Unity - What is it, how is it achieved, and why did Ahlulbayt (a.s.) stress on this point? What is meant by the Islamic unity? Does it mean that one Islamic school of thought should be unanimously followed and others be set aside? Or does it mean that the commonalities of all Islamic schools of thought should be taken up and their differences be put away to make up a new denomination which is not completely the same as the previous ones? Or does it mean that Islamic unity is in no way related to the unity of the different schools of Fiqh (jurisprudence) but signifies the unity of the Muslims and the unity of the followers of different schools of Fiqh, with their different religious ideas and views, vis-a-vis the aliens? Unity is strength. When the sand grains unite they become a vast desert. When the sea drops unite they become a boundless ocean. The conglomeration of stars in the firmament of sky soothes our eyes. The seven colors emerge in the shape of a bewitching rainbow. The unity of people makes an invincible strong nation. This is the reason Islam lays great stress on the importance of unity. The Islamic concept of Tawhid (oneness) is the other name of the unity of humankind. The corner stone in Islam is the unity of God. Allah’s unity teaches us the message that we should not divide humans into sections and sects. Almighty Allah in the Quran says that the division of people in the races and clans is only for their introduction. The best one out of them is the man of piety. Islam is the greatest unifying force in the world. It is a religion to all humans regardless of color, race and language. It is a religion that accepts other religions and orders its followers to be accepting of all humans. Racial discrimination has been strictly prohibited in Islam. In the last sermon from the Mount of Arafat the Holy Prophet announced no Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab; or the white over the black. This is the reason that in Muslim countries we do not find racial discrimination. Islam gives clear injunctions for the respect, safety, security and prosperity of the non-Muslims as well. Unity teaches peace, equality and paternity. The absence of unity brings and breeds disruption, devastation and disputes. Islam ordains protection of non-Muslims simply to show the respect for the Canons of divinity and humanity. God is not only for the Muslims. God is the God of all human beings. The unity of all humans is the ultimate aim of the teachings of Islam.The doctrinal and ideological differences should not lead to war or bloodshed. Man is a thinking creature. To give an illogical and impractical meaning to the issue of the Islamic unity, the opponents of the issue have called it to be the formation of a single Madhhab, so as to defeat it in the very first step. Without doubt, by the term Islamic unity, the intellectual Islamic Ulama (scholars) DO NOT mean that all denominations should give in to one denomination or that the commonalities should be taken up and the different views and ideas be set aside, as these are neither rational and logical nor favorable and practical. By the Islamic unity these scholars mean that all Muslims should unite in one line against their common enemies. These scholars slate that Muslims have many things in common, which can serve as the foundations of a firm unity. All Muslims worship The One Almighty and believe in the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet (s). The Quran is the Book of all Muslims and Kaabah is their qiblah (direction of prayer). They go to hajj pilgrimage with each other and perform the hajj rites and rituals like one another. They say the daily prayers and fast like each other. They establish families and engage in transactions like one another. They have similar ways of bringing up their children and burying their dead. Apart from minor affairs, they share similarities in all the aforementioned cases. Muslims also share one kind of world view, one common culture, and one grand, glorious, and long-standing civilization. Unity in the world view, in culture, in the civilization, in insight and disposition, in religious beliefs, in acts of worship and prayers, in social rites and customs can well turn the Muslim into a unified nation to serve as a massive and dominant power before which the big global powers would have to bow down. This is especially true in view of the stress laid by Islam on this principle. According to the explicit wording of the Quran, the Muslims are brothers, and special rights and duties link them together. So, why shouldnt the Muslims use all these extensive facilities accorded to them as the blessing of Islam? This group of Ulama are of the view that there is no need for the Muslims to make any compromise on the primary or secondary principles of their religion for the sake of Islamic unity. Also it is not necessary for the Muslims to avoid engaging in discussions and reasons and writing books on primary and secondary principles about which they have differences. The only consideration for Islamic unity in this case is that the Muslims- in order to avoid the emergence or accentuation of vengeance - preserve their possession, avoid insulting and accusing each other and uttering fabrications, abandon ridiculing the logic of one another, and finally abstain from hurting one another and going beyond the borders of logic and reasoning. In fact, they should, at least, observe the limits which Islam has set forth for inviting non-Muslims to embrace it: Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good exhortation, and have disputations with them in the best manner... (16: 125) Some people are of the view that those schools of fiqh, such as, Shafii and Hanafi which have no differences in principle should establish brotherhood and stand in one line. They believe that denominations which have differences in the principles can in no way be brothers. This group view the religious principles as an interconnected set as termed by scholars of Usul, as an interrelated and interdependent set; any damage to one principle harms all principles. As a result, those who believe in this principle are of the view that when, for instance, the principle of imamah is damaged and victimized, unity and fraternity will bear no meaning and for this reason the Shiah and the Sunnis cannot shake hands as two Muslim brothers and be in the same rank, no matter who their enemy is. The first group answers this group by saying: There is no reason for us to consider the principles as an interrelated set and follow the principle of all or none. Imam Ali (a) chose a very logical and reasonable approach. He left no stone unturned to retrieve his right. He used everything within his power to restore the principle of imamah, but he never adhered to the motto of all or none. Ali (a) did not rise up for his right, and that was not compulsory. On the contrary, it was a calculated and chosen approach. He did not fear death. Why didnt he rise up? There could have been nothing above martyrdom. Being killed for the cause of the Almighty was his ultimate desire. He was more intimate with martyrdom than a child is with his mothers breast. But in his sound calculations, Imam All (a) had reached the conclusion that under the existing conditions it was to the interest of Islam to foster collaboration and cooperation among the Muslims and give up revolt. He repeatedly stressed this point. In one of his letters (No.62 Nahj al Balaghah) to Malik al-Ashtar, he wrote the following: First I pulled back my hand until I realized that a group of people converted from Islam and invited the people toward annihilating the religion of Muhammad(s). So I feared that if I did not rush to help Islam and the Muslims, I would see gaps or destruction which calamity would be far worse than the several-day-long demise of caliphate. In the six-man council, after appointment of Uthman by Abdul-Rahman ibn Awf, Ali (a) set forth his objection as well as his readiness for collaboration as follows: You well know that I am more deserving than others for caliphate. But now by Allah, so long as the affairs of the Muslims are in order and my rivals suffice with setting me aside and only I am alone subjected to oppression, I will not oppose (the move) and will give in (to it). (From Sermon 72, Nahj al- Balaghah). These indicate that in this issue Ali (a) condemned the principle of all or none. There is no need to further elaborate the approach taken by Ali (a) toward this issue. There are ample historical proofs and reasons in this regard. Sources: balaghah.net/nahj-htm/eng/id/article/13/01.htm #Unity #Strength #Justice #Mankind
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 12:24:18 +0000
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