No Extremism

The idea that “we must eliminate criticism and disagreement to achieve unity” may sound good in theory, but it is completely unrealistic in practice. That’s because criticism and disagreement are natural aspects of human life—they can never be fully eliminated. The more accurate and achievable approach is this: tolerate criticism and accept differences of opinion—only then can genuine unity be achieved. Unity in any community is always based on this second principle, and so it must be in the Muslim community as well. There is no other viable path to unity. There were disagreements among the companions and their followers. Similarly, hadith scholars, jurists, theologians, and mystics often differed with one another. The Quran itself shows that even two prophets present in the same era may sometimes differ. To expect absolute consensus before achieving unity is not only unnatural, it is also contrary to the spirit of religious tradition. Criticism and disagreement are not inherently negative. In fact, they often lead to intellectual progress. For example, during the Battle of Badr, a Companion disagreed with the Prophet’s choice of setting camp. As a result, a better strategic position was chosen. The real distinction lies in the type of person: • One type is the self-seeker (talib-i-khwesh)—someone whose focus is on promoting themselves, seeking admiration, and wanting to be regarded as important. Such a person is easily angered by criticism because they perceive it as an attack on their personal status.