Practice What You Preach

share one scripture. They seem to think anything less than universal unity as lowering Islam’s greatness. They loudly announce, “We have a clear Shariah that provides guidance for all aspects of life!” Now, all these assertions are undoubtedly true. But for Muslims, these are all now just things to be talked about. If you see their practical lives, you will discover that they behave in a completely contradictory manner. For instance—and this is an undeniable fact—there is no community anywhere in the world that is as badly divided and torn apart by strife and conflict than Muslims. Going by the way Muslims’ behave, you might think that they have nothing in common with each other and that there is nothing that can unite them. In this context, then, it would be right to claim that the word ‘unity’, which Muslims never cease talking about, is simply a means for them to express their claims of superiority over and against other communities. Islam has now become for them simply a thing to boast about, not something to be acted upon. This holds true across the board, with regard to all the communal or collective affairs of Muslims today. Let me clarify this point with the help of an example that relates to the Treaty of Hudaybiyah. Often, when Muslim leaders and thinkers speak about the Prophet’s life or the Quran, they highlight, with much fervour and gusto, the Prophet’s policy of patience, as exemplified in the events related to the signing of this Treaty. They proudly declare, “Makkah was won through this Treaty, not through war!” But, at the same time, when it comes to the question of the conflicts present-day Muslims are involved in with other communities, their practice is completely contradictory to the spirit of the Hudaybiyah Treaty. Muslim leaders excel in highlighting and hailing this Treaty, but this Treaty is possibly the most important Islamic teaching that they continuously and consistently ignore.