The message of Islam is a message of unity, security and brotherhood. Imam Ali (as) has an eternal quote about the whole of mankind. He says, "Every human you encounter is your brother either in your faith or in creation." In any case, he is a fellow human. All humans should be united and loving towards one another; it is not about specific group or community being united. Thus, Muslims are ordered to do good to even those who are different from you in faith and beliefs. “God does not forbid you from dealing with kindness and justice with those [polytheists] who did not make war against you on account of religion and did not expel you from your homes. Indeed God loves the just.” [60:8] This is the Islamic rationale: it's to say, that if someone simply holds different views or ideologies from yours, you cannot punish them for that, and you are not one to judge them. Imam Ali (as) also says: “Judgment belongs to God and the return is to Him on the day of Judgment.”
October 09, 1996
In a hymn to Imam Ali (a.s.), it is written that the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) paid great attention to certain issues during his eventful life. Justice and unity were among the things he always paid great attention to. These are great lessons for us. Unity of the Islamic Ummah was of paramount importance to Imam Ali (a.s.). Administration of justice in the Islamic society was also important to the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.). The fact that he always pursued justice is evident in all cases. He went through the toughest tests of his life - the difficulties and wars which were imposed on him - as a result of administering justice. He tolerated great hardships, such as the three wars he fought during his brief rule. This is because he always sought to administer justice. He always pursued justice decisively. He also gave up his own rights for the sake of God, Islam, and unity of Muslims and never engaged in any confrontation. He always held Islam, Muslims, the Islamic Ummah, and Islamic unity in high regard.
In Nahjul Balaghah, Imam Ali (a.s.) says: "So I did not get involved until I saw a group of apostates who had turned their back on Islam and were inviting people to annihilate the religion of Muhammad."
This means when Imam Ali (a.s.) realized that the issue of Islam and interests of the Islamic Ummah were at stake, he believed that staying silent was not right and entered the scene to create unity among Muslims. This goes back to the period after the demise of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) when the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) suffered great hardships. He even pursued justice in those times. Creating unity was the type of justice he pursued in this case. These are lessons for us.
Today, the world of Islam needs to turn to wisdom and reason and to get used to thinking, to gaining a correct understanding of issues and interpreting them in the right way. Today, the world of Islam needs to gain a true understanding of the camp of the enemies of the Islamic Ummah. We should know our enemies and friends.
Sometimes, it has been witnessed that a group of Muslims cooperated with our enemies in order to strike our own friends and brothers. Well, this harms us and it agitates and weakens the world of Islam. This results from lack of foresight. Today, the world of Islam needs foresight, acumen and wisdom. It needs the hidden virtues of reason: "to unveil before them the hidden virtues of reason".
Another important need of the world of Islam is unity. We should pass through trivial, personal and ideological differences and we should form a united Ummah: "Verily, this Ummah of yours is a single Ummah, and I am your Lord and Nurturer: therefore serve Me" [The Holy Quran, 21: 92]. This is Allah the Exalted's command. Are belief in the Holy Quran, belief in the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), belief in a single God and belief in a single Ka'bah and qiblah and confrontation against a united camp of enemies not enough for the unity of the world of Islam? Why do some people not understand this? Why do some people not understand these clear truths? What is the purpose of America and the camp of westerners in promoting Iranophobia and Shiaphobia? Why do some people not think about their goal?
The usurping Zionist regime - today, the existence of this regime is the greatest disaster of the world of Islam - should be able to live comfortably? It should be able to resolve its problems and it should overcome the destructive factors which thankfully exist in the foundations of this usurping regime? This is not possible except by busying Muslims with trivial issues, creating discord among them and magnifying small issues.
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