The Blessing of Old Age by Mohammad Abdul Khabir Azad

In the name of Allah the most Merciful and Mighty.

Starting with two verses from the Holy Quran and Sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)

Respectable and Honorable,

Greetings and Blessings from Pakistan.

First of all I on behalf of the Interfaith

Council for Peace and Harmony Pakistan, very thankful to the management of Community of St Egidio and the Archdiocese of Munich for providing this opportunity to share our feelings and thoughts on this day.

Today on this historic day, I would like to share my talk on the Blessings of the Old Age .

The day is historic because many leaders from different countries and representatives of the various religions of the world have gathered and they are discussing on many issues and are really important in the current scenario of the global situation and challenges. This is the sign of the sincere leadership that we belong to different cultures and civilizations and concentrating on one issue and challenge how to make this world a better place.

I salute the leadership of the Community of Saint edigdio. That they made this arduous task possible for all of us.

In accordance with the topic I will first talk about the blessings of Almighty Allah, secondly about the teachings of the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad(SAW) , the religious scholars and at the end the services and contributions of my father Shaikul Arab wal Ajam, Ambassador of the peace Maulana Dr. Syed Abdul Qadir Azad.

Distinguished Guests:

The father of the Prophets Hazrat Ibrahim(AS) while constructing the house of Allah( Bait Ullah) uttered a comprehensive prayer.

0 our Lord send in them a Prophet to teach them and tell them Your signs and teach them the Book and clean them.

And he further said feed them from the fruits and make this city a Peaceful city. These are the foundations of the peace and universal brotherhood.

Our Prophet(SAW) said the people are the family of Almighty of Allah. That person is the most beloved of Allah who loves this family.

He further said That one is the best amongst you who is good to other and benefit the people.

Today the world is faced problems and challenges and heading towards terrorism. We need to focus on the causes and factors. To know the root causes of these issues.

My thesis very clear we need to focus on on Dialogue instead of other options. Why not we work on those fronts to create the environment that help in building the peace in the world.

Today the world has become a global village. The technology has made tremendous development and the hours work is done in seconds , the distances have become nearest, then the question is why not get close to each other.

Today we are in need to focus on the teachings of our religions and religious values.

If we work and practice in accordance with our teachings we can have the solutions of our many problems and challenges and can bring a positive change in the 21't century.

Its up to the requirements to go for interfaith dialogues, discussions or table talks: the choice is ours.

This is the solution of the current challenges. Today I am in a country whose history is full such challenges but they sacrificed for the greater cause and conveyed the message of peace to the world.

I think it necessary to this distinguished house regarding two important initiatives . The first one when I was visiting Rome-Italy and met with Pope in the Vatican City-he appreciated our work in Pakistan and prayed for us and for our peace work. Secondly, when the King of Saudi Arabia Khadim ul Haramainal Shareefain Malik Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz inaugurated the Makkah Interfaith Conference and also conveyed the message to the world , this was really an important initiative in the Islamic World.

In Pakistan my father, Al Shaikh ul Ajam Wal Arab, Hazrat Maulana Dr Syed Muhammad Abdul Qadirr Azad, who for the first time in the history of Pakistan, 35 years back, took very bold initiative by starting the interfaith negotiations, dialogues and announcing the acceptance of the religious identities of all religions of the world. He said, the nations of the world must understand the sensitivity and

nature of challenge and must define their specific role, that how to establish a society based on peace, harmony and tolerance.

Today the world is faced with these challenges because of the scarcity of the resources . Religion is not source of conflicts. Religion must not be involved in these conflicts and issues. Religion is always giving the message of peace and love.

Our Prophet (SAW) has taught us a prayer that when see your face in the mirror then utter these words, 0 my Lord You have made me in the best form, make my character the best one.

In the end I will talk about the Pak-German initiative that will help the humanity in bringing them to the ideals of Peace and Love.

I, in the capacity of representative of the Muslims, religious scholar and President of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Harmony Pakistan suggest this distinguished and esteemed forum with two recommendations.

1- I offer my services voluntarily for the interfaith initiatives wherever this forum consider necessary and vital to be used for the noble cause.

2- The interfaith Council for Peace and Harmony can hold Conferences, Workshops, Seminars of the religious seminaries of all religions on national and international level.

Thank you very much.