When we speak about the obligations of Islam, we often focus on the ritual aspects such as praying and fasting, or the aspects of material responsibility such as providing for one’s family etc. There is however a major obligation which we as Muslims have unfortunately become negligent of, an instruction found throughout The Quran and the prophetic tradition of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the obligation of unity.
And hold firmly together to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you—by His grace—became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be ﴾ rightly﴿ guided.
Qur’an, Al-ʽImran 103
In Arabic this verse not only instructs us toward unity but explicitly emphasises the point. The word “hold” is used in the plural variation (iʼtasimu), which indicates that the responsibility of holding firmly to the rope of Allah is one to be engaged in collectively. Allah then further emphasises the collective aspect by using the word “together/collectively” (jamiʼan). He then follows this by explicitly instructing us not to be divided (wa la tafaraqu). In total the point of unity is highlighted three or four times; Allah then reminds the believers of how they were once disunited and the blessing of the unity He graced them with.
Obey Allah and His Messenger and do not dispute with one another, or you would be discouraged and weakened. Persevere! Surely Allah is with those who persevere.
Qur’an, Al-Anfal 46
Weakness Due to Disunity
As for the disbelievers, they are guardians of one another. And unless you ﴾ believers﴿ act likewise, there will be great oppression and corruption in the land.
Qur’an, Al-Anfal 73
This verse clearly informs us that unity is not only an obligation, but without it there will be severe and explicit consequences, the like of which we are seeing today: the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Muslims, unchecked aggression and oppression of innocents. The consequences are not only restricted to Muslims, but also non-Muslims. Islam is a vanguard of morality and sets out to protect all humans, holding all life to be sacred. Without a united Muslim front, the wicked and corrupt evil doers of this world can freely partake in their evil and sow corruption wherever they go.
Muslims in Their Unity Are Guardians for One Another
Our unity as an ummah is not just unity on the pulpit, lip-service and slogans, but rather we are to be united in heart, united in celebration, united in suffering, and united in vision. The Prophet ﷺ said, “The Muslims are like one body of a person; if the eye is sore, the whole body aches, and if the head aches, the whole body aches.”
The Prophet ﷺ in fact associated protection of other Muslims from one’s own harm as a distinguishing feature of the Muslim personality: “The Muslim is he from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe.” He also informed us that we are to protect one another from oppression: “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one.” People asked, “O Allah’s Messenger ﷺ! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “By preventing him from oppressing others.”
Partisanship & Knowledge-based Disagreement
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The person who calls to partisanship is not from us, and the person who fights due to partisanship is not from us, and the person who dies in a state of partisanship is not from us.” This hadith is general, and so any form of partisanship can be included — Salafism, Ikhwanism, Deobandism, Sufism, Ashaʼrism. There is no harm in labelling a set of opinions and outlining a framework within Islamic academia for the sake of clarity, but when these labels become a means of disunity and dispute within the ranks of Islam, it is a problem; and when they become a means of judgement of status or proof of righteousness, an even bigger problem.
Jabir ibn Abdillah narrates that during a battle a man from the Muhajirin struck a man from the Ansar, upon which the Ansari called out, “O Ansar!” and the Muhajir called out, “O Muhajirin!” Hearing this, the Prophet ﷺ said, “Why can I hear calls of ignorance (jahiliyah)?… Leave off such calls, for they are rotten.” The issue was not the terms themselves, but that they were being used in a way that could have sowed discord. Likewise, when terms of definition among us as Muslims are used in partisanship-like ways, they become a problem.
Unity Does Not Require Uniformity
A common obstruction to unity within our Ummah, especially amongst the learned class, is the notion that to be a united nation we must have uniformity of views — theologically, jurisprudentially, or politically. But this isn’t the case. We have never had uniformity of views throughout the entirety of our history, except during the time of the Prophet ﷺ.
And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is an awful torment.
Qur’an, Al-ʽImran 105
This verse shows us that knowledge (clear proofs) can become a means of disunity, even though knowledge itself is praised throughout. Currently, instant access to knowledge — and the ability to instantly impart it (and sometimes opinions passed off as “knowledge”) — has become a major hurdle in the path toward unity, and this should not be the case.
The Companions Remained United
Even during the period which followed the death of our beloved Prophet ﷺ differences emerged, but the companions persevered with a united front. During the time of Abu Bakr they fought against those who refused to give zakat; Umar initially questioned this but eventually followed Abu Bakr’s approach, achieving unity of action under the leadership of the Khalifah. During ʽUmar’s time prominent companions such as Khalid ibn Walid were removed from their positions, yet the ranks of the Muslims remained united. During ʽUthman’s time, with the emergence of the Khawarij, he sacrificed himself and forbade the companions from fighting on his behalf, not wishing to set a precedent of bloodshed within our Ummah. During ʽAli’s time other major differences appeared, but despite them the companions set out to establish a unified face.
Together Let Us Stand, Together Let Us Move Forward
In a hadith which defines the parameters of unity, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever prays our prayer and faces our Qibla and eats our slaughtered animals is a Muslim and is under Allah’s and His Apostle’s protection.” With the obligation of unity so clear, and the parameters upon which we are to unite so simple, why do we continue to disunite and dispute amongst ourselves? Whether in the name of Islam, nationalism, tribalism or any other such ism, we continue to sever our ranks, and in doing so weaken our presence as an ummah. The time has come to transition from being a part of the problem into being a part of the solution — a united Ummah.
Let us make our guiding manifesto a simple one: as the Prophet ﷺ said, “whoever prays our prayer and faces our Qibla” — then together let us stand and together let us move forward. Let us come together regardless of our schools of thought, and unite upon the vision of establishing that which is pleasing to Allah. We agree on more than that which we disagree on, so let us focus on those agreements, and put our disagreements aside.
Originally published as The Obligation of Unity on the Lewisham Islamic Centre website.Read the original →