Mawlana Hazir Imam, in his address to the participants of an international colloquium (1), highlights the scope and significance of the message of the Holy Qur’an, by saying:
“It is my sincere hope that this colloquium will bring additional insights to an understanding of the Holy Qur’an as a message that encompasses the entirety of human existence and effort. It is concerned with the salvation of the soul, but commensurately also with the ethical imperatives which sustain an equitable social order. The Qur’an is an inclusive vision of society that gives primacy to nobility of conduct. It speaks of differences of language and colour as a Divine sign of mercy and a portent for people of knowledge to reflect upon.
Ours is a time when knowledge and information are expanding at an accelerating and, perhaps, unsettling pace. There exists, therefore, an unprecedented capacity for improving the human condition. And yet, ills such as abject poverty and ignorance, and the conflicts these breed, continue to afflict the world. The Qur’an addresses this challenge eloquently. The power of its message is reflected in its gracious disposition to differences of interpretation; its respect for other faiths and societies; its affirmation of the primacy of the intellect; its insistence that knowledge is worthy when it is used to serve Allah’s creation; and, above all, its emphasis on our common humanity”.
The holy month of Ramadan invites us to reflect more closely on the nature of true happiness, which, as we are constantly reminded by the Imam of the Time, comes from the observance of the ethics of our faith and spiritual understanding and practice. Ramadan Mubarak!
(1) International colloquium ‘Word of God, Art of Man: The Qur’an and its Creative Expressions’ organised by The Institute of Ismaili Studies (London, United Kingdom) – October 2003.
https://www.iis.ac.uk/learning-centre/multimedia/word-of-god-art-of-man-...
