Keenness on Agreement and Unity
06/02/2025| IslamWeb
Author: Dr. Muhammad Al-Hamoud An-Najdi
All praise be to Allah and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his Family, Companions, and those who followed their guidance.
The steadfastness of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah in adhering to the Quran and the Sunnah, and preserving unity and harmony within the community, is one of the most important pillars of their blessed methodology. Allah, the Almighty, says, “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.” (Quran 3: 103)
Ibn Jarir At-Tabari said, “What Allah, the Almighty, intends by this is: hold fast to the religion of Allah, which He has commanded you, and to His covenant, which He made with you in His Book, including unity and adhering to the word of truth, and submitting to Allah’s command.”
Ibn Jarir At-Tabari also narrated through his chains of transmission that Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) interpreted the expression “the Rope of Allah” as ‘the community’. He also mentioned other sayings attributed to the righteous predecessors regarding the interpretation of the expression “the Rope of Allah”, as the Quran, sincerity to Allah Alone, and Islam. (Tafsir At-Tabari, vol.4, pp. 30, 31)
Ash-Shawkani stated, “Allah has commanded them to unite in holding fast to the religion of Islam or the Quran, and He has forbidden them from division resulting from differences in religion.”
The true Ahlus-Sunnah are those who adhere to solidarity and unity. They are committed to this and advise one another to do so, both outwardly and inwardly.
When they gather and call for unity, they follow two important principles:
First: Gathering must be based on the word of truth, which is the texts of the Quran and Sunnah according to the understanding of the early generations of the Muslim nation. Second: Observing the ethics of disagreement.
First: Gathering must be based on the word of truth
Without the word of truth, there is no true gathering. This is because falsehood and its people are in great division, and they cannot remain in unity.
Therefore, the means of unity is following the entire religion, both in knowledge and action, and its result is agreement, unity, and power.
Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (
) said, “The means of unity and harmony is working according to religion as a whole, which is the worship of Allah Alone, without ascribing any partners to Him, as He has commanded both inwardly and outwardly ... Unity results in Allah’s mercy and pleasure, the happiness of this world and the Hereafter, and one’s face being white (i.e. one’s salvation) in the Hereafter.” (Majmu` Al-Fatawa, vol. 1, p. 17)
He said, “When they gather, they become obedient to Allah, which is a means of receiving Allah’s mercy. Therefore, obedience to Allah is never manifested in doing something that He has not commanded, whether in belief, speech, or action. If the statement or action upon which they have gathered is not something Allah has commanded, it would not be obedience to Allah, nor a means of attaining His mercy.”
He also added, “Whenever people neglect some of Allah's commandments, animosity and hatred arise among them. If people divide, they become corrupt and perish; but if they unite, they are reconciled and empowered. For unity is mercy, while division is punishment.” (Majmu` Al-Fatawa, vol. 3, p. 421)
Ahlus-Sunnah hold fast to the Quran and the Sunnah according to the perception of the righteous predecessors. They also adhere to the believing community. They stick to the principles of the Quran, Sunnah, and consensus, and distance themselves from using ambiguous texts that cause division and scatter the community. For them, unity is the key to salvation in this world and the Hereafter.
This is evident in the reality of the people of religious innovations and desires, who are united upon innovative principles in religion. Their major sects have split into countless diverse and conflicting groups, after they departed from the truth and the straight path and refused to unite behind it.
