Centre of Unity

discover the secret t o their afterlife but also the secret to their worldly existence. I have a picture of the Ka‘bah on the wall before me. The familiar structure of the Ka‘bah stands in the centre of a vast mosque, surrounded by thousands of people bowing in worship to their Lord. This is the annual congregational prayer that is performed every year during the month of Hajj. More than 2.5 million Muslims from all over the world participate in it. This is a completely visible event, and a photograph can be taken of it. But those who pray around the Ka‘bah are not just the people seen in the Sacred Mosque; the situation is the same for Muslims outside the Sacred Mosque. All the people of Arabia pray facing the Ka‘bah daily. Similarly, Muslims in all of Asia and Africa do the same. This circle continues to expand until it encompasses the entire globe. If you look with the eyes of imagination, the event that takes place in the courtyard of the Ka‘bah is the same event that happens on a larger scale every day all over the world. Muslims all over the globe stand facing the Ka‘bah five times a day to perform their prayers. They stand around the Ka‘bah across the entire world. In this way, it is as if, five times a day, a circular formation of Muslims is created across the globe. The Ka‘bah stands in the centre, and Muslims around the world form a circle around it, performing their prayers. This is a great and complete form of unity that has no parallel in any other religious or non-religious group.