The unity and solidarity of the Muslim community (Ummah) is
something called for by Allah the Almighty in His Noble Book and on
the tongue of His trustworthy Messenger (peace be upon him and his
progeny). Allah says: “”And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of
Allah, and be not divided among yourselves,.” (Aal ‘Imran: 103). And
He says: “”And be not as those who divided and differed among
themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for
whom there is an awful torment.”” (Aal ‘Imran: 105). Indeed, He even
termed disagreement as disbelief (kufr), saying: “but they differed –
some of them believed and others disbelieved” (Al-Baqarah: 253). The
Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: “Do not revert to
disbelief after me by striking the necks of one another.” This call is the
call of Allah, which all Muslims must respond to.
The Imams of the Household of the Prophet (peace be upon them) are
the most eager of people for unity and solidarity. Their greatest step in
this field is to hold fast to the correct methodology upon which
decisive evidence has been established, to safeguard it from deviation
and distortion, and to urge people to learn it and revive it so that they
may preserve it for whoever from the Ummah, in this generation and
those to come, desires and seeks it. In this field, they are the
forerunners whom no one can catch up with. The Prophet (peace be
upon him and his progeny) said: “Verily, for every innovation that
nearly causes Islam to perish, there is a guardian from my Household
who proclaims the truth and illuminates it, and repels the plot of the
plotters. So take heed, O people of insight, and rely on Allah.”
The scholars of Zaidiyyah —may Allah elevate their banner—are
pained by the division of the Ummah and saddened by the state of
fragmentation and splintering it has reached in this era. They spare no
effort in striving for unity and unifying ranks at every opportunity
available to them. They have expressed these fervent feelings and
launched their calls for the necessity of unity in their writings and
have presented them in their authored works to the best of their
ability, as they do not have media channels to convey their ideas or
states to adopt their calls. And “Allah burdens not a person beyond his
scope.” (Al-Baqarah: 286).
Among the examples of this is the statement of Imam al-Hujjah, the
Reviver of the Religion, Majd al-Din ibn Muhammad ibn Mansur al-
Mu’ayyadi (peace be upon him) in his introduction to the book Al-
Masabih:
“It has been established with certainty that division in religion has
occurred, and the hadiths about the splitting of the Ummah are
confirmed by reality. Allah said: but they will not cease to disagree,
(118) Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy, and for
that did He create them”‘ (Hud: 118-119). The Star of the progeny
(Najm Aal al-Rasul), al-Qasim ibn Ibrahim (peace be upon them) said
in his interpretation: ‘Allah said: “disagree” because disagreement will
always persist between the people of truth and falsehood. It is news
from Allah the Almighty about what will be, that they will never cease
to differ in what they newly embark upon. So the disagreement is from
them and among them, and for that reason Allah attributed it to them.
And His statement: “Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His
Mercy” – He means the believers, for they are harmonious in their
religion, not differing. And His statement, Blessed and Exalted is He:
“and for that did He create them” – He says, Glorified is He: For the
capability (al-makinnah) [i.e., to enable] that which necessitates
reward and punishment from evil and good deeds. Had He not created
them as such, and upon that nature, they would not have differed in
anything, nor would any command or prohibition have been sent
down upon them, nor would there be among them any evildoer, any
doer of good, any disbeliever, or any believer…’ … So ends the speech of
al-Qasim (peace be upon him).”
He (Imam Majd Al-Deen) continues:
“Indeed, every faction/ sect now claims that truth is with it and
salvation is for its followers:
‘And each claims a connection to Layla,
But Layla does not acknowledge their connection.’
… Except that a misguided group among those who have no regard for
religion, who contradict reason and the Clear Book, have gone to the
extent of declaring all those who engage in theological inquiry (al-
nazirin) to be correct. The aim of most of this group is merely to assist
the people of politics and to reconcile the divided factions. They have
combined all manner of misguidances and upheld all kinds of
ignorance.”
He (Imam Majd Al-Deen) continues :
“So, if you become fully aware of that, and comprehend from Allah and
His Messenger what He obligates upon you regarding those paths, you
will know that it is incumbent upon you to recognize the truth and
follow it, to be loyal to its people and to be with them: “O you who
believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in words
and deeds).”‘ (At-Tawbah: 119). And to dissociate from falsehood and
its followers, and to separate from them: ‘…And if any amongst you
takes them as Auliya’, then surely he is one of them….’ (Al-Ma’idah:
51).”
