Only in this way can the community of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, regain its rightful place among humanity. To realize this lofty goal, Muslims have to do several things.
First, we must applaud all services in the way of the Truth, instead of just those with which we agree. We must say:
“One who mentions my Lord’s name and praises and respects my Prophet is my brother and sister,”
and accept the others.
It does not matter which way we are following, for our God, book (the Qur’an), Prophet, qiblah (prayer direction), path, and thus our method, are one and the same. Our unity must not be subjective (based upon feelings), but objective (based upon thought and reason).
Secondly, we must never force someone to follow our own way.
The way of the Qur’an is to show tolerance and acceptance to everyone. Those who behave with tolerance and gentleness have solved a potential future problem. Pluralism allows everyone to serve the Qur’an and Islam in his or her own way and thereby accomplish various important matters, such as those related to the society or the economy. This was the practice under the Abbasids, with a few exceptions, and we should follow it. We must measure using the criteria of the Ahl al-Sunnah (the followers of the Prophet), discard that which should be discarded, keep that which should be kept, design a new world with new syntheses, and try to be the founders and pioneers of a new world.
For example, two groups that are not part of the Ahl al-Sunnah, the Mutazilah and the Jabariyah, always opposed each other. The first group believed in total human agency, while the second group believed in the total lack of human agency. Given these beliefs, their ways of understanding human willpower and choice, as well as God’s creation, were exact opposites. Today, many rationalists think like the Mutazilah.
However, the Ahl al-Sunnah took a seed of truth from each group and produced a synthesis. They told the Mu`tazilah that each person has a choice, as revealed in
“there is nothing for people except what they strive for with their own effort” (54:39) and
“If the Lord of all worlds does not will, you cannot will” (81:29).
They told the Jabariyah that their view was like kicking a person into the ocean and then saying: “Don’t get wet!” Thus, the synthesis that they developed was that God’s Will is an important principle that must not be forgotten. Your own will has such a small sphere of administration that its existence and non-existence are almost the same. However, it does exist and is the basis for sin or merit, punishment or reward.
Yes, all issues and principles in Islam are true, real, correct, and just.
In every way, Islam is a collection of unifying principles. Each different way and thought contains a seed of truth. Given this, we cannot ignore the different details created by God and the reality of the “inherent” way of creation. We cannot mix the water coming from different pools and form an imaginary single water way. Everyone can demonstrate the truth of the Qur’an and Islam in their own field, and so should not be preoccupied with others.
Even if we cannot unify ourselves, at least we should not disagree with one another. We must learn to praise or applaud every Muslim and support everyone who says “Allah” or “God.” By His Will, and with this intention, true unity will come about in a short time.
