- Islamic calls to unity and cooperation
- Dangers of disunity and disputes
- Patriotism is a national and religious duty
- Inevitability of Arab and Muslim solidarity
- Effects of Arab solidarity in face of terrorism and challenges
It is a sign of Islamic faith grandeur that it promotes human values and ethics, among—not only Muslims but also, all humans; it encourages Muslims to impart these values in their communities. It also promotes the calls to unity, cooperation, friendship, mutual sympathy, solidarity, fraternity and reciprocal support with a view to achieving social peace.
The Islamic sacred texts clearly defend and preach these values:
- Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “And hold fast, all together, unto the bond of Allah, and do not draw apart from one another. You have to remember the blessings, which Allah has bestowed upon you: how, when you were enemies, He brought your hearts together, so that through His blessing you became brethren; and [how, when] you were on the brink of a fiery abyss and He saved you from it. In this way does Allah make clear His messages unto you, so that you might find guidance” (the Quran, 3: 103).
- Allah (may He be Exalted) says “help one another in furthering virtue and God-consciousness, and do not help one another in furthering evil and enmity” (the Quran, 5: 2)
Similarly, the prophetic statements also promote Muslim unity and solidarity:
- Al-Nuʿman Ibn Bashir (May Allah be pleased with him and his father) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) said: “The likeness of believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy is just like one body; when any of its limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever” (Recorded by Muslim).
- ʿAbdullah Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A Muslim is a brother of his fellow Muslim. He should not oppress him nor should he hand him over to [evils]. If anyone fulfills his brother’s needs, Allah will fulfill his needs; and whoever covers up the fault of a Muslim, Allah will cover up his fault on the Day of Resurrection” (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim).
The Muslim union, cooperation and coordination in all fields are all inescapable duties for any nation with ambitions for success, progress, prosperity in face of difficulties and challenges.
- Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “The Believers are but brothers” (the Qur’ān, 49: 10). For Islam, the nation must be friendly united and integrated.
- Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “This is your nation, one nation, and I am your Lord so serve Me” (the Quran, 21: 92)
- Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “This is your nation, one nation, and I am your Lord so remain conscious of Me” (the Quran, 23: 52)
Muslim union is an inevitable duty as a translation of the divine scheme of Islamic faith and law as well as their religious ultimate goal and way. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “And know that this is the way leading straight unto Me, so follow it and follow not other ways, lest they cause you to deviate. These are the Divine commandments ordained for you, so that you may live upright” (the Quran, 6: 153).
Promoting union and integration and discouraging from disunion and disintegration, the Prophet (may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) said:
“Surely, Allah likes three things for your and dislikes three things for you; He likes that you worship Him and associate none with Him; and that you all take hold of the bond of Allah and keep apart from disunity. He dislikes engagement in chitchat, persistent questioning and squandering wealth” (Recorded by Muslim).
The Prophet (may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) also said,
“A faithful believer to a faithful believer is like the bricks of a wall; they strengthen each other. Saying that, he clasped his hands interlacing his fingers” (Recorded by al-Bukhari).
It is necessary to expedite to union and coalition and denounce disunity and disintegration holding fast to the Muslim fraternity in all life practical possibilities.
Islam also calls to union and friendship and makes several caveats against differences and disputes, which are only conducive to weakness and defeats. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “Be not like those who have drawn apart from one another and have taken to conflicting views after all evidence of the truth has come unto them: for these it is for whom tremendous suffering is in store” (the Quran, 3: 105). Allah also says, “Do not dispute; else you will fail and lose your strength. Be steadfast, for certainly, Allah is with the steadfast” (the Quran, 8: 46).
Indeed, Muslim differences and disputes incur grave dangers and evil consequences; they preclude cooperation and solidarity, lead to disintegration and disunity and undermine Muslim material, military and intellectual powers.
It is no doubt that our need to deepening and entrenching patriotic values and senses is currently most urgent. Sincere loyalty to the nation must take precedence over all other interests including the partisan, sectarian, organization or international interests. For Islam, the value of one’s homeland is greatly important. That the moment when he was departing Mecca, the Prophet paid his loved city saying: “I know that you are the best of Allah’s Land and the most beloved to Allah. Unless you people drove me out, I would not have departed” (Recorded by Ahmad).
