of the heavenly banquet was him 16 and that he was the. Krishna17 whose advent has been promised in the Hindu scriptures. 18 Hazrat Ahmadas also stated that he had been raised since God desired to draw mankind scattered throughout the world to His Unity and gather it together under one banner. 19 He established a Community under. Divine instruction, which he stated was, solely with the purpose of gathering a group of the righteous together so that a large group of such people should create a good effect in the world and their being united together should be a source of blessings. He also introduced a system of bai'at, taking an oath of allegiance to be formally initiated as a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. 20. Since its initiation in 1889, the Ahmadiyya Muslim movement has vigorously pursued its goals to unite the world under one banner. It has broken all traditional barriers of caste, color, creed, nationality, etc. , not only in theory as is evident in most other religions of the world and also denominations within the broader spectrum of Islam, but in practice also. Hence, its sincerity of purpose and motivation has borne fruit and its adherents, spreading the message of peace and unity, are to be found in more than 150 countries of the world which are now brought together through the Muslim Television Ahmadiyya international satellite link, sagaciously thought of and initiated by the present Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim. Community, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadaba with a view to take one further step towards the unification of mankind. . On its first such international bai'at ceremony at the Annual. Convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, United. Kingdom, held at Islamabad in Tilford, Surrey, a historic. Ahmadiyya Muslim Association USA: 1994 Souvenir