Alhamdulillah, indeed all praise is due to Allah. We praise him, we seek his help we ask for his guidance and we beg for his forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from our soul’s evils and from the effects of our wrong doings. He whom Allah guides, no one can misguide; and he whom Allah leaves to stray, will find no one to guide him.

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad (pbuh) is his servant and messenger.

Allah almighty says in the Quran:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَـٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ صَفًّ۬ا كَأَنَّهُم بُنۡيَـٰنٌ۬ مَّرۡصُوصٌ۬

Truly Allah loves those who fight in His Cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure.

As-Saff Chapter 61 Verse 4

وَٱعۡتَصِمُواْ بِحَبۡلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعً۬ا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُواْ‌ۚ

And hold fast, by the rope which Allah Collectively; and be not divided among yourselves

Imran Chapter 3 Verse 103

The Quran is the syllabus of the Muslims and has been sent to us through our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in order to provide us with a means to seek guidance but it has also insisted that we use our intellect. The Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years. Some of the chapters were revealed in Makka and the others in Madinah. There is a clear distinction in style between the two types of chapters; Makkan chapters have a very spiritual tone with much mention of heaven and hell, reward and punishment, the day of judgement and death: all the things that move our hearts and encourage contemplation of our existence and destiny. Madinah chapters on the other hand have a more legislative tone where one will find the rulings of inheritance, divorce, money transactions, and so on. This chapter (Saff) was revealed in Madinah, where the first Muslim community and state was established; at a time when a structure was needed in order for the community to grow and be an example to others: How to implement Allah’s rule as a mercy to mankind.

“Truly Allah loves those who strive in his way as if they were a solid structure”; this Ayah indicates that as an Ummah (community) we need to be like a solid structure, and for a structure to be solid, we must have solid foundations along with a good framework (both from within and without). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that there will come a time when the ummah is like the “froth upon the sea.” (i.e. with no foundation or essence). He also gave the reasoning for why we will reach such a state and that was be cause our hearts will be filled with the love of the materialistic world, more than our love of the hereafter.

So as an Ummah we need to be solidly rooted in to all aspects of life and enhance our abilities collectively; From Medicine to Engineering… Science to Economics, History to Politics… sports to agriculture. We need to be the best in all of these aspects as a Muslim is not someone who settles for less. Our teaching states that the highest level of belief is “Ihsaan.” The root word for Ihsaan is “Hosn” which means beauty; and when our Prophet was asked by Angel Gabriel what Ihsaan is, he replied

“Ihsaan is to worship Allah as if you see him… and if you do not see him, then at least know that he sees you.”

If we were to follow this one rule, we could never commit a wrong action and everything that we do would be of the highest standard. When people working in a company see their Managing Director or superior approaching, they quickly re-arrange themselves and conduct themselves in the best manner by working more than they usually would and ensuring not to make any mistakes.. so for us as Muslims, who believe that Allah is watching us at all times, we should not have to change our ways if the Managing director enters as the lord of all the worlds is already watching us. So for us to be a solid structure we need to excel in all aspects of life. When one asks, “What is the best car in the world?” the answer is usually, “German cars, either Mercedes or BMW etc. When one asks, “Where is the best electrical equipment made?” the answer is usually Japan. But when one asks “what have the Muslims contributed to the world?” the answer always refers to the great historical characters who founded algebra, trigonometry, and much of the science that we know today. It is amazing when we look in to what our Muslim ancestors contributed to much of the technology we have today, but we need more than that. We need to excel in all aspects of life as this is a command from Allah and the teaching of our Prophet Mohamed. It is one thing reading about the legacies left by the historical greats, and it is another thing leaving our own legacy.

The only way for us to do this is to unite. A proverb in Egypt says,

“One man alone cannot build a single house… but 100 men together can build 100 houses”

When we unite, we can achieve so much more than if we were to be dispersed all over the land. An English proverb also says, “A chain is no stronger than its weakest link.”

Also in engineering, when a crane is built, the strength of each component is very light and quite weak, but when bound together a structure is created and the crane can lift tonnes of loads. The small strength of each individual component is multiplied when united with others. The same principle applies to people. When we stick together and do well, we can achieve so much more.

We pray 5 times a day and in each prayer we say “ihdina al Seraat al MustaQeem; (Guide us to the straight Path)” we canot say “ihdinee (guide me)” as this would nullify our prayer. So we are reminded at least 17 times a day when we read the Fatiha that we are a united Ummah. Hold on to Allah’s rope in collectiveness and BE NOT DIVIDED.

The essence of our teaching is Tawhid (monotheism, Unity of Allah). Tawhid also applies to the Ummah. Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) said, “The Ummah is one body; when one part is injured, the whole body is affected.”

So what do we need to do? If there is one verse we need to hold on to, it is the verse

“And hold fast, by the rope which Allah Collectively; and be not divided among yourselves”

We need to be very vigilant of our tongues. It is not difficult to come across those who condemn everyone, accusing others to be wrong and feeling that they are superior as they are part of the true way. You will find with those types of characters, that they find no good in anyone and have a constant negative tone to their talk. They reduce the true path to the small group that they are a member of and they are under the impression that many of the great scholars of the past were misguided. It is a shame to see nowadays also, people of knowledge and Shaikhs, standing on the pulpit and condemning other scholars and Sheikhs. This mentality will never unite the Ummah and we have to do our best not to get involved in discussions that are of no productive benefit.

Prophet Mohamed said in a Hadeeth:

There will be a Fitna* after me. He who is sitting in it will be better than he who is standing; He who is standing will be better than he who is walking; and he who is walking will be better than he who is running.”

