وَاعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُو
Hold firmly to the Rope of Allah (Surah Al-Imran—Quran3: 103)
Crown Prince Salman delivered an annual speech on-behalf of the Saudi King at the reception for the leaders of Islamic countries, dignitaries, guest pilgrims of the king and heads of Hajj missions at Mina Palace on Wednesday October 16, 2013. His highness, Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, is the king and a Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and he made the following statements in his message. Having collected and listed his statements here, I am glad to offer my sincere opinion and comments with due respect to the king:
1. “Our goals are for the interests of Muslims and because of the fear of division among Muslims. Dialogue between Islamic sects is the best way to unite and understand each other. Our differences should not affect the unity of the Islamic ummah.”
2. He called on Muslims to put aside their differences and rivalries, hailing the establishment of a Center for Dialogue between Islamic Sects in the city of Medina. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had reportedly adopted this plan earlier this year.
3. He affirmed that Muslims across the world “share the same worries and hopes,” and would only be successful by “holding tight to our belief.”
4. “It should be clear to the whole world that we respect them and value their humanitarian contribution throughout history, but there would be no option left (but to take action) against whoever tries to manipulate us with their narrow views or interests.” He warned that the Islamic ummah would not allow others to interfere in its affairs, undermine its security, or disrespect Islam.
5. He further stated, “From the land of the Prophet’s message, we are telling the world that we are a nation that will never compromise its religious and moral values and we will never allow anyone to offend the sovereignty of our nation or interfere in its internal or foreign affairs,” the statement read.
6. The king urged Muslims to unify and deal “with a forgiving humanity that does not reject others just because they believe in different religions.”He said Muslims should honor agreements based on Islam’s values, ethics and principles. “What we disagree on, the decisive words (on this) is stated in the Holy Qur’an: ‘To you be your way, and to me mine’. He said Islam encourages Muslims to try to understand and engage in dialogue with others. It is a religion of “moderation, clarity and forgiveness” that respects the “freedom of religions, cultures and beliefs.”
7. The king expressed his hopes for mutual respect and friendship between different countries of the world, regardless of conflicting interests. …”He urged others to respect Islam and Muslims. “If this is our method in dealing with non-Muslims, then it is a must for all of us to discard disagreements and conflicts among Muslims.” The king further urged Muslims to seek agreement on all internal issues.
8. “In this era of rivalries, we must reject authoritarianism and arrogance and if we realize this, then our hearts will have the values of friendship and whoever disagrees is on his own, as we have the pride and dignity of our people.”
The first and foremost goal of our fragmented Muslim community (or so-called ummah) over the centuries and to the present has been to restore the urgently needed Muslim unity. The Prophetic mission began with the compact of Medina (as ummah of democracy including Muslims and non-Muslims as equal citizens and signatories to the written constitution of Medina). The ummah of democracy came about for the accomplishment of the goals and objectives of ‘ummah Islamiyya’ and above all for the ‘ummah Insaniya’ since prophet Muhammad’s (Pbuh) mission was meant for the entire human family (un-nas). The Muslims have well passed beyond the fear of division since divisions have been there and are still there but have been ignored for centuries and even to the present time.
Dialogues, of Muslim countries (or of Islamic civilization if it can be so considered) and of all countries of the world (all civilizations), fall under the tawhidic Islamic world-view. Such dialogues and reconciliations are not only Islamic requirements for all Muslim communities and sects but are indeed an actual jihad through which Muslims are to undergo individual and collective ego taming (Tazkiya-un-nafs) to achieve and practice true Islamic/universal virtues and values of tolerance, empathy, mutual forgiveness, reconciliation, love, harmony and peace.
Reconciling sectarian and all other differences among Muslim peoples worldwide, should have been at the pinnacle of this true jihad. Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) said,” Reconciliation of your differences is more worthy than all prayers and all fasting.” And even if certain interpretational differences among the Muslim sects can not be reconciled, harmony and peace between them can still be achieved most certainly by setting aside some of those irreconcilable differences.
For centuries Muslims have failed miserably to set aside their ever increasing internecine sectarian, ethnic, racial and cultural differences and rivalries that go on fraying the moral and social fabric of Muslim peoples worldwide to this day. The organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was established in Rabat, Morocco in the year 1969 and in the past 44 years has accomplished very little in terms of reconciliation and internal unity.
Let us hope and pray that this year’s plan adopted by the OIC (through a Center for Dialogue between Islamic Sects in the city of Medina), being preached by King Abdullah in his annual speech (of October 16, 2013), begins to accomplish true Islamic goals and objectives for the Muslims everywhere in the world.
