A LESSON FROM HISTORY

The history of Islam presents ample proof of the above mentioned facts. The period of thirty years after the death of the Prophet, when Muslims were engaged in the task of propagating Islam in the outer sphere, was marked by complete unity in Muslim ranks. But with the beginning of internal conflicts in the last days of Caliph Uthman, the process of the spread of Islam was stopped for ten years. However, the task of propagating Islam was resumed by Muslims when internal conflict came to an end as a result of the voluntary withdrawal of Hasan ibn Ali from the caliphate, and it continued on course for the next twenty years. Again, it was permanently disrupted due to conflict between Banu Umayyah and Banu Hashim on the issue of political reform after Amir Mu’awiyah’s death in 680 AD. Muslims are now paying the penalty for having given up the cause of spreading Islam, due to their unceasing internal conflict over the centuries. These conflicts are ostensibly taking place in the name of Islam, but in fact nothing is more un-Islamic in the world of God than this lamentable disunity. The call to God is basically the title of the Islamic mission to convey the message of God. In the general sense, call to Islam entails the popularization of the purely basic teachings of the religion for religious harmony. It is an accepted fact that there is no contradiction in the fundamentals of religion. On the contrary, there are considerable differences among the people of various sects on juristic issues, which are peripheral to religion. Therefore, whenever Islam draws the public attention, the basic aspects, which are unanimously agreed upon, are given due prominence, while the controversial aspects are kept in the background. It is a natural principle that whenever a community devotes itself to the cause of calling people to God, it is blessed with unity and solidarity. People’s attention, in such circumstances, is centred upon the basic and widely accepted precepts. To raise peripheral issues would mean creating differences among them. Whenever people devote their energies to promoting the basic teachings of Islam, there is inevitably a closer understanding among them. This approach eliminates conflict and paves the way for unity. To sum up, the introduction of peripheral and lesser issues leads to confrontation, whereas adherence to basic issues creates an environment favourable to integration. o The accomplishment of the mission of calling people to God by Muslims brings divine grace to them, and develops in the community all those exalted qualities that are considered to be the key to unity.