The Unity of Muslims — Page 26
26 Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad exclusively by Muslims! Furthermore, Islam has a single qiblah 13 , whereas no unified direction can be found among other faiths. Although Hindus have the Somnath temple, it is not something that unites all of them. Similarly, neither Christians nor Jews have a qiblah. It is claimed that the Temple Mount is the equivalent of their qiblah. However, the First Temple was built nearly five hundred years after Moses as during the time of David as 14 , raising the question: what was the qiblah of the Jews in the first five centuries? Muslims had one from the outset, with the advent of Prophet Muhammad s as. They were not without a qiblah even for a day. It was not after one year, two years, or ten years, but right from the start that Muslims had a qiblah. This is a tremendous form of unity that is absent in other faiths. Another notable aspect of Islam is the congregational prayer, which is collective, not individualistic. Worshippers stand in straight rows, facing the qiblah. The iqama is recited, and an imam leads the prayer. When the imam stands, the followers stand, and when the imam prostrates, the congregation follows suit. This unique characteristic sets Islam apart from 13 Direction of the Ka‘bah in Makkah that Muslims face in Prayer [Publishers] 14 Urdu Jami ‘ Encyclopedia , Vol 2, p. 1550, Lahore, 1988 [Publishers]