Shared Responsibility

tied to the right of freedom is that, before exercising this right, a person should seriously consider what the result of their speech will be—whether it will lead to something constructive or to something destructive. Another responsibility is to follow collective decisions within a social system. A person who does not hold authority over collective matters may express their disagreement verbally, but in practice, they should act in accordance with the group. If they fail to do so, social unity will break down. And the breakdown of social unity is the greatest of all evils. A hadith says: So stay with the majority (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 3950; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 18450). This hadith carries the same message: that in times of discord, when you do not have control over the situation, you may declare the truth in a wise and thoughtful manner. But in action, you must remain with the majority of the community, because in such situations, practical disunity can cause even greater harm. EXPLANATION OF DISAGREEMENTS The Quran says: “Do they not ponder on the Quran? If it had been from anyone other than God, they would have found much inconsistency in it.” (4:82) This makes it clear that the religion of Islam, as sent by God, is a religion in which there is no contradiction. The same idea is expressed in a hadith in the following words: