As almost two million Muslims from the world have gathered for the Hajj which startedWednesday, it is high time the Muslims, who are confronting numerous challenges, come to terms of introspection, shun materialism and undergo a spiritual rejuvenation during the pilgrimage. This year’s Hajj is significant also in the context of the final Friday sermon of the imam of Makkah’s Grand Mosque who denounced those who “cause conflict among Muslims”. The speech has come amid the widening rift among Gulf neighbours and wars that continue across the Middle East. Anyone who causes conflict and discord among Muslims ignores the blessing of harmony, imitates those who lived in ignorance before Islam, harms his people and cheats his nation. The division in the Muslim world particularly in the Arab peninsula is a matter of concern for the whole Ummah and there is an immediate need to foster unity. It is a positive development that Iran Iranians have attended the Hajj after Tehran boycotted Makkah last year. This is a step towards new beginning. Even though the conflict prevails, there should be no mixing between political disputes and Muslims’ natural and human right to perform their religious duties. Politics and human rights must be separated. And remember the last sermon of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): “All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.” Let’s pray that better sense prevails among all and this year’s Hajj acts as a breakthrough for betterment of the Muslim Ummah.