However, I am very much bothered by the contradictory (Saudi ruling family-centric) activities of Saudi head of intelligence, Prince Bandar bin Sultan – a true buddy of President George W. Bush and the US neocons during his 22 years Saudi ambassadorship in Washington – now beating a drum to warn the American Administration that Saudi Arabia will make a “major shift” in its relations with the US, not just because of US failure to strike Syria but for its start of a possible reconciliation process with Iran. Is the Saudi King really aware of the Anti-Shia activities of Saudi intelligence head Bandar? Few may realize that there are Saudi-Iranian battlegrounds in the region that not only include Syria, Yemen, Bahrain but also Pakistan and Afghanistan. Saudis’ have been enthusiastic about funding Salafey groups everywhere and King’s speech to Muslim leaders at the annual Hajj ceremony makes no sense to me given Saudi intelligence devious designs in the region. Saudis are also really supporting the Egyptian Salafists who are cynically supporting the Egyptian military, and that Saudi-financed Salafists are among the fiercest opponents of Assad in Syria.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül had referred to his landmark speech at the ministers of foreign affairs meeting of the Organization for Islamic Conference (OIC) in 2003, a decade ahead of the movements of masses that had begun and were ignited in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) spring very recently in early 2011.
Abdullah Gul had called on the Arab and Muslim world, a decade ago, to put their own house in order. Thus directing attention to the desperate need for an urgent and immediate dialogue for a real change and reconciliation in the Muslim world. Still nothing has been accomplished thus far.
In his very recent keynote speech at the fourth İstanbul Forum organized by the Center for Strategic Communication (STRATİM) in September 2013, president Abdullah Gul stated once again that no nation, society or sect will ever benefit from such a dark era in the Muslim World, and he correctly called it the intra-civilizational clash – a “disaster scenario” within the Muslim world that is worse than clash of civilizations and end of history scenarios proclaimed by Huntington and Fukuyama respectively in the 1990s.
President Gul further stated rightly that there is no contradiction between Islam, democracy and a pluralistic rule, in which all faiths and cultures can find space for themselves, appealing to everyone. Prophet’s compact of Medina was indeed to begin with a model and practice of pluralistic democracy of ummah. However, as president Gul said, “In no country was there a transition to a pluralistic democracy possible overnight,” while the establishment of democracy in any given society is a must and the democratic process must be continued in the Muslim world and without mixing of religion with the state.
True Muslims worldwide certainly have the same worries and hopes but the Muslim Ummah does not exist in one peace, since it remains fragmented and over 50 Muslim majority countries have been of no help what so ever, to this day, in this fractured ummah’s reunification process.
There are indeed non-governmental faith-based and non-political global social movements like Hizmet (Gulen) and Ahmadiyya that have been making tremendous contributions world-wide over the decades through best of education, peace-building and human development. It will be most interesting to see if OIC or any other Muslim organizations (like The Arab League) would ever wake up to the occasion and join these two global social movements to further contribute to such noble and admirable works already being done by these two only movements for the sake of all of humanity and spanning the globe.
Why warn others when Islamic ummah has been fragmented for so long and as such a Muslim ummah or a nation does not even exist. Once a Muslim ummah or a nation is truly restructured, its loftier and eventual goal would still remain unity of ‘ummah Insaniyyah’ (kan -un-naso ummatan-wahadatan, Quran-2: 213) and all of humanity will naturally join the true Muslim ummah Insh-Allah.
The fragmented Muslim ummah has forsaken itself from the true prophetic (Pbuh) message and his mission for a long time. Prophet’s message was never exclusive to begin with and had begun for all of humanity through ummah Islamiyya connected with ummah Insaniyya. With the revival of Muslim ummah after centuries, prophet’s true message of universal moral values, virtues and ethics will be welcomed by all of humanity in the globalizing age of dialogue, tolerance and reconciliation where no one will offend each other’s national sovereignty or interfere in the internal affairs of others. Certainly Muslims must stand together as a unified ummah and there will be no difficulties with the rest of the humanity, our brotherhood and solidarity with it despite the different religions when Islamic teaching in Quran (2:256) is: “there is no compulsion in religion”. There are two things that the Saudi King and his highness should be asking for instead. One is the right of everyone to make a free choice in the matter of religion, and the other is right of Muslims in non-Muslim countries who are to be treated exactly like every other religious group.
