Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, said that his Ramadan program has two objectives. First, it consolidates a Muslim’s knowledge that the principles of the religion he embraces achieves - theoretically and practically - the happiness of the individual and the happiness of society, in this world and the Hereafter. Second, it helps non-Muslims, who watch these episodes, be convinced that Islam is not a religion of bloodshed, wars and restrictions imposed on its adherents as portrayed by its enemies. On the contrary, it is a religion of peace, cooperation, tolerance and mercy mutually exchanged among people, and mercy shown towards animals, plants and inanimate objects as well.  Like all previous divine religions, which were sent as mercy for the creation, Islam lifts man out of the mire of misguidance, and guides him to the best path, whenever the paths fork in front of him, lest he should get lost or deviate from the right path. 

During the first episode of his Ramadan program Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk, His Eminence explained that moderation is the most important of all the characteristics of Islam, and it comes at the top of the characteristics that needs clarification and explanation. It is for this reason that Islam has been called “the religion of moderation,” as Muslims have been called the moderate nation. This is what we read explicitly in the Almighty’s saying in Surat Al-Baqarah: “Thus, We have made you (believers) a moderate nation” (Qur’an, 2: 143).   He affirmed that the one who meditates on this verse, and the preceding and the subsequent ones, sees clearly the rightly-deserved position of the Muslim nation, and its responsibility in leading humanity and correcting its path. Al-Azhar Grand Imam quoted the previous verse: “The foolish ones among people will say, ‘What has turned them (believers) away from their prayer direction which they had been facing?' Say [Prophet Muḩammad], 'To Allah belong the east and west. He guides whomever He wills to a straight path’” (Qur’an, 2: 142). He indicated that it establishes two matters. The first is the incident of changing the qiblah,  the direction the Muslims face in their prayers, from Bait Al-Maqdis (in Jerusalem) to the Sacred Mosque of Mecca, and the mockery of the hypocrites, polytheists and the Jews, and their denial of Muslims’ turning of their faces towards the Sacred Mosque in their prayers. Allah Almighty commanded His Messenger to counter their foolishness, and to remind them that the East and the West, and the entire universe, belong to Allah Almighty, who has no partner. His Eminence emphasized that the qiblah conversion took place in the second year of the Hijrah, hence it is closely related to the incident of Al-ˀIsrāˀ (Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey to Al-Quds) and Al-Miˁrāj (his Ascension to Heaven), which took place a year before the Hijrah in the Meccan era. This trip witnessed the prayer in which the Prophet (pbuh) led his fellow Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them), which symbolizes the transformation of Prophethood from the Children of Israel to the Children of Ishmael. What this means is that he (pbuh) is the inheritor of the keys to Prophethood from both Children of Ishmael and Children of Isaac together. 

His Eminence added that the second issue that the noble verse established is that Allah Almighty is the one who guides whomever He wills of His servants to the straight path. This issue is the bottom line that we aim at, i.e. the description of Muslim nation as one guided by Allah to the straight path, as opposed to nations that have strayed from this path. Therefore, it was due time for the Prophet of this nation (pbuh) to assume his role in leading humanity for the rest of its life in this universe.

His Eminence called his audience to ponder on these symbols in light of the following verse in the same surah: “Recall when Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, so he fully carried them out. He (the Lord) said [to him], ‘I will make you a role model for humankind.’ He (Abraham) asked, ‘And of my offspring?’ He (Allah) said, "My Covenant will not be attained by the wrongdoers,” (Qur’an, 2: 124) He explained that it shows us that the divine covenant, which is the ‘leadership of people’ will not continue in Abraham’s offspring, peace be upon him, at a single pace or an extended linear inheritance. Rather, the leadership will move from one branch of Abraham’s descendants - because of their oppression - to another branch, and it will remain with them until the end of time. 

The Grand Imam made it clear that it might come to mind that in this speech there is a compliment to the nation of Islam, and an exaggerated praise for Muslims, but he wanted to show the greatness and weight of the role entrusted to this nation and its necessity for our contemporary reality. He stressed that the one who considers the map of the world in which we live today will realize that it is difficult to find the “divine guidance” expressed as the “straight path.” Like a patient suffering from congenital and social diseases, our world today is badly in need of a qualified physician who is an expert in treatment and effective medicine. 

Can we find such guidance in the countries that have turned their back on Allah, the Most High, and His commandments and laws?! Can we find it amidst the politics of arrogance of power, the economy of weapons, and the tearing of peoples’ fabrics to ignite the fire of strife between their citizens? Can we find it in the policies of double standards? Can we find it in the new values that call for the worship of the individual or in the invading culture of homosexuality?

Al-Azhar grand Imam pointed out that there is another matter worthy of consideration in this context, which is to draw a comparison between the Muslim nation and other ones. The comparison is between the Muslim nation when it adheres to the roots and origins of its rich heritage of human rights from a divine perspective, on the one hand, and the other nations that no longer depend in their human, social and economic systems on the morals of religion and the directives of the divine revelation, on the other hand. Such nations have replaced religion and divine guidance by either the inclinations of the individual at the expense of the community, or the inclinations of the community at the expense of the individual. Thus, the riches of the earth have fallen in the hands of a few who do not recognize poverty, misery, disease or deprivation.