Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak reciting the ‘surah yasin’ at the National Mosque in conjunction with the Maal Hijrah celebration last night. Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom (second from left). In his Maal Hijrah message, Najib urged Malaysians to always emulate the spirit of the Hijrah as the basis of national transformation and development in a multi-ethnic society. — Bernama:-
KUALA LUMPUR: As Muslims usher in the Islamic new year of 1436 Hijrah today, calls have emerged for the community to discard differences of opinion and forge greater unity.
They have also been reminded to adhere strictly to the Quran and Sunnah in keeping with the decree of Prophet Muhammad.
Chief executive officer of the Association of Malaysian Muslim Intellectuals (Ilmu) Ahmad Fazrin Yahaya advised Muslims to adhere strictly to the Quran and Sunnah before the differences of opinion turned into a cancer against Muslim unity.
He said the differences of opinion in religion arose when Muslims banked on logic without making the Quran and Sunnah as the basis for resolving problems.
As such, he said, the authorities responsible should proactively promote religious programmes and hold comprehensive discussions on the confusion arising from the differences of opinion so as to enhance the religious literacy of Muslims.
Emulate the Prophet in his migration, Muslims advised
“Do not wait for something to happen before issuing a statement. Instead, Muslims must continue to be educated in order to emphasise the importance of studying religion so as to be always on the right path of Islam,” he said.
Ahmad Fazrin said the differences of opinion must be managed so that every issue linked to religion could be resolved more effectively.
National Association of Muslim Students Malaysia president Mohammad Fazril Mohd Saleh, meanwhile, said Muslims in the country should apply the concept of community consensus in dealing with current issues.
He said Muslims should act more wisely when confronted with complex issues involving religious sensitivities and, at the same time, resolve them without conflict.
“We have to solve problems in the right way according to Islamic law so that people of other religions do not have a negative perception of Islam,” he said.
He advised youths to equip themselves with religious knowledge to ensure they were not easily influenced by the changes in the globalised world.
This year’s Maal Hijrah carries the theme “Unity, the Pulse of National Transformation”.
— Bernama
