Peaceful and harmonious coexistence of human beings in this multidimensioned world are undoubtedly the core wish of every sane person. This has become increasingly important with the current global situation becoming more and more fragile, our societies and world becoming further unstable and world peace becoming less and less likely.
Hence, the questions of how to avoid further deterioration and how to chalk out the course and means of attaining lasting world peace naturally arise.
As a student of religion and social sciences, I truly believe that world peace can only be attained by turning towards the Creator – the Almighty God – instead of materialistic and man-made approaches and remedies. No matter what, the establishment of peace is possible only through faith and belief in the Almighty God; without God, peace in this world can neither be attained nor maintained.
It is the immortal principle that no force can provide an alternative to or act as a substitute for the inner peace a person can achieve from believing in one God.
The question may arise in the mind of the reader of this article: What is the reason for my firm belief in this statement and on what basis am I saying this with such confidence and conviction?
The answer is that, ever since the world has come into existence, God has sent countless prophets, messengers and divine scriptures to this world. This is for the moral, social, religious and spiritual well-being of mankind and every one of them has taught us this reality. As all of them are true and from God, then how can their message be doubted?
It is a firmly established principle that fallacious and misleading ideologies cannot prosper. Similarly, the above-mentioned principle has been preached by all the prophets and has been accepted by billions of people throughout history. The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has explained this in a nutshell and states:
“We believe that for all the prophets who have come to different peoples of the world and have been accepted by millions of people in all parts of the world, and love for them and their greatness has been firmly established in any one part of the world and, further, that this state of devotion and love for them has endured the test of time, is evidence enough of their truthfulness.
“Had they not been from God, they could not have been accepted on such a wide scale by millions upon millions of hearts. God does not bestow such honour upon those whom He favours not. If an imposter aspires to occupy their position, he is soon brought to ruin.”
Without God world peace cannot be attained- Laiq Ahmed Atif
Recently, I came across a speech of the second Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at a reception held in London in 1955. In his speech, he appealed to the world to adhere to this golden principle and urged the attendees to: “Seek strength and inspiration from God instead of entirely material sources. This is the only way to save the world from the blight of the atom and hydrogen bombs. So, pay heed to God Almighty instead of inclining towards materialism; if this principle is acted upon, then a peaceful and harmonious society can surely be established.”
Time has proven this golden principle to be correct.
The situation of the world was far more stable at the time when people were inclined more towards God, comparatively to the situation we see today.
Similarly, the inclination towards materialism was also comparatively low compared to today’s consumerist and social media driven society.
The more we have turned towards materialism, the more fragile and unstable our world has become.
When a policy is consistently failing and the illness gets worse, just as a doctor changes the prescription of the medicine that is administered to achieve the desired effect, the same approach is required to heal the wounds of our fractured world.
The best remedy to find permanent lasting peace within ourselves and in society at large is by turning towards God instead of materialism.
Laiq Ahmed Atif is president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta.