Elements of Unity

Of course, the blessings of this world are divine signs. Rivers, plants, seasons: these do not constitute the base world. It is our desires that are base, not what exists in the real world, to which God refers as His signs. It is the shattering of our dreams and desires that God thus depicts:
Then it becomes chaff, scattered by the wind.13
then it withers and you see it turn yellow, then it becomes chaff.14
The end of the base world is like chaff, scattered by the wind.
But what about the end of those content with the base world? The Qur’an says that their end is similar to the end of the base world:
thus making them like chewed-up straw.15
Regarding the calamitous end of the people of Thamud, the Qur’an says,
We sent against them a single cry, and they became like the dry sticks of a corral builder.16
They enjoy the pleasures of this world, which is its spring, only to be separated by death from what they cherished. The end of the base world and its admirers is turning into chaff. The end of the base world and its admirers is one and the same, for they are in essence one thing.
Those content with the base world are perpetually in conflict; they vacillate for trivial reasons: “followers of every caller, bending with every wind.”17 They quarrel as long as they are in this world, and when they enter Hell, they continue their quarrel:
Every time that a nation enters [Hell], it will curse its sister [nation].18
But those who succeed in attaining to inner unity—by bringing all their faculties under the guidance of the soul—and who live in a unified Islamic state lead a heavenly life. Even as those residing in heaven hold no grudges against one another, there are no conflicts among true believers in this world.
Describing people in heaven, God says,
We will remove whatever rancor there is in their breasts; as brothers, [they will recline] on couches, facing one another.19
People in heaven harbor no rancor in their hearts. Residents of heaven see one another at all times. It is not that they see one another only while reclining on couches; rather, they are always together. This is the spirit of those residing in heaven.
True believers ask God to give them this spirit in this world:
[They] say, “Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who were our forerunners in faith, and do not put any rancor in our hearts toward the faithful.20
Not only do true believers wish to remove rancor from their own hearts, they wish to see all conflicts among believers disappear.
Elements of Unity
On the outside, we are confronted by imperialist powers; on the inside, by our rebellious ego. So by what ways can we secure the unity of the world of Islam? What are the obstacles? These are questions we must clarify.
We must bear in mind that from disbelievers, we will receive no gain. More fundamentally, unity is not a quality that the material world could cultivate. Only God, the creator of hearts, holds the keys to rapport. Addressing his Noble Prophet, God says,
Had