ISLAM in Action 
Bismillah Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem

"United"

With guidance from

Shaykh Abdur-Rahman, Shaykh Ibn Taimiyah

AND

Shaykh ‘Ali Ibn-Timimi

Halaqah for July 24, 2003

FROM THE QUR’AN

"Indeed those who divide their religion into sects, you have no concern in them in the least." (6:159)

"(Always) turning in repentance to Him, and be afraid and dutiful to Him: and establish the prayers and do not be of the polytheists - of those who split up their religion and became sects, each sect rejoicing in that which is with it." (30:31-32)

"... And Verily! This, your religion, is one religion and I am your Lord, so keep your duty to Me. But they have broken their religion into sects, each group rejoicing in what it has." (23:51-52)

"And obey Allah and His messenger, and dispute not one with another lest you falter and your strength depart from you; but be steadfast! Lo! Allah is with the steadfast." (8:46)

"And now have We set thee (O Muhammad) on a clear road of (Our) commandment; so follow it, and follow not the whims of those who know not." (45:18)

"(All) people are a single nation; so Allah raised prophets as bearers of good news and as warners, and He revealed with them the Book with truth, that it might judge between people in that in which they differed; and none but the very people who were given it differed about it after clear arguments had come to them, revolting among themselves; so Allah has guided by His will those who believe to the truth about which they differed and Allah guides whom He pleases to the right path." (2:213)

Allah (swt) Says in the Holy Qur’an what translated means, "And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, you became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you: That you may be guided." (3:103)

Unity is an aim of Islam, not merely a means to achieve some other goal such as power or wealth or position or land. But what does it take to be united? Mere friendship? Mere good will towards one another? Mere respect for our mutual rights and obligations as members of a community? Allah Himself gives us the answer to what should be the foundation of our unity … the Rope that He Extends to us, the Rope of His Holy Qur’an and His Final Messenger, Prophet Muhammed (saaws).

Division amongst Muslims comes due to a lack of adherence to, love and passion for Islam, the fundamentals of which are Allah’s Words and the Prophet’s Way. According to Allah, we are the best ummah sent to mankind as an example. If we are divided amongst ourselves, how can we represent this one ummah? How can we represent the peaceful nature of our faith if we are at war with each other?

The Religion of Islam is above all other ways of life and all other ways of worship. Yet, the Muslims are in positions of weakness around the globe. We no longer have the ‘upper hand’ as we watch our enemies and those who wish harm to the religion of God overrun our lands, our lives and sadly, our souls. As we focus on lifting the sword to each other’s throats, our enemies have grown in strength and skill by using our weakness against us.

The way of unity is by means of gathering all of the religion, and acting upon it in its entirety – that is worshipping Allah Alone without any partners as He ordered, inwardly and outwardly. In our desire for unity, however, we cannot turn a blind eye to the actions of those around us. It is imperative that we unite on Islam…on the Qur’an and the Sunnah of our beloved Naby Muhammed (saaws) for this and this alone is the call to success in the dunya and the akhirah. Ameen.

