Recognition of the Creator

While addressing the Annual Peace Conference held in London in 2011, His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad ^{(may Allah be his helper)}, the fifth Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, cited the words of the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who said: “The task for which God has appointed me is that I should remove the malaise that afflicts the relationship between God and His creatures and restore the relationship of love and sincerity between them.”

Commenting on these words, His Holiness explained that realizing we worship the same God creates an environment where love for one another trumps vested interests. For, if we all worship the same Creator, how can we usurp another’s rights? Similarly, religious differences would foster dialogue, not serve as excuses to discriminate against religious minorities or kindle wars (Holy Qur’an 49:14). And if we all recognize God, our desire for peace will transcend our immediate surroundings and spread throughout “the whole world.” Furthermore, with globalization, people have become unprecedently exposed to different cultures. In such an environment, leaders must enact just laws. His Holiness stated, “The best way to do this is that the world should come to recognize its Creator. Every form of loyalty should be linked to loyalty with God. [T]hen we will come to witness with our own eyes that the very highest standards of loyalty will be established by the people of all countries and new avenues leading us to peace and security will open throughout the world.” His Holiness also stated that not recognizing God has created societal unrest, the only remedy being for man to search for his Creator.

1,400 years ago, Prophet Muhammad and his followers demonstrated this principle in the face of bitter persecution. For more than a decade, he and his followers peacefully endured being verbally abused, boycotted, beaten, tortured and even killed because the Meccans viewed Islam as a blasphemous religion. After 12 years, the Muslims peacefully migrated to Medina to be able to worship their Creator; here, Prophet Muhammad drafted the Charter of Medina, granting religious freedom to all of Medina’s citizens. Even after the peaceful conquest of Mecca, in 630 CE, Prophet Muhammad forgave his enemies and still invited them to worship the same God he worshipped.

Emulating this example, His Holiness stated that despite facing persecution in the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has never retaliated or sowed the seeds of unrest in any society. “For the sake of attaining Allah’s pleasure,” he remarked, “[we] always steer clear of all forms of disorder. And this is the conduct that one day will not only save the world from anarchy; in fact, it will be the guarantor for world peace.”