UNITY: The second principle of collective Muslim strength (other
one was TAQWA)
Allah said next,
﴿وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعاً وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ﴾
(And hold on to the cord of Allah, all of you, and be not divided .(l03)
The golden principle of unity has been presented with g r e a t eloquence a n d wisdom, for t he principle, being the only effective binding factor, h a s been identified before the command to unite was given, following which, came the prohibition of di suni ty and chaos.
we can turn to t h e firs t and present addressees of th e Quran, the Muslims who believe t h a t i n t h e world a s we have found i t , t h e Holy Quran is the only way of life revealed by Allah Almighty without any shadow of doubt in i t , and since Allah Almighty h a s Himself t a k e n t h e responsibility of protecting it ,there is just no possibility of interpolation or change in i t r ight through to the Day of Judgement . With t h i s position
In view, I leave t h e p a r t of t h e subject de a l ing wi t h non-Muslim groups for some o t h e r occasion a n d s a y to Muslims alone who, being believers i n t h e Quran have no 'other alternative line of action except this. If different parties among Muslims were to unite on th e system of the Holy Qur'an, thous ands of t h e i r differences based on group, race and country would be resolved instantly , which block t h e road tohuman progress. Whatever difference may r ema i n among Muslims,would possibly be i n t h e unde r s t anding a n d t h e int e rpr e t a t ion of t h e Qu r ' a n . If such difference s t a y s wi thin l imi t s , i t i s n e i t h e r blame-worthy nor harmful to collective human living. I n fact, t h e existence of
such difference of opinion among t h e learned i s n a t u r a l . Therefore,
exercising r e s t r a i n t a n d observing l imi t s should not be so difficult to
manage. Cont r a ry to t h i s , if o u r p a r t i e s , were to go on f ight ing i n
complete disregard to t h e Qur'an then, they would not be left with any
possibility of correction.
The Holy Qur'En, i n t h e present verse, shows u s t h e way a s to how we
can eliminate this tendency to become divided when it says:
﴿وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعاً
And hold on to the cord of Allah, all of you.
Here, th e cord of Allah means the Holy Quran. The blessed Companion, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud is t h e narrator of the hadith i n which the Holy Prophet h a s been reported to have s a id:
The Book of Allah is the cord of Allah, extended from t h e
heavens to the earth.
I n a n o t h e r n a r r a t i o n of t h e h a d i t h by t h e noble Companion, Zayd ibn Arqam, t h e words are:
The cord of Allah is the Qur'an (Ibn Kathir).
I n s h o r t , t h i s one s t a t eme n t of t h e Quran i s full of wise rule s of conduct. To begin with, it can be s a id t h a t man must firmly a c t i n accordance wi th t h e way of life revealed by Allah Almighty, that is ,the Holy Qur'an. Then comes the unity of action, t h a t i s , all Muslims should join h a n d s to act i n accordance with i t . The r e sul t will be t h a t
Muslims will become united a n d organized a s if t h e y were a group holding on to t h e s ame cord firmly, t u r n i n g t h e whole group i n t o a powerful single bodYBefore we move on to the second part of the verse, let us remember the two distinct instructions given to Muslims in this verse, that is, they should first live by the system prescribed for them by Allah Almighty, then, they should hold fast to 'the cord of Allah' all together.This is how the Muslim ummah gained ascendance in the past and there is no reason why, it will not rise again.
Dealing with negative aspect THE DISUNITY
Thi s f a r t h e discussion revolved around t h e positive aspect of uni ty
among Muslims. The t e x t now takes up the negative aspect when i t says:
﴿وَلاَ تَفَرَّقُواْ﴾ and be not divided (among yourselves),
This is another example of the peculiarly wise style of the Holy Qur'an when it would highlight the positive aspect first , then identify the negative, and forbid the later . In another verse it eas said
﴿وَأَنَّ هَـذَا صِرَطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ﴾
Surely, t h i s i s t h e s t r a i g h t p a t h , so, follow i t . And do n o t
follow (other) ways which will cause you to become s epa r a t ed
from His way. (6:153)
Since disunity i s t h e first a n d t h e l a s t reason behind t h e destruction of
, nation, therefore, t h e Holy Qur ' an h a s r epe a t edly forbidden i t i n ways.
I t h a s been s a id i n anothe r verse:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُواْ دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُواْ شِيَعًا لَّسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِى شَىْءٍ إِنَّمَآ أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَفْعَلُونَ ﴾
Those who have made divisions i n thei r religion a n d become
sects, you have nothing to do with them. (6:159)
Also narrated in the Holy Qur'an are events concerning communities led by t h e i r prophets ,communi t i e s which fell i n t otemporal a n d e t e r n a l disgrace because of t h e i r m u t u a l di sput e s a n d disunity which t u r n e d t h em away from t h e hone s t p u r s u i t of t h e i r central purpose of life.
The Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam has said in this hadith recorded (Ibn Kathir from Abi Hurairah, (recorded in muslim)
«إِنَّ اللهَ يَرْضَى لَكُمْ ثَلَاثًا، وَيَسْخَطُ لَكُمْ ثَلَاثًا: يَرْضَى لَكُمْ أَنْ تَعْبُدُوهُ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا، وَأَنْ تَعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا،وَأَنْ تَنَاصَحُوا مَنْ وَلَّاهُ اللهُ أَمْرَكُمْ. وَيَسْخَطُ لَكُمْ ثَلَاثًا: قِيلَ وَقَالَ، وَكَثْرَةَ السُّؤَالِ، وَإِضَاعَةَ الْمَال»
“that there are three things Allah Almighty h a s liked for you while there are three others He has disliked.”
The ones He has liked are as follows:
1. That your worship should be for Allah alone a n d t h a t you
should not attribute partne r s to His divinity.
2. That you should hold on to the Book of Allah firmly and avoid
disunity.
3. That you should have goodwill for those in authority from
among you.
The three things which cause Allah's displeasure are :
1. Unnecessary argumentation.
2. Needless asking.
3. Wastage of resources.
May Allah give us taufeeq.
JAZAKALLAH
ittehadummat@gmail.com
http://ittehadummat.blogspot.com/
http://aqeedahinislam.blogspot.com/
JAZAKALLAH
ittehadummat@gmail.com
http://ittehadummat.blogspot.com/
http://aqeedahinislam.blogspot.com/
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