Ash-Shatibi () said, “A group of scholars stated that the principles of innovation in religion are four, and the seventy-two sects have branched out from these four: the Khawarij (the Kharijites, i.e. a group of Muslims who practiced ex-communication of believers and legitimized violence on those whom they deemed infidels), the Rafidah (those who rejected the legitimacy of the Caliphates of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them, and considered ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, to be the legitimate successor of the Prophet 
), the Qadarites (those who reject the concept of predestination and the prior knowledge of Allah, the Almighty, and deny that Allah wrote the decrees concerning His creation), and the Murji’ah (those who prioritize the importance of one’s faith over his deeds, so the lack of good deeds does not affect one’s faith as good deeds do not help with disbelief.).” (Al-I`tisam, vol. 2, p. 220)
Shaykh Al-Islam said, “Innovation in religion is associated with division, just as the Sunnah is associated with unity. It is said, ‘Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah,’ just as it is said, ‘The people of religious innovation and division.’” (Al-Istiqamah, vol. 1, p. 42)
Second: Observing the ethics of disagreement
Just as Allah, the Almighty, commanded unity and holding fast together, He also warned against division and innovation in religion and forbade them. He, the Almighty, says, “He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus - to establish the religion and not be divided therein. Difficult for those who associate others with Allah is that to which you invite them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him].” (Quran 42: 13) He also says, “And, [moreover], this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This has He instructed you that you may become righteous.” (Quran 6: 153)
Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said, “When the scholars of the Companions, the second generation and those who followed them differed concerning a certain point, they followed Allah’s command in His saying, “And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.” (Quran 4: 59) They discussed matters through consultation and sincere advice, and sometimes their opinions would differ on scholarly and practical issues while maintaining unity, mutual protection, and the brotherhood of faith.” (Majmu` Al-Fatawa, vol. 24, p. 132)
This matter is evident in the disagreements that occurred among Ahlus-Sunnah. For instance, the Companions themselves differed in some issues of creed, but those issues were not among the major or fundamental issues in this respect.
An example of this is that they disagreed on the death of the Messenger of Allah () and the dispute was resolved by Abu Bakr’s stance and his statement, “Whoever worships Muhammad, then Muhammad has died; and whoever worships Allah, then Allah is Ever-Living and never dies.” Then, he recites Allah’s saying, “Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]?” (Quran 3: 144)
After this dispute, they all surrendered to Allah’s decree.
Then, the event of the Saqifah occurred, and the Companions disagreed over who should succeed the Messenger of Allah () in leading the Muslims. The dispute was resolved, and the community unanimously agreed on choosing Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).
Then, they disagreed on whether to send out the army of Usamah or not. The dispute was resolved by the determination of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to send it out.
Next, they argued over the issue of the apostates who withheld Zakah, and the dispute was settled by Abu Bakr’s firm decision to fight them, with the remaining Companions who had initially disagreed eventually agreeing with him.
Another point of disagreement was whether the Prophet () actually saw his Lord, the Almighty, during the Night of Ascension (Mi`raj) or not.
Additionally, they had differences in subsidiary and practical jurisprudential rulings, which were numerous and well-known.
The Companions did not declare each other disbelievers; rather, they excused one another in case of differences. When the Fitnah (discord) occurred and some of the Companions sided with `Ali, while others sided with Mu`awiyah (may Allah be pleased with them), this did not lead to enmity between them. None of them declared their opponents, whether from among the Companions or others, to be disbelievers.
Ibn Al-Qayyim stated, “The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) disagreed on many issues of jurisprudence, and they were the leaders of the believers and the most perfect in faith. However, thanks to Allah, they never disagreed on any issue regarding Allah’s Names, Attributes, or Actions.”
As for their attitudes toward those who opposed them in fundamental matters rather than subsidiary ones, they were fair and merciful. For example, Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) disassociated himself from the Qadariyyah, and Ibn `Abbas showed mercy toward the Khawarij and engaged in discussions with them, which led two thousand of them to return to the path of the Sunnah and the unity of the community.
Similarly, Imam Ahmad, the Imam of Ahlus-Sunnah, and ‘Abdul’aziz Al-Kinani had similar stances with their opponents. Likewise did those who followed their examples as Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (
all).
Despite all this, they were the most diligent in seeking unity and solidarity, and in reconciling differences among people.
Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “You know that among the great principles, which are the essence of the religion, are bringing the hearts together, the unity of the word, and the reconciliation of relationships. Allah, the Almighty, says, ‘So fear Allah and amend that which is between you.’ (Quran 8: 1)” (Majmu` Al-Fatawa, vol. 28, p. 50)
We ask Allah, the Almighty, to rectify our words and deeds, and unite our hearts. He is the Best to be asked. Allah, the Almighty, knows best. May Allah’s peace, blessings, and mercy be upon His servant and Messenger, Muhammad, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.