The Prophet’s birthday: A time for Islamic Unity

Here is the 6th and last episode of our special series on the occasion of Islamic Unity Week that bridges the two dates of the month of Rabi al-Awwal believed to be the birthday of the Messenger of Mercy, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

Rabi al-Awwal 12 is considered to be that blessed date by Sunni Muslims on the basis of the narrations of the Prophet’s companions, who had no acquaintance with him before his formal declaration of his universal mission of Islam at the age of 40. Shi’a Muslims, however, attach more importance to accounts of the Prophet’s birth from the Prophet’s family and regard 17th Rabi al-Awwal as the date of birth of the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger.

In 1979, following victory of the Iranian people’s grassroots movement, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), initiated the Islamic Unity Week to bridge the short gap between these two dates in order to foster solidarity among Muslims of all denominations.

Now we have the last episode titled: “The Prophet’s birthday: A time for Islamic Unity”.

“O Muslims, followers of the school of Towhid! The real reason for all the troubles that afflict the Muslim countries is their disunity and lack of harmony, and the secret of future victory will lie in unity and the creation of harmony.”

What you heard and read were the remarks of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), who also said:

“Those who followed Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and believed in him should actually stand their ground and be on a right course. The Prophet was afraid that we his followers might fail to remain on the right course.”

These words are worth pondering upon on the occasion of his birthday celebrations, which is a time that should bring all Muslims together.

The quest for solidarity is a powerful unifying factor for all Muslims since it has been ordered by God Almighty Who says in ayah 103 of Surah Aal-e Imran of the holy Qur’an:

“Hold fast to the Rope of Allah, all together, and be not divided.”

The Prophet also minced no words when he in explicit words stressed the Hadith Thaqalayn for the guidance of the Ummah, saying:

“I am leaving behind among you Two Weighty Things (Thaqalayan), the Book of God and my progeny the Ahl al-Bayt; hold fast to them and you will not go astray, for you will be questioned of your attitude towards them, since the two never separate with each other even when they return to me at the Fountain (Kowthar on the Day of Resurrection).”

We should examine ourselves, whether we Muslims are adhering to the commandments of God and the instructions of the Prophet. Once we do so, the quest for unity enhances our tolerance of suffering and self-control. so necessary when we are called upon to defend our Islamic faith against our common enemies. In a spiritual sense, it makes us active and ready to serve the cause of truth and justice. In other words, we cannot effectively defend Islam against its enemies if our ummah is divided.

To be more precise, the plots and aggressions of the United States are a continuation of a centuries-long campaign by the colonialists to control natural resources in Muslim lands by creating divisions amongst the Muslims. Though US officials claim their support for wars, separatist groups, and sanctions are meant to promote freedom and democracy, they are simply lying, as is evident by ground realities, since their true goals are regional destabilization and domination to suck the wealth out of the Muslim lands. Capitalizing on our disunity in the face of their onslaughts, the US and its clients have advanced their greedy imperialist ambitions by inciting sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia and through wars, such as in Yemen, and the activities of the terrorists in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Since replacing Britain as the leading colonial power after World War II, the US enemy has supported dictatorial and tyrannical regimes, which do not represent the people they rule and have abandoned their faith, in order to serve Americans and the Zionists. For instance, in the 1980s, the US triggered a bloody eight-year war between Iran and Iraq through Saddam of Baghdad’s repressive Ba’th minority regime, resulting in the death of over a million Muslims. The US then allowed Saddam to invade Kuwait and soon drove him out, but permitted him to stay in power and massacre the Arab Shi’a Muslims and the ethnic Kurds.

A decade later in 2001, following the suspicious incidents that brought down the 110-storey high World Trade Center of New York, the US escalated its aggression against Islam and Muslim countries under the pretext of the “war on terror”. It invaded Afghanistan and has continued its occupation to this day, killing at least 50,000 Afghan civilians and displacing over 4 million. Then it invaded Iraq, killing over 1.4 million innocent Iraqis and displacing over 5 million. The US supplied weapons to the Zionist regime during its attack on Lebanon in 2006, resulting in over 1,000 civilian deaths and over 1 million internally displaced. The US then ganged up with Saudi Arabia, Israel and Turkey to pour tens of thousands of heavily armed terrorists into Syria, and consequently into Iraq, for destabilizing the two countries.  

In Pakistan, thousands of people have been killed as a result of the US drone attacks. Armed unmanned drones, controlled by the U.S. military or the CIA, have carried out targeted killings in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya, and now also operate in Somalia. 

US political and military support of the Zionist regime allows the ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands. Operation Cast Lead, in which over 1,400 Gazans were slaughtered by Israeli forces, was just one of many on a long list of US-backed Zionist atrocities against the Palestinian people. The Saudi-UAE invasion of Yemen and destruction of that country is part of the same plot. The illegal economic sanctions on Iran and threats to penalize world countries from doing business with the Islamic Republic, is the latest satanic plot of the US against Islam.

By now, it should be clear to all Muslims that the US is the archenemy of Islam and Muslims. As Muslims, adhering to the Holy Qur'an and the practice of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), our numerous commonalities far exceed the minor jurisprudential differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims. We all believe in Towheed, monotheism, or the Indivisible Unity of Allah, the One and Only, as well as in prophethood, and the Day of Resurrection. We Shi’a also believe in the leadership of the divinely-designated Imams of successors of the Prophet, whose role is paralleled among our Sunni brethren, who revere saints, most of whom were, either directly or indirectly, students of the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt.

These ought to be ingredients for Islamic unity. Thus, taking a bold stance in support of Islamic unity, Sheikh Dr. Ahmad at-Tayyeb, the Imam of Egypt’s al-Azhar Mosque and Academy, declared that he was prepared to stand behind Shi’a elites in performing of the daily ritual prayers, and that he would go to visit Najaf in Iraq for pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Imam Ali (AS), the first Infallible Heir of the Prophet. He also said, “The Zionist regime will reap the greatest benefit if Muslim countries fail to achieve unity.” He then added: “Hosni Mubarak, the ousted president of Egypt, asked me several times to issue a fatwa against Shi’a Muslims, particularly Hezbollah, but I never agreed.”

These words of a respected Sunni Muslim leader should guide Muslims, and make them evaluate the Zionist-dictated policies of certain Arab regimes, which have branded as ‘terrorist’ Lebanon’s legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah.

So let us all take advantage of the factor of unity inherent in the birthday celebrations of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) to put aside our minor differences and renew our efforts to unite the Muslim Ummah against the common enemy. In the words of the Late Imam Khomeini:

“Let us all act for the sake of Islam and the welfare of the Muslims and shun disunity, separation, and sectarianism, for these are the sources of our misfortunes and weaknesses.”

FK/AS/ME