Maintaining Ummah Unity (Abdullah Cheng )
Dear brothers and sisters,
One of the biggest weaknesses of our Ummah today is the level of disunity among the Muslims. Of course, this has already been the case right after the passing our beloved Prophet ﷺ even during the time of the Sahaba, but today’s situation is far worse and at a whole different level compared to those times. It’s no longer just 2 groups of Muslims, but each group contains people who want to create more groups and divisions, and create problems that are not even problems to begin with.
We need to understand that for the non-Muslims, they don’t even understand nor do they care which group or school of thought you follow. For them, every single one of us represents the Muslim community as a whole, which is why we need to make sure that we fulfill our responsibility of keeping the positive image of Islam.
Allah (SWT) emphasizes in the Qur’an:
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا
Hold firmly onto the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided [3:103]
This has been demonstrated many times during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ and from his actions and sayings. There has been no other time in the time of human history that mankind has been as united as during the time of the Prophet ﷺ.
In one Hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said:
يَدُ اللَّهِ مَعَ الْجَمَاعَةِ
The Hand of Allah is with the Jama’ah (united community). [At-Tirmidhi 2166]
There is khair and special blessing to a community that is united together. This is why it is always encouraged for us to pray together, eat together, learn together, perform good deeds together.
Maintaining unity within the Muslim community sometimes is more important than the actual correct opinion if there are multiple opinions among the leaders and scholars. If it is a matter of Halal and Haram, you have to choose the Halal, even if it goes against the community. But if the community is presented with different opinions and choices that are acceptable to follow, it doesn’t matter whether your opinion is more correct or mine is more correct, following the Jama’ah is more important in this case in order to preserve the unity.
There is an example presented by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (RA). It has been narrated in Sunan Abi Dawud that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to pray 2 rakat instead of 4 rakat while he was in Mina performing Hajj. Umar (RA) did the same, and Uthman (RA) also used to do the same, but when Uthman became the Khalifa, he started praying 4 rakat. Even though Abdullah ibn Mas’ud disagreed and criticized Uthman for doing this, because according to him, praying 2 rakat is the correct opinion, however, he also prayed 4 together. His explanation was:
الْخِلاَفُ شَرٌّ Disagreement is evil [Sunan Abi Dawud 1960]
Even though the Companions have a difference of opinion, for the sake of Maslahah and greater good for the Ummah, they decided to choose unity over division. This is because they understood the benefit of unity and the danger of disunity.
This is exactly how we should approach difference of opinions in our community, especially when it comes to Fiqh issues such as the exact timing of the prayer, how we offer the prayers, the time to break our fast, and also, the day of Ramadan from moonsighting. Scholars of the past emphasize the importance of respecting the locals and their practices and avoid opposing them in issues that are disputed. You may have a valid opinion and you believe that it is more correct, but that does not give you the right to act on your own and create divisions.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
The end of Ramadan is on the day when you end it, and the Eid of sacrifice is on the day when you sacrifice. [Sunan Abi Dawud 2324]
This tells us that the days of Eid depends on the community and not personal decisions, they depend more on the collective act of celebration rather than the exact date. The Prophet ﷺ also stated in the same Hadith, that Arafah, Mina, Muzdalifah, and Makkah are all places of worship. Even if someone considers the rituals should have been done on other days, the sanctity and holiness of these places don’t disappear just because they not on the correct days. Even if someone thinks that Arafah should be on another day, they should still follow the Jama’ah and stick with them.
Therefore my brothers and sisters, we need to think from a wider perspective, and consider for a longer future, that there are far bigger and more urgent issues that need to be addressed in our Ummah, and we do not have the luxury to drag ourselves in trivial issues.
May Allah strengthen our Ummah with unity and wisdom, may Allah remove any hatred within ourselves, and may Allah forgive our shortcomings.
One of the biggest weaknesses of our Ummah today is the level of disunity among the Muslims. Of course, this has already been the case right after the passing our beloved Prophet ﷺ even during the time of the Sahaba, but today’s situation is far worse and at a whole different level compared to those times. It’s no longer just 2 groups of Muslims, but each group contains people who want to create more groups and divisions, and create problems that are not even problems to begin with.
We need to understand that for the non-Muslims, they don’t even understand nor do they care which group or school of thought you follow. For them, every single one of us represents the Muslim community as a whole, which is why we need to make sure that we fulfill our responsibility of keeping the positive image of Islam.
Allah (SWT) emphasizes in the Qur’an:
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا
Hold firmly onto the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided [3:103]
This has been demonstrated many times during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ and from his actions and sayings. There has been no other time in the time of human history that mankind has been as united as during the time of the Prophet ﷺ.
In one Hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said:
يَدُ اللَّهِ مَعَ الْجَمَاعَةِ
The Hand of Allah is with the Jama’ah (united community). [At-Tirmidhi 2166]
There is khair and special blessing to a community that is united together. This is why it is always encouraged for us to pray together, eat together, learn together, perform good deeds together.
Maintaining unity within the Muslim community sometimes is more important than the actual correct opinion if there are multiple opinions among the leaders and scholars. If it is a matter of Halal and Haram, you have to choose the Halal, even if it goes against the community. But if the community is presented with different opinions and choices that are acceptable to follow, it doesn’t matter whether your opinion is more correct or mine is more correct, following the Jama’ah is more important in this case in order to preserve the unity.
There is an example presented by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (RA). It has been narrated in Sunan Abi Dawud that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to pray 2 rakat instead of 4 rakat while he was in Mina performing Hajj. Umar (RA) did the same, and Uthman (RA) also used to do the same, but when Uthman became the Khalifa, he started praying 4 rakat. Even though Abdullah ibn Mas’ud disagreed and criticized Uthman for doing this, because according to him, praying 2 rakat is the correct opinion, however, he also prayed 4 together. His explanation was:
الْخِلاَفُ شَرٌّ Disagreement is evil [Sunan Abi Dawud 1960]
Even though the Companions have a difference of opinion, for the sake of Maslahah and greater good for the Ummah, they decided to choose unity over division. This is because they understood the benefit of unity and the danger of disunity.
This is exactly how we should approach difference of opinions in our community, especially when it comes to Fiqh issues such as the exact timing of the prayer, how we offer the prayers, the time to break our fast, and also, the day of Ramadan from moonsighting. Scholars of the past emphasize the importance of respecting the locals and their practices and avoid opposing them in issues that are disputed. You may have a valid opinion and you believe that it is more correct, but that does not give you the right to act on your own and create divisions.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
The end of Ramadan is on the day when you end it, and the Eid of sacrifice is on the day when you sacrifice. [Sunan Abi Dawud 2324]
This tells us that the days of Eid depends on the community and not personal decisions, they depend more on the collective act of celebration rather than the exact date. The Prophet ﷺ also stated in the same Hadith, that Arafah, Mina, Muzdalifah, and Makkah are all places of worship. Even if someone considers the rituals should have been done on other days, the sanctity and holiness of these places don’t disappear just because they not on the correct days. Even if someone thinks that Arafah should be on another day, they should still follow the Jama’ah and stick with them.
Therefore my brothers and sisters, we need to think from a wider perspective, and consider for a longer future, that there are far bigger and more urgent issues that need to be addressed in our Ummah, and we do not have the luxury to drag ourselves in trivial issues.
May Allah strengthen our Ummah with unity and wisdom, may Allah remove any hatred within ourselves, and may Allah forgive our shortcomings.