The meaning of this Hadeeth is that one who is sitting in a gathering, with his companions, family etc, spreading talk that causes divisions is better than the one who is standing and talking to a crowd. The one who is standing talking to a crowd, instilling hatred in to people’s hearts of other Muslims is better than the one walking. The one walking means the one who is spreading the fitna further than his immediate surroundings; for example one who is sending emails, writing articles, going on TV to talk about the issue. And lastly the one who is walking is better than the one running. The one running means he who is exerting much effort to cause this division and add fuel to the fire of the fitna.

Notice the choice of words of our beloved Prophet (PBUH). He could have said that the one who is standing is worse than the one who is sitting and the one who is walking is worst than the one standing etc. But he (Pbuh) Chose to use the word “better” as it was of his nature to look at the good in people.

This is the mind set we must take when analysing matters. It is very easy to criticize and point out faults, but to give a constructive guide on how to deal with the matter in hand and turn it around takes much more skill. Islam is not like Marxism. Marxists are well-known for being critics and providing slogans but not ever providing a complete, lasting solution to the probiems of humanity. “Islam is the way” are the types of words we see written on the leaflets that are handed out, but what is needed more than the slogan is the unity of the Ummah to come together and contribute to strategic planning on how we can move forward.

(*Fitna; The root work of Fitna is “to test metals” as when you test metals, the impurities come to the top; so in times of fitna, our true nature shows. The word Fitna is used to mean civil-war or tribulation and it is used when stating that it is a test from Allah)

The dictionary defines Unity as: “absence of diversity; unvaried or uniform character.”

Allah is one, Islam is our religion, Tawhid (unity) is our essence, and it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to ask themselves… Am I causing a division? But more importantly What am I doing to hold the Ummah together?

People often fall in to the trap of looking to the exterior, analyzing the world, looking at the vast differences between nations and religions and divisions and sub-divisions within each group. This often results in depression and a sense of helplessness. “What can I do by myself? I am only one person.” are the words that we hear people say. But here is much we can do and if we excel in our own way, lead by example and not despair. In chapter Yusuf, Prophet Jacob tells his sons:

يَـٰبَنِىَّ ٱذۡهَبُواْ فَتَحَسَّسُواْ مِن يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلَا تَاْيۡـَٔسُواْ مِن رَّوۡحِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۖ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَا يَاْيۡـَٔسُ مِن رَّوۡحِ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا ٱلۡقَوۡمُ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرُونَ (٨٧)

“O my sons! Go you and enquire about Yûsuf (Joseph) and his brother, and never give up hope of Allâh’s Mercy. Certainly no one despairs of Allâh’s Mercy, except the people who disbelieve.” (87)

Yusuf; Chapter 12, Verse 87

Never despair or give up hope. Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) was a very optimistic, positive and hopeful person, who always gave people hope.

Ahmed Zarooq, a great Moroccan scholar said that “the human soul flees from moderation in everything, and it is up to us to keep ourselves under constant examination to ensure that we take the right route.” The second chapter in the Quran is “Baqara”. The core message of the chapter Baqara is that the Son of Adam is responsible for the preservation of the world with Islam as our system. Throughout the chapter are examples of people who followed the prophetic tradition and succeeded and people who refused the prophets and failed. The chapter consists of 286 verses. The verse right in the middle (verse 143) states:

وَكَذَٲلِكَ جَعَلۡنَـٰكُمۡ أُمَّةً۬ وَسَطً۬ا لِّتَڪُونُواْ شُہَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ شَهِيدً۬ا‌ۗ وَمَا جَعَلۡنَا ٱلۡقِبۡلَةَ ٱلَّتِى كُنتَ عَلَيۡہَآ إِلَّا لِنَعۡلَمَ مَن يَتَّبِعُ ٱلرَّسُولَ مِمَّن يَنقَلِبُ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيۡهِ‌ۚ وَإِن كَانَتۡ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ هَدَى ٱللَّهُ‌ۗ وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَـٰنَكُمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِٱلنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ۬ (١٤٣)

Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced That you might be witnesses over the nations and the Messenger a witness over yourselves; and We appointed the Qiblah to which thou wast used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels (from the faith). Indeed it was (a change) momentous except to those guided by Allah. And never would Allah make your faith of no effect. For Allah is to all people most surely full of kindness, Most Merciful. (143)

Baqara; Chapter 2, Verse 143

My focus is on Allah almighty’s statement that we are a “Justly balanced” Ummah. Neither right wing nor left. Moderate in all aspects of life.

So where do we go from here in order to maintain and increase the unity in our Ummah?

Here are 7 steps towards unifying the ummah:

1. We start first and foremost with ourselves by purifying our intentions for Allah; (as all actions are judged according to the intentions)
2. Become a part of the community in your local area and work on contributing with your own abilities by bringing other brothers and sisters together towards a good cause (eg. Quran lessons, science and educational lessons, regular sport activities, weekly gatherings, outings etc) (as the hand that is giving is better than the one taking)
3. Do not look down on anyone with the belief that you are better than them as only Allah knows our ranks and do not judge people by the apparent or because they are part of a particular group. (It was said by the scholar Fakhr al-Din al-Razi that Omar Bin Alkhataab was loved by Allah while he was worshiping idols; Omar Bin Alkhataab turned out to be one of the greatest leaders of our Ummah.
4. Avoid being involved in any talk that will not assist your cause.
5. Do not take an extreme path of thought as we discussed.
6. Maintain consistency and patience in your cause. Every long journey starts with a single step.
7. Have faith and put your trust in Allah.

فإذَا عَزَمت  فتوَكَّل علَى الله

{{And when you have made your resolution, place your trust in Allah}}

Imran; Chapter 3. Verse 109

W Allaho Aalam.