EDITORIAL

2 EDITORIAL ISLAMIC BROTHERHOOD Fourteen hundred years ago the tribes in Arabia were almost constantly at war with one another. There existed little love between them. Hatred and jealousy seemed to reign supreme. Then God raised among them the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, who united them in a miraculous manner during his twenty three years’ ministry from 610-632 A.D. Unity is a basic principle of Islam which lays stress on the absolute Oneness of God. On the brotherhood of mankind God says in the Holy Quran: “And hold fast, all together, to the rope of Allah and be not divided; and remember the favour of Allah which He bestowed upon you when you were enemies and He united your hearts in love so that by His grace you became as brothers; and you were on the brink of a pit of fire and He saved you from it. “(3: 104) The message of Islam brought about a spirit of peace and brotherhood among’the belligerent Arabs who through the presence of the Holy Prophet turned to God and totally changed their lives in accordance with God’s revealed law in the Holy Quran. Not only did they become spiritual brothers but they conveyed the message of God to all and sundry, home and abroad wherever they went. The door of Islam is open to everyone which sets no distinction between colour and race. The only distinction between people is the degree of righteousness: “Verily the most honourable among you, in the sight of Allah, is he who is the most righteous among you.” (49:14) The Holy Quran invites everybody to join Islam irrespective of their religion, race or colour. At the same time it calls upon them to be sincere in faith as it does upon all Muslims: “But if they repent, and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat, then they are your brethren in Faith.” (9: 11) EDITORIAL 3 Islamic brotherhood aims at creating relationships of genuine affection based on the principles of righteousness. Good will prevail among them all because they have a common aim to serve and please God. They do not let differences divide them. They guard against rancour and jealousy. God says in the Holy Quran: “Help one another in righteousness and piety; but help not one another in sin and transgression.”(v:3) This injunction shows that spiritual ties are the real bond of brotherhood. Muslims are called upon to help those in distress. The Holy Prophet has said that believers are like the limbs of one body. If one suffers pain the rest of the body is aware of it. Islamic brotherhood requires that one brother should feel and demonstrate practical sympathy for his suffering brethren. The Holy Prophet of Islam has said: “Whosoever fulfills the need of his brother, Allah fulfills his need and whosoever will rid a Muslim of anxiety Allah will rid him of one of his anxieties on the day of resurrection.”(Bukhari) Islam is a message of universal brotherhood which can only be achieved through belief in God and His Messengers for it is through them that God has from time to time revealed guidance for the achievement of spiritual brotherhood. The final and complete code of Divine guidance for the brotherly unification of all mankind was revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, who unlike all earlier Messengers who were raised to meet the needs only of particular tribes and nations, was raised by God with a final law of guidance for all mankind. As Muslims themselves have neglected and deviated to a great extent from the pure teachings of Islam, so God raised the expected Mahdi and Promised Messiah whose advent had been foretold. He was Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India, whose mission during the past one hundred years has spread all over the world. He was raised to guide mankind to the right path and to unite them into one devoted bond of brotherhood which by the grace of God, is slowly and steadily being fulfilled. True brotherhood can only be achieved through the recognition of God and His holy laws. This is the simple secret. It is to us to strive to adhere to them then will brotherhood prevail everywhere. We all have our part to play in this fraternal crusade.