PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday urged Muslims to discard traits of discord and strive to be fair and sincere in seeking common ground for the strength and unity of the ‘ummah’.
Unity needed sacrifice; sincerity; the spirit of profound acceptance; seeking the good, not the bad, and perfection, not the flaws; always celebrating, praising, advising and criticising; and never neglecting, insulting or resorting to slander, he said.
“It emulates the virtues practised by the ‘Muhajirin’ and ‘Ansar’ people.
“The biggest success of Hijrah was the genuine unity between the two races. Unity is not an easy achievement but neither is it impossible because it has been proven in the story of Hijrah itself,” he said.
“The Muhajirin’s virtue was that they wholeheartedly accepted and were grateful for what they had because they had started out with nothing on the Hijrah,” the prime minister said at the national-level Maal Hijrah celebration, here.
Najib said to ensure the significance of Hijrah was successful in its purpose, the process of implementing the national transformation should be based on certain conditions or criteria.
“It must be dynamic and stable in character, and in bringing about change, noble values such as faith, jurisprudence and moral virtues must be retained,” he said.
The prime minister said it was not change that led to harm and collapse of the faith, and cited the latest issue of no compulsion in religion.
“That issue can cause very serious confusion in the matter of faith in society; it must be corrected and such liberalism should not be allowed to spread in society,” he said.
Other criteria to be considered was based on ‘Wasatiyyah’ (moderation) which was guided by the principles of fairness and justice that were not extreme in achieving the objective of excellence, he said.
“Indeed, appreciation of the concept can bring success not only in the context of solidarity of the ummah but also in the context of national unity with the non-Muslims, and even in the scaling up of success at the regional and international levels,” he said.
Najib said that besides making the Prophet as a model and showering blessings on all human beings regardless of race and religion, the transformation must also be done in an inclusive manner, involving the people at all levels, as in the case of the Hijrah.
“All have their respective roles, the old and the young, men and women, including the non-Muslim community,” he said.
In the context of the country, the matter was very clear and had been put into practice, and success after success had been achieved thanks to strong unity, he said, adding that this year’s theme of ‘Wasatiyyah Tonggak Kesatuan Ummah’ (Moderation the Key to Unity of the Ummah) would truly become a reality. — Bernama