He continues:
“You will only be able to know the truth and its people by relying on
the clear proofs of Allah and His manifest, evident signs, with which
He guides creation to the truth—without turning to desire (hawa), or
paying attention to disputation (jidal) and quarreling (mira’), or caring
for a specific school (madhhab), or defending a position (mansib). “O
you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah,
even though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin…’
(An-Nisa’: 135). You have heard Allah’s censure of those who took
their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah, and what He recounted
of some of them disavowing others, and some of them cursing others,
and the severing of their ties upon seeing the punishment (on the Day
of Resurrection). Let not the intensity of falsehood and the multitude
of its people alarm you, nor let the weakness of the truth and the
fewness of its party grieve you, for your Lord, Glorious is His Majesty,
says: “And most of mankind will not believe even if you desire it
eagerly.” (Yusuf: 103), and ‘…But few of My slaves are grateful.” .’
(Saba’: 13).”
He (Imam Majd Al-Deen) continues:
“Know—as I have previously mentioned to you—that claims are
shared among all sects. All of them claim to be the most deserving of
the truth, and that their masters and elders are the ones owed
obedience, and are the people of the Sunnah and the Jama’ah
(community). It is known that no statement is accepted without proof,
as clarified by the evidences of intellects and the decisive rulings of the
Sunnah and the Book.
Allah the Almighty knows—and He is All-Knowing of everything—that
we have not based all that we have been commanded upon anything
but fairness and submission to the judgment of the Majestic Lord, in
accordance with the evidence: ‘Allah’s Fitrah, with which He has
created mankind. No change let there be in Khalq-illah (Allah’s
creation).’ (Ar-Rum: 30).”
Then he (Imam Majd Al-Deen) concludes his speech, swearing (peace
be upon him):
“And I say: I swear by Allah, the Most High, the Most Great—an oath
whose truthfulness the All-Knowing, the All-Aware knows—that we
have no aim or desire other than submitting to the judgment of Allah
and adhering to the requirement of His command. If we knew the
truth to be on the side of the furthest of creation, be he Arab or non-
Arab, Qurayshi or Ethiopian, we would accept it from him, receive it
from him, and we would not be too proud to follow him. Rather, we
would be among his supporters and followers upon it. So let the
observer say what he wills, and let him not watch over except his Lord,
and let him not fear except his sin, for judgment belongs to Allah and
the appointment is the Resurrection, and to Allah all matters are
returned.”
Also, the statement of his student, the Master, the Allama, the Proof
(al-Hujjah), al-Husayn ibn Yahya (may Allah have mercy on him) about
the division of the Ummah. He said in the introduction to his book Al-
Qawl al-Sadid:
“Among the wonders that confound minds is that this Ummah has split
into various sects, and every sect claims it is upon the truth. Each has
become enamored with what it has adopted, and every sect declares
those who oppose its views to be astray. Each faction attempts to
refute its opponents through domination, overpowering, and
partisanship that does not distinguish truth from misguidance…”
Then he said (may Allah have mercy on him):
“What would be fitting for all the scholars of this Ummah, and all the
proponents of the schools of thought, is to cooperate upon the truth:
to know it, submit to it, and to research and investigate it with
earnestness, sincerity, mutual understanding, and humility. They
should know and understand that the problem is general for all, that
this great calamity is upon all, and that there is no salvation from it
except by following the truth and embracing it.”
He continues:
“If only the entire Ummah would delegate for them a body of
scholars—the intelligent, the pure, the forbearing, those distant from
worldly pursuits and following desires—to mutually study the subject
of the Hereafter, and to research the path that leads them to Paradise
and diverts them from the Fire, with earnestness, sincerity, humility,
and submission. And to look into all the schools of thought, at the
positives and negatives, and to distinguish between proof and doubt,
so that the entire Ummah may be upon insight and certainty regarding
their affair.”
Then he concludes his speech, swearing:
“By Allah, besides whom there is no deity, if we knew that the truth
was with the Jews, or the Christians, or any faction from among the
Muslim sects, we would submit to it, embrace it, and humble ourselves
before it; for we desire nothing but the path of salvation, and we know
that the truth is the path of salvation. We receive no worldly reward
from anyone for this school of thought (Zaidiyyah). Indeed, we would
love for the truth to be with one of the easier schools so we could
embrace it. We did not embrace this school of thought that we have
adopted out of desire for it; rather, definitive proofs compelled us to
it.”
[Al-Qawl al-Sadid Sharh Manzumat Hidayah al-Rashid, Al-Husayn ibn
Yahya al-Mutahhar, Page 20]