On his way back to Medina after his expedition to Khaybar, the Prophet pointed to Medina with his hand and said, “O Allah, I make the area which is in between Medina’s two mountains a sanctuary, as Abraham made Mecca a sanctuary. O Allah, bless us in our Saʿ (a certain measure which equals 4 mudds) and Mudd (a handful of an average person used as a unit of measuring)” (Recorded by al-Bukhari).
For homelands’ rights are due debts and favors in blood of all free people
It is no doubt that our Arab nation is currently suffering a very crucial phase necessitating all Arabs to integrate, cooperate and hold fast to unity in face of challenges. Al-Nuʿmān Ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) said:
“The example of the person abiding by Allah’s order and restrictions in comparison to those who violate them is like the example of those persons who drew lots for their seats in a ship. Some of them got seats in the upper part, and the others in the lower. When the latter needed water, they had to go up to bring water (and that troubled the others), so they said, ‘Let us make a hole in our share of the ship (and get water) saving those who are above us from troubling them. So, if the people in the upper part left the others do what they had suggested, all the people of the ship would be destroyed, but if they prevented them, both parties would be safe” (Recorded by al-Bukhari).
The Arab union and cooperation are inevitably essential to the protection of Arab interests and political regimes against the imperial schemes and plots to invade the Arab nation and disintegrate the Arab lands with a view to dominating them. The real Arab solidarity turns the united Arab nation into a very significant and insurmountable power in the international political forums and economic blocs as well as in fields of thinking, culture and media production.
The Arabs, as an integrated and united nation, can create a powerful political and economic entity rich with many talents and distinctive characteristics. The Arab solidarity signifies the real cooperation for construction of communities; the partial solidarity is indeed imperfect and fails to meet the Arab national prospects. The Arabs are in need of an inclusive renaissance and a comprehensive solidarity, which entail integration of all efforts and mobilization of all energies. This universal mobilization makes it the duty of all individuals to work together seriously against terrorism and terroristic organizations, which endanger several Arab countries to achieve security and peace for all Arabs and humankind in general.
The phenomenon of terrorism is the most serious domestic challenge encountering the Arab and Muslim worlds. It is not a new problem. The world suffered this problem long time ago. It has only currently increased in scope and scale leaving more victims and giving rise to new unprecedented terrifying forms. Terrorists kill and destroy the lives of innocent people sparing none, even children, women, aged or young people. Worse indeed are the crimes of burnings, oppressions and mayhems, which are frequently done in the name of Islam while Islam is free from these hideous crimes; Islam is the religion of mercy, civilization and humanity. It forbids the violation of human blood, honor or property. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “And do not take the life which God has made forbidden, except in justice” (the Quran, 6: 151). Similarly, in his all-inclusive Farewell Speech on Ḥajj, the Prophet (may Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, “Indeed, your blood, your property and your honor are as sacred and inviolable as the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month and in this town of yours. He then said: have I conveyed this message [to you]? In reply, they said: Yes. He said, O Allah, be a witness to this.” (Recorded by Muslim in his Sahih collection and Ahmad in his Musand).
It is no doubt that the past years witnessed a drastic change in this phenomenon; terroristic crimes increase by day and it is not expected to end unless all countries work collectively to face this phenomenon. The Arab solidarity in the broad sense of the word means the real cooperation in face of these challenges. Endeavors should work on uprooting terroristic cells and organizations to build new communities and promote the Arab union. Actually, solidarity and cooperation have great benefits for sake of Arab union and solidarity. They can entrench relations between individuals, communities and countries and strengthen friendship and peace to mitigate the bad effects of terrorism and ably face challenges.
It is necessary for comprehensive solidarity to mobilize all efforts and energies and invest expertise and minds of Arabs and non-Arabs in collective work within all fields. It is a point of pride for Muslims that their faith is one, their prophet is one, their prayers’ destination is one, their culture is one and their history is the same and so will be their present and future. We should work together for the prosperity and happiness of all.
At last, we affirm the necessity of Arab solidarity and cooperation amongst the Arab people to face challenges and protect the Arab national security and common interests. Bearing in mind the challenges that face the Arab nation, solidarity is urgently necessary and brooks no further delay, especially the battle against terrorism and terroristic elements until the complete elimination of these elements.