Speech by:
His Eminence Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof.Ahmed At-Tayyeb, Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders
On the Initiative of the “Day of Prayer for Humanity” launched by the Higher Committee to Implement the Objectives of the Human Fraternity Document between Egypt’s Al-Azhar Institution and the Vatican City.
Translated by:
Al-Azhar Center for Translation (ACT)
Al-Azhar Magazine (Ramadan, 1441 A.H. May, 2020.)
In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
Our fellow brothers and sisters all over the globe!
I salute you with the greeting of Islam: May God’s Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you.
It pleases me to address you on such a historic day, speaking about human fraternity and kinship and hoping that God’s Mercy embrace us at such a hard time during which the entire world is groaning under the burden of this ferociously sweeping pandemic unprecedented in modern history.
The sincere call for global prayer proposed by the Human Fraternity Committee is an earnest supplication to the One Who owns everything. It is prayer in which we beseech God, turning to Him and seeking refuge with Him, to immediately lift this distress and deliver humanity out of its unpropitious consequences, to heal the patients, and to have mercy on the deceased out of His Divine Bounty and Munificence.
Now as we call the world today to turn to God, the Omnipotent, and draw closer to Him through worship and prayer, we likewise urge the entire humanity – under the common bond that ties them all together – to work on rediscovering the values of justice, peace, coexistence and equality among all humans.
This is done with all due respect to the peculiarities of the different creeds, religions, and cults, and in full belief in the importance of science, and in appreciation of the efforts of scientists and scientific research. We also applaud scientists' constant struggle in quest for an effective treatment to save humanity from this pandemic.
Dear fellow humans in the east and the west!
We should mark this day as a memorable occasion to be carved on the slate of history, celebrating it annually with the purpose of promoting a world where amicability and diversity values prevail in place of fanaticism, bigotry, hate of the other, and discrimination among people on the basis of creed, color, ethnicity and wealth.
Let us allow this day to be the first step in the right direction on a new track abounding will love, respect and cooperation among all fellow humans. In this way, the distress shall transform into a gift, God willing, and collaboration shall replace alienation and transgression. Let it be a day to celebrate alleviation of the pains of the migrants, refugees, victims of wars, and those whose lands and resources have been usurped. Let May 14 mark the inception of a new world where peace making overcomes the industry of weapons, showing evidence of our ability to create a common environment where we can all live together as fellow brothers and sisters enjoying mutual love.
In the name of Al-Azhar, or rather in the name of all my fellow brothers and sisters in humanity, I would like to thank all medical staff, all male and female scientists and researchers working to find a treatment to protect us from this pandemic. I would also like to thank all individuals and institutions carrying out initiatives and projects to help us fight this battle, invoking God to guide them and make them of benefit to all humanity.
It is high time, dear fellow brothers and sisters, that we turn to God, Exalted is He, sincerely, devoutly and in good will, knowing that “none other than God can remove it”. (Qur'an, 53:58)
O God, we ask You for forgiveness and constant wellbeing in this life and in the life to come. May God’s Peace and Blessings be upon our Master, Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and Companions.
All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Worlds.
Ahmad At-Tayyeb
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar