Spirit of Islam, Nov-Dec 2023

The following supplications were made at the communal harmony programme conducted by the Bahai Centre, Bengaluru. Greetings of peace! I am immensely grateful to God for this opportunity to savour the joy of this noble programme. My deepest thanks to the organizers for their kind invitation to share a supplication and a few points of Islamic perspective on the topic of Unity and Harmony. These are turbulent times, but the lamp of hope will continue to burn and the kind God does bring forth positive results. Today’s meeting is a shining example. This morning there may be disturbances in various parts of the world. But we all are here to talk about unity and harmony and to see how we can join hands so that more people join this noble pursuit and take it forward to others. It is indeed a great need to begin with a supplication to the Creator of the universe who created this world with a purpose. The purpose of nurturing us to be those excellent human beings who will establish a peaceful society and be fit to be the inhabitants of God’s Paradise. Supplication in Islam is not confined to a few ritualistic words. As per our needs we are encouraged to create our own supplications and the following is of this kind emanating from the bottom of my heart for all my fellow beings. All glory and praise be to God the Creator, the Sustainer of the Worlds. To You we belong, to You we will return, Owner of the Day of Judgement. The Kind and Merciful and Forgiving and Generous bestower of all types of blessings. O Lord! You have mentioned in Your Book that You are near to us and respond to the call of one who calls You. I beseech you with my soul on its knees to bless this gathering and all our fellow beings of the world with the richest of Your blessings. We ask of You all that is good for all of us for always. Guide us to everything which is beneficial and save us from harm we know of and from harm we know not of. You have chosen freedom for us to lead our lives on this earth the only planet which is our home. Guide us to use the freedom for positive and constructive activities and safeguard us from misusing this freedom. SUPPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNAL HARMONY