1. Place The Holy Qur’an back to its proper status
1. The Qur’an should be the focus of:
1. Our lives
2. Our families
3. Our communities
4. Our nations
2. Remember the value of the Qur’an
1. Guidance
2. Glad tidings
3. Light
4. Mercy
5. Cure for what is in the breasts of human beings
3. Judge by The Book
4. Memorization used to be an accepted given; now it is a weekend school
5. The Qur’an is an object of study
1. Contemplate The Book
2. Benefit from The Book
3. Act on the Book
6. Accept The Qur’an
1. Leave behind all your pre-conceived notions
2. Seek instruction instead of support for your desires
1. Instructions are from Allah
2. Desires are from ourselves
7. Have certitude in Allah’s Word -- "And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord…" (3:7)
8. Use Sunnah as an explanation of The Qur’an -- Naby Muhammed (saaws) wasn’t a post man just delivering a package; he was the Qur’an exemplified
9. Leave those matters which we do not understand to the scholars
10. Be cautious; speaking about Allah without knowledge is a sin
11. Love the Qur’an
1. Read it, Live it!
2. Treat it with adaab and passion for its Truth
2. Return The Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (saaws) to its proper place
1. The Prophet was sent with scripture (Qur’an) AND wisdom (Sunnah)
2. Have zeal and passion for the Sunnah
1. We are commanded to obey Allah’s Messenger (saaws)
2. Paradise is Promised for those who do and Hellfire for those who don’t
3. The Prophet of Allah said, "Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone. O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qur’an and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray."
3. Follow The Believers’ Way
1. "If anyone contends with the Messenger even after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than the Believers’ Way, We shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell, - a hapless journey’s end!" (4:115)
2. The understanding of the Sahaba is the Believers’ Way first and foremost as they were the ones present when this verse was revealed.
3. The closer to the source, the clearer the understanding. Who was closer to the Source of Knowledge of the Prophet’s Sunnah than those around him?
4. RasulAllah (swt) made du’aa for certain of his companions to understand the deen. The du’aa of the prophets (saaws) are answered. Who do YOU want to trust for guidance?
4. Revive The Believers’ Way
1. Division would be resolved in both our ibaadat and our adaab
2. Unity would reign as this was clearly the way of the Prophet (saaws) and his Companions
3. Actions speak louder than words.
5. Seek the opinions of qualified scholars
1. Allah has endowed them with wisdom, knowledge and foresight
2. Not everyone who knows something is a scholar
3. It may be that one carries knowledge to someone more knowledgeable than him
4. "And when there comes to them news of security or fear they spread it abroad; and if they had referred it to the Messenger and to those in authority among them, those among them who can search out the knowledge of it would have known it, and were it not for the grace of Allah upon you and His mercy, you would have certainly followed the Shaitan save a few." (4:83)
1. This applies on a global scale
2. This applies on a local scale
5. It is a mark of intelligence to seek deeper understanding from those who have it versus believing that you can discover the answer to everything on your own. Who do you see when you’re sick? A specialist. What is more important than the health of your soul??
6. Have a single imam in charge
1. Without a leader, we are as a flock of sheep without a shepherd
1. When the wolf (shaytan) comes, we flee in different directions
2. The wolf is free to contentedly take the weakest among us as prey
3. Shepherd keeps sheep together
2. The Prophet of Allah (swt) said, "Each of you is in charge and each of you is responsible for his charge." The literal meaning of ‘in charge’ in this hadith is ‘shepherd’. Each of us is a shepherd and each of us is responsible for guarding the flock. Our Caliph is the first shepherd.
3. When issues occur, we cannot react effectively without a leader and dissention spreads
1. The Believers’ Way was the understanding of the importance of the Caliphate
2. The Believers’ Way was to seek Shuraa’ (consultation) from the people and then to be decisive
4. No differences existed at the time of the Prophet; every matter was referred to Allah and to him (saaws) for judgment and resolution
5. If 3 people on a journey must have an imaam, how can 1.5 billion not??
7. Show Purity of Intention to Allah’s religion (Ihklas)
1. "Our Lord! and raise up in them a Messenger from among them who shall recite to them Thy communications and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and purify them; surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise." (2:129)
2. Good Deeds have 2 conditions
1. Sincerity (ihklas)
2. Following the Sunnah
3. Avoid anger, intolerance, rancor and jealousy which are motivated by self interest
4. The Prophet (saaws) said, "I have been sent to perfect character."
1. Character, good or bad, will show in the actions of the person
2. Strive to revive moral character
8. Place the Principles of Brotherhood in front of us
1. Do not just give lip-service to brotherhood; apply it!
2. Revisit and learn from the unbelievable stories in terms of brotherhood and love for each other from the Companions of the Prophet (saaws)
3. Allegiance is to the Believers
1. We attack others for our own faults using the Sunnah as our sword
2. Allah commands us to be merciful unto each other and severe against the unbelievers
4. Work to guide the different groups in existence
1. For the first time in history, Muslims have no Caliphate
1. This inspired the thinking that groups were needed to preserve Islam
2. Each group is a different distance from observing the Qur’an and the Sunnah
2. Don’t knock down the good efforts to start from scratch all over again
1. Give naseeha
2. Encourage to truth
3. Correct mistakes
4. Support in that which they do good &right according to The Qur’an and Sunnah
5. Remember that we are not true believers until we want for our brothers and sisters in Islam what we want for ourselves: success in this life and the next. Ameen!