It is a fascinating subject, to know who we are and where we came from.  Though we may struggle to know the name of an ancestor who lived a few generations ago, we can be sure of the ancestor at the very start of our family.  Our entire family – the human family.

Muslims believe in the creation of Adam and Eve, the first people from whom the whole of humanity sprang forth.  The Quran often refers to mankind as the ‘Children of Adam’. All Muslim believers, irrespective of language, race, age or background are seen as a part of a whole. Despite the great diversity of the human race: our many languages, colours, customs and traditions – ultimately we are one, often known as the Umma. The fact that human beings travelled the globe, cultivating their own societies and languages, becoming ‘different’, is something that is to be celebrated.  The Quran says that this is a part of God’s plan.  Our diversity should not be the cause of hatred and enmity; rather we are taught to rejoice in our differences and learn from one another:

“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. The most honoured of you in the sight of God is the most righteous.” (Quran, 49:13).