Once Muslim umma has overcome its own transgression and fragmentation, the Muslims will need to resolve their spiritual dilemma not just with ethical principles and moral guidelines, but also with the will and determination to change. The change requires Muslims to set aside their sectarian prejudices and hatred to have their insurgence turned into love and compassion, to transform their inner self to what is ethically and morally in line with the Creator’s Commands, and to make their reality of brotherhood and solidarity with all a workable fact of their life.
These are not just rhetorical expressions; they actually do refer to the realities of our human predicament. Nothing less than that will be required if we are to truly achieve unity, cohesion and the ultimate fulfillment of the significance of our existence as human beings. Unity is the only way to draw us closer to the Creator and His creation. As there is One and only Creator that is the source of all conscious beings, on the earth or elsewhere in the cosmos, we must strive towards a real change in our lives in order to truly love one another, and achieve peace and harmony.
We have all the potential means, the strength and the ability by which to achieve this very unity, and that is, the Rope of Allah (SWT). Attainment of such a unity is not realized by simply reading the Quran and the Hadith, it is realized when we truly transform and live by His Commandments and emulate the lifestyle of our beloved prophet (Pbuh) in practice. To hold fast to the Rope takes a great deal of focus and concerted action as well as purified heart. Those who are sanctimonious and pretentious have a poor complacency, and it is difficult for them to see and think straight. We must overcome our inner egoistic desires individually and collectively; seek Allah’s forgiveness as a whole community, and exercise humility and empathy. Unity is the key to better communication with each other, understanding of our rules as Muslims and as human beings. Unity shapes and molds the way we behave and act.
Our very lifestyles must depend on unity if we are to truly cling to the Rope of Allah and achieve His Compassion and Mercy. We must tie down our uncontrolled prejudices, egos, weaknesses, ignorance and our fears. We need unity to bear the assaults of evil all around us and to persevere in our true belief system. Unity turns hostility into kindness and compassion. The power of unity is more than just a miracle. Our unity brings about pleasure of our Creator who wishes us to develop the power of unity in order to defeat all internal and external forces hostile to us. It is with such a quality and strength of unity that Muslims will find themselves bestowed with Allah’s pleasure. Unity is the weapon by which we can easily protect our souls. With unity we strive to become nearer to Allah. In unity, we seek out the pious and join with them in pleasing Allah. The diversity, distinction and differences must be met with mutual respect; acceptance and even celebration, while the true foundations of unity are kept steadily in view. The Rope of Allah provides a strong connection between human being and Allah and unites all believers together as one.
Our deepest point of unity transcends sects, race culture, gender, profession, and even the level of intelligence or emotional make up, since all these attributes vary widely among people .To take a strong and secure hold onto the Rope of Allah signifies that believers should seek knowledge and ascribe intense importance to their way of life. Only in this way can the believers hope to attain their ultimate happiness and solidarity. With this frame of mind, the believers are to reach the paradise, as they hold firmly onto the Rope of Allah.
The Rope of Allah loops through time. With intensity and enlightenment, it demands from us endurance, submission, certainty, believing, acceptance, adherence, action and patience as well as sense of obedience and gratitude. The Rope of Allah is straightforward and is made up of tightly curled strands that are glued together. No one can separate them and we can only strengthen them. We are what we are as we cling steadfastly to the Rope of Allah. We are what we have—the Quran and the Sunnah of prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). We are bound to reunite as an ummah once again Insha-Allah—By rediscovering the Rope of Allah, holding on to it steadfastly and clinging onto it permanently without any interruptions in the future. I must end here with Allama Iqbal’s view on Muslim Umma and Muslim Nation in (Bang-e-Dra-152):
اپنی ملت پر قياس اقوام مغرب سے نہ کر خاص ہے ترکيب ميں قوم رسول ہاشمی
Do not Judge your own Muslim nation (or the ummah) on the criteria of the Western nations,
Special in compositional make-up is the Hashimi Prophet’s nation.
ان کی جمعيت کا ہے ملک و نسب پر انحصار قوت مذہب سے مستحکم ہے جمعيت تری
Based on (territorial) nationhood and race is their sense of unity, the strength of your faith stabilizes your unity.
دامن ديں ہاتھ سے چھوٹا تو جمعيت کہاں اور جمعيت ہوئی رخصت تو ملت بھی گئی
If the faith-based connecting rope is lost, the Muslim unity disappears. And if unity departs also disappears the Muslim Nation or the Ummah!
