What it takes to unite our hearts?

A worth of a thing is measured by the amount of money or material required to be spent to obtain it.

How much would be required to unite the hearts of us Muslims.

Allaah, the exalted, has said:

"And (Allaah) has put affection between their (the believers') hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have put affection between their hearts, but Allaah has attuned them. Lo! He is Mighty, Wise." (8:63)

Thus, Allaah has virtually set the worth of the unity of Muslims as priceless, because we cannot put affection between the believers' hearts even if we spend all that is in the earth.

As a result of Allaah putting affection in our hearts, we became brothers by His bounty. We shall study the following verse to know it.

"And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah, and be not divided. And remember Allaah's favour unto you: How you were enemies and He put affection between your hearts, so that you became brothers by His bounty; and you were upon the brink of an abyss of fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allaah makes clear His revelations unto you, that you may be guided." (3:103)

The bounty by which Allaah made us brothers is His words: Qur-aan. The following is the part of the verse which declares us believers to be brothers:

"The believers are a Brotherhood." (49:10 part)

Alas! The relationship, that endured during the days of our prophet (peace upon him) and during the reign of the some caliphs, was ruined by succumbing to the machinations of our enemies. The worst part of our plight is that our elders are neither bothered about our condition, nor are they willing to admit to the people that we are sick and need treatment. (They are happy as long as you follow the group and sect and the sub-sect which they follow.)

What is the status of the ummah today?

  • Today and also at any given time in the recent past, the Muslims formed the largest number of refugees on the face of the earth.
  • In many countries, we are being persecuted and harassed.
  • We are hated suspects all over the world.
  • We are paying obeisance to the white man every where, dying to join his Economic Unions, indebted to him, most willing to dance to his tune and always clarifying & explaining why we need certain technology, etc., and always willing to let him inspect our establishments.
  • There is not a Muslim country which holds its head high.

    • Keeping in view our above plight, isn't the condition (of the People of the Book), described in the following Aayah , more aptly applicable to the Muslim Ummah today?

    " Ignominy (shame & dishonor) is their portion wheresoever they are found, except (where they grasp) a rope from Allaah and a rope from people. They have incurred anger from their Lord, and wretchedness is laid upon them. That is because they used to reject the revelations of Allaah, (Aayaathillaah), and slew the prophets wrongfully. That is because they were rebellious and used to transgress. " (3:112)

    The reason why this condition of wretchedness and contemptibility has become our lot is that we too have been (manipulated into) committing kufr - rejection - of Aayaathullaah - the revelations of Allaah, although most of us do not realise that. I have been crying full-throatedly that acts of kufr and shirk have been interspersed into our prayers - swalaah - and other acts of ibaadah (service / worship). If we have not been committing kufr - rejection and ridicule - istahzaa' of the verses of Qur-aan, why have we reached the nadir, the lowest point, in our history as a nation.

    Allaah, subhaanahu wa-ta'aala, mentions a condition of ours - containing two elements - in which we are incapable of committing kufr :

    "How can you disbelieve (commit 'kufr'), while unto you the Signs of Allaah (Aayaathullaah) are recited, and His messenger is in your midst? ; Whoever holds firmly to Allaah, he indeed is guided unto a straight path." (3:101)

    " How can you commit kufr:
  • as long as the signs of Allaah (verses of Qur-aan) are recited upon you and
  • the messenger is among you."

    • Those are the two elements of the condition in which we are incapable of committing kufr.

    We may possibly be made to commit kufr, when the messenger is no more with us (and others make us hold to the words other than those of Allaah) and when the messenger is not there to contradict what is wrongly attributed to him, drawing false and illegitimate licence from Qur-aanic direction to 'obey the messenger' (atwee'ur Rasool).

    The verse continues: "And whosoever holds to Allaah, he is guided unto the right path."

    Let us understand what is meant by "whosoever holds to Allaah" using the word fasta'sama (he held firmly) used in connection with Prophet Yousuf (peace on him), in Surah Yousuf, verse 32.

    She said: "This is the man about whom you did blame me! I did seek to seduce him away from his (true) self, but he did hold firmly and now, if he does not that which I order him to do, he shall certainly be imprisoned and be of the company of the lowly (people) ! " (12:32 )

    Now, let us see what Yousuf (peace on him) held firmly and how :

    "She verily desired him, and he would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument (Burhaan - proof, evidence) of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might ward off from him evil and lewdness. Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves."(12:24)

    It was the remembrance of - and holding firmly to - a verse from the Book of Allaah - (variously called Zikr, Furqaan, Burhaan, etc.), that helped Yousuf (peace on him) from avoiding the desire for other (ghair) woman.

    From this study, we come to know that :
  • Yousuf (peace upon him) held to - Burhaan of his Lord - the book of Allaah, when he was in a tempting situation (12:24)
  • Therefore, the meaning of "whosoever holds to Allaah" (3:101) is "whosoever holds to the book of Allaah", and such person is guided unto the right path.

    • In the light of the above study, we can further conclude that the direction to us : "And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah, and be not divided." is a clear direction to hold fast to the book of Allaah and (thus) be not divided, which is further strengthened by the information "you became brothers by His bounty", the bounty being theWords of Allaah through which we were declared brothers : "The believers are a Brotherhood." (49:10 part)

    Thus, the key to our becoming united brothers and not being divided is to thank for and adopt the bounty from Allaah, which is His book and hold fast to it.

    I have been advocating the Unity of the Ummah. I have outlined the disadvantages and harm the nation is being made to suffer because of the disunity. I can and also many people can enumerate the advantages and benefits the ummah will reap, if it gets united.

    But here is a verse from Qur-aan which tells us what is in store for us, if we remain divided and in dispute :

    "And be you not like those who (got) divided and disputed after the clear proofs had come unto them. For such there is an awful doom," (3:105)
    To the Muslims of the times when this verse of Qur-aan descended, this warning from Allaah was of no immediate concern, because they were all united. But today, we have to ask ourselves whether or not we come under the ambit of the threat which the verse carries; Are we not divided and in dispute? Then, are we not subject to the same threat of an awful doom? When would we open the eyes of our hearts to the reminders from Allaah?

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