HOW TO UNITE THE ISLAMIC UMMAH??

HOW TO UNITE THE ISLAMIC UMMAH??

The Fight Against Islam Dates Back to the Beginning of the Prophetic Mission of Muhammad (PBUH).

The Islamic community throughout the world faces challenges, increasing daily and taking various shapes. They can be an economic blockade, an intervention into the ideology of Muslims, and many other problems, which can take very long to discuss.

What is the purpose of this struggle against Islam? It is to take Muslims’ confession from them by weakening the Muslim community, influencing the ideology of Muslims, and separating Muslims from the values of Islam.

The question is how to resist the struggle? How can Muslims stand up against the world's aggression, which takes different forms? What should we do in this situation?

There is only one way out for Muslims – to regain their former unity. Only when Muslims unite and become a united group, they will manage to stand up to anyone and anything. All Muslims must unite, with no exception, from the rulers up to each member of the Muslim communities that live on Earth. After all, Muslims today are one third of the total population of the globe. This is a huge number!

If Muslims do not unite, no other methods, offered by some scholars or Islamic movements, will help to resist the world aggression.

Unity can only be achieved if Muslims get away from unnecessary disputes among themselves, stop fueling a feud within the community, when Muslims will listen to Allah’s Ayah in the Qur'an, where He says: “ And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves”. Another Ayah says: “fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart.”

Muslims might ask: “How can we regain the unity?” The path to it is in our hearts. It is those feelings that every one of us should have in his heart. It is the feeling that draws us to each other. It is not the shallow nice words, or the good gestures, we use for each other.

First of all, it is the inner feeling, which does not need to be proved by outward actions, the feeling that binds us together. Unless we have this feeling in our hearts, no appeals and no attempts will help! The feeling that binds us to Allah must draw us together and to the brothers in the faith. We need to seek this feeling and strengthen it in our hearts. Otherwise, the unification of Muslims is unfeasible. This feeling must live in the heart of every Mu’min - it comes from Allah, it is a gift from the Almighty.

This immediately breeds a question – how to seek it, how to bring it back into the hearts of Muslims? The key to this feeling is the remembrance of Allah. If we resort to it, from the rulers to a common Muslim, we will not have to hold round-table meetings, various conferences, etc. All the problems of the Muslims will disappear, if they make remembrance of Allah. Only in the remembrance of the Almighty a Muslim gets everything he needs.

The heart is the source of all our deeds. If the heart of a Muslim is empty, no good deeds will help. On this occasion, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said in a Hadith: “Do you want me to tell you, what is the most precious worship of Allah, more precious, than giving away gold and silver on your path to the Almighty, or meeting an enemy you will kill, or will be killed by?” The Companions asked: “Oh Messenger of Allah, say what it is!” And the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “Making remembrance of Allah.”

Some Muslims are surprised and say, how can remembrance of Allah be better, than giving away gold and silver, how can remembrance of the Almighty be better, than the wars in His way? Yes, it can! For making remembrance of Allah by true way is the most important requirement of the Almighty. It is the essence of Islam.

If a Muslim thinks about anything, except Allah, what good might be in his soul and his heart? And if he mentions the Almighty as often as possible, wherever he is and whatever he does, his heart is pure. It radiates love, that creates brotherhood among Muslims. Without all this, the Muslim unity is not even worth talking about! What is the use being proud of the palace, if we do not have... the key to this palace? The key to our unity is remembrance of Allah.

When Muslims make remembrance of the Almighty, they get a feeling, that generates the bond of love and brotherhood among all brothers in faith. And it happens on its own. They begin to feel their brother’s pain in the distance. If they hear, that their brother in faith is ill, they immediately respond and come to help him. 

This becomes a pattern, when we remember Allah. But, unfortunately – and this concerns the whole Ummah! – this solution is still neglected. Everybody comes up with different solutions. One suggests organizing a party, another one – conferences, the third publishes books, where he is trying to prove something, and all that is done to unite the Muslims. Whereas the tool to our unity is in our hands. It is mentioning the Almighty. If we think from morning till night about everything except Allah, of course, our hearts will be filled with vice.

And just when the Muslims forgot about mentioning the Almighty, the whole Ummah was attacked by the ‘predators’. Just as a predator attacks the prey, they attacked Muslims all over the world. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said in a Hadith about it: “They bore down upon Muhammad’s Ummah (PBUH) like wild beasts upon their prey!” It is exactly so. And it is nobody’s, but our fault.

The struggle against Islam is a historical phenomenon. It dates back to the time when the Prophet (PBUH) announced his prophecy.

Thus the Almighty wants, this is how Allah tests each of us. And therefore, our salvation lies in remembrance of the Almighty.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a Hadith al-Qudsi tells us the words of Allah as He talks to His slaves: 

“I am as My slave thinks of Me.” So if a slave thinks the Almighty is merciful, he will find His mercy, and if he is disappointed and imagines Him angry, he will find Allah in anger. Further, the Hadith says:

 “I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me a hand’s span, I draw near to Him an arm’s length; And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to Him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.” This is how Allah addresses the slaves who spend time making mention of Him.

Oh Allah, give us the strength to mention You - and then we will have no time to fall apart! Moreover, there will be no one to tear us apart.

HOW DID PROPHET MUHAMMAD UNITE THE MUSLIM UMMAH?

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) united the Muslim Ummah by various ways, which represent the means for the unity of Muslims in all ages. Such means include that the Muslims should be faithful to their message and to their religion.

They should establish the doctrine firmly in their hearts, seek knowledge and science, abhor injustice, and realize that their glory and supremacy are in being close to Allah, looking forward to Allah’s satisfaction and Paradise), having earthly pleasures minimized in their eyes, and having all their mottos stemming from their belief.

In this regard, we would like to cite for you the following fatwa issued by the late prominent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Ash-Sharbasi, professor of `Aqeedah and Philosophy at Al-Azhar University, in which he stated the following,

If I phrase the answer in one sentence, I would say: Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gathered his nation and united its decisions because he (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Seal of the Prophets and the leader of the Messengers sent by Allah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) is the leader of all who fight for the sake of Allah and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent as a mercy to all humanity and supported by the care of Allah the All-Mighty.

And to explain I will say briefly that the noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was able to fulfill such unity and solidarity thanks to many causes and means, such as the strength of his character, his sincere devotion to his message, as well as his detestation of the false idols that prevailed at that time; and, moreover, he implanted the hearts with a creed that was superior to the false and trivial pagan beliefs.

He (peace and blessings be upon him) lightened the hearts with the light of believing in the Glorious Creator Who owns all that is in the heavens and on the earth. He firmly fixed this faith, practically and continuously, by the acts of worship his Lord revealed to him, such as prayers, fasting, Zakah, Hajj, and other kinds of good deeds.

In addition to this, he purified the souls of his people of grudges and hatred; there was no room for aggression or injustice, no room for pride or insults, but rather brotherhood, love and equality because they were of one origin, and there was no privilege of an Arab over a non-Arab except through piousness.

Besides, he taught them that they have no actual power or might; that when they are self-conceited they will lose, but when they are proud of their Creator they will succeed and prosper; and that glory is to Allah, His Messenger and to the believers. This is why the Qur’an states, 

(And hold fast, all of you together, to the cable of Allah, and do not separate…) (Al `Imran 3: 103)

From such ways, also, the value of life and its pleasures was minimized in their eyes. As long as one looks down upon life, his humanity increases, and he deserves to gather all human beings under the roof of love and faithfulness. He also made them look forward to a marvelous Heaven and to live for an eternal life to come after this temporary life. And since for such causes competitors must work together and diverse people must cooperate, how will be the case with those with a common identity?

Moreover, he dyed the patriotic motive with a religious one and stated that to love your homeland is to believe, and to defend your property is part of good religion.

Such a strong heavenly bond joined all parties with a bond of solidarity and agreement, for they could not have authority over their lands and defend their sovereignty to please their Lord unless each and every one of them was a help and support to his brother, for one Muslim to another Muslim is like a solid wall (of bricks) supporting each other.

Finally, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) succeeded in uniting his Ummah and people because he turned them into a pious and faithful nation that works for its lifetime as if it will live forever and works for the Hereafter as if death will end it tomorrow. Therefore, this religion will only prosper by what caused its prosperity at the very beginning; as for those who are lagging behind, if they want to come forward, they have the way right in front of them.