Almost 2.5 million Muslims gather today in the Plain of Arafat to perform an important annual ritual, the Haj. The gathering comes only days after the world registered a population of seven billion, of which approximately 1.4 billion are Muslims. It is a period in which Muslims are struggling to come together, facing illegal occupations of their lands and fighting off dictatorships. The large assemblage at Arafat should bring home to the Muslims the reality of their strength that they can achieve in unity. This is the first Haj after the Arab Spring. However, the incoming pilgrims from the Maghrib will have their own tales to tell, and it is not impossible that the Haj will become the occasion of spreading a vision of change throughout the Muslim world. Another event of interest to all Muslims is the Palestinian tale, of the struggle that is being waged for the establishment of a Palestinian state. The latest episodes, which include the application to the UN General Assembly for, and the grant by UNESCO of, full membership. These events have taken place despite the political fragmentation of Muslim states and their inability to unite and exert effective pressure on world forums. The Muslim world has probably never been in greater need of the unity which the Haj is supposed to symbolise. The abolition of those distinctions of race and nationality that are preventing the unity of the Ummah is what the spirit of Haj emphasizes. This unity is not as simplistic as a geographical location, instead it is ties of brotherhood and commitment to furthering cooperation, patience and charity and friendship. In order to recover their lost glory in the leadership of all fields, be they mathematics, science, philosophy or art, Muslims will have to make education their goal. In this respect, Pakistan has more lessons to learn than most - and God willing this Haj we will learn them.