Saudi Arabias Mufti-i-Azam, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, who addressed a mammoth gathering of 2.5 million Muslims on the occasion of Haj on Saturday, put Islam into true perspective as a religion of peace and humanity. Islam prescribes severe punishment for the disturbers of peace, since the spilling of blood of any human being is abhorrent to Allah Almighty, he stressed. As the audience listened to the Sheikh with rapt attention and in all humility, he exhorted them to follow Islam; for therein lay the solution of all their problems, as it was a complete code of life. The Quran and Sunnah are the sole guidelines for Muslims. The words of enlightenment and wisdom contained therein are as relevant today as they were in times of yore. The Sheikhs recalling of the days of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when he had formed a society free from sectarianism and racialism, was meant to convey to the Muslim world the message of unity contained in Islam. Unity happens to be the most urgent need for the Muslim world today. The holy pilgrimage of Haj that had brought together indeed brings together every year Muslims of different ethnicities, races and backgrounds from every corner of the world underlines this very message of unity as well. The challenges and divisions that face followers of Islam can be solved through peace and not bloodshed. He warned them of powerful forces, that served to weaken religion through cultural invasion, and encouraged caution in the practice of faith in the face of such deliberate distortions. Without unity, Mufti-i-Azam cautioned the followers of Islam, the enemies would overpower them. At the same time, he urged the Muslim rulers not to use force against their people. Instead, they should root out crime, injustice and poverty from society. The call is quite pertinent in the world of today where the Muslim masses in certain countries of the Middle East have risen against their autocratic rulers protesting these very ills, and in some cases have succeeded in bringing them down. His warning against the machinations of the enemies of Islam was not without any solid basis and is particularly relevant at this point of time when such machinations have given rise to serious problems for Muslim countries. It is for the rulers of the Muslim world not to fall prey to them; instead the time has come to sink their differences and join hands with their Muslim brethren. One could sum up the sermon of the Mufti-i-Azam as a stirring call to the Muslims to revert to the teachings of Islam for their own good.