How to unite the Islamic Ummah?
The title is an article[1] by Muhammadrasul Saaduev, Imam of Central Jum`ah Mosque | Makhachkala | 26 Aug 201.
Enmity against Islam
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.
Solution
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
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.
Emotional bonds
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.
Hearts and deeds
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.
Remembrance of Allah and brotherhood
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.
Conclusion
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.