Witness to Truth

The Essence of Religion are present must convey this message to those who are absent.” (Al-Istiab) The most important responsibility of the followers of Muhammad (on whom be peace), is to end all kinds of differences. According to Miswar bin Makhrama, Tabarani relates that: “The Prophet came to his companions and said, ‘God has sent me as a blessing to all mankind. So you people—may God have mercy on you—fulfil this obligation on my behalf and do not have differences as did the followers of Jesus (on him be peace).” Just as the Prophet was ordained by God for this purpose, likewise the Muslim Ummah has been ordained till Doomsday to perform this duty. During the Caliphate of Umar Faruq when Rabi ibn ‘Amir was sent as the representative of Islam to the court of the Iranian rulers, a part of the conversation recorded is as follows: ‘The latter asked him why they (he and other Muslims) had come to their country? Rabi ibn ‘Amir replied: “God has sent us so that He may take away those whom He likes, from the worship of His creatures to the worship of the Creator; from the narrowness of the world to its vastness. Thus God has sent us with His religion to His creatures, so that we may invite people to come to Him.” (Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah) That this responsibility is a universal one, which does not stop at any geographical boundaries is illustrated by the speech Noman bin Muqrin gave in the Court of Caesar. Here is an extract from the speech where Noman answers one of Caesar’s questions: “When Islam had spread in Arabia, the Prophet commanded us to go to the neighbouring nations and invite them to justice, so we invite you to Islam. What is good has been described by this religion as good, and what is bad has been described by this religion as bad” (Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, Vol. 7, p. 41). This responsibility was quite clear to the companions of the Prophet. During the Caliphate of Umar Faruq, when ‘Amr ibn al ‘As invited the religious leaders of Egypt to enter the fold of Islam, he said: God has sent our Prophet with a message for mankind. He has fully carried out his responsibility, and has left behind a clear