Last week, Muslims around the world celebrated Eid ul Adha. This celebration takes place every year on the tenth day of Dhul Hijah, the final month of the Islamic calendar.

Eid ul Adha is celebrated to commemorate the sacrifices that Prophet Abraham (as) and his son Ishmael (as) offered in obedience to the commands of God. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who was a descendent of Prophet Ishmael (as), expounded the true spirit and significance of those sacrifices.

Therefore, on Eid ul Adha, Muslims around the world gather for a special sermon and prayer service, and offer animal sacrifices, in remembrance of the exemplary obedience of these beloved Prophets of God.

The yearly pilgrimage to Mecca also takes place in the month of Dhul Hijah. Following the footsteps of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), pilgrims undertake a number of rites and rituals including the donning of white plain clothes, animal sacrifices and the circumambulation of the Kaaba.

The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) has explained the purpose of Hajj and the circuit of the Kaaba: “….the last stage of the seeker’s journey is that withdrawing himself altogether from the demands and desires of the self, he should be completely engulfed by the love of God and completely devoted to Him. A true lover sacrifices his soul and heart and the circuit of the Kaaba is a visible sign of such a sacrifice.”

The sight of thousands of pilgrims, all dressed in plain white clothes, moving in unity around the Kaaba is a striking one to behold.

It brings to mind the oneness of mankind, the fact that God wishes for mankind to live in harmony, not only in Mecca, during the pilgrimage but also elsewhere, at all times.

The pilgrimage conveys a powerful message to Muslims - God desires to see Muslims gathered as one, unified under the glorious banner of Islam.

Unfortunately, there is a misconception haunting some Muslim communities that Islam permits the use of force and coercion to achieve such a unity among Muslims.

This deplorable misconception has led to the rise of groups trying to rally Muslims worldwide in the hope of forming a single all-powerful Muslim group who will pledge allegiance to a global leader, known as the Caliph or Khalifa in Islamic terminology. This Caliph, it is hoped, will lead the march of Islam forward and conquer the world. According to this warped view, dissenters must be silenced.

Such a situation is being currently witnessed in Syria and Iraq where the terrorist group, the so-called ‘Islamic State’ is playing havoc with the lives of citizens. This group is led by a so-called ‘Caliph’ and his supporters who shamelessly encourage and applaud the murder of innocent Muslims and non-Muslims who disagree with their distorted and nauseating view of Islam.

In response to this nonsensical and violent attempt to establish a global ‘Caliphate’, the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad has unequivocally declared: “Extremists Islamic groups and the so-called Caliphate that extremists are trying to establish in the Middle East are a complete betrayal of the peaceful teachings of Islam and will never succeed. These groups have attached their own cruel ambitions to an institution (Caliphate) that in reality seeks to champion the rights of all people. Let me make it clear that the institution of Caliphate leading the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has no interest in power or government. Rest assured that true Caliphate has no political or worldly objectives.”

His Holiness, the Khalifa of Islam, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad and his four predecessors have been successfully leading the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for the past 106 years through just and compassionate leadership.

They have shunned all form of worldly, military and political power and instead convey the message of Islam to the world through peaceful means and rational arguments.

This is the only Islamic way espoused by the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to bring unity among the various Muslim groups and convey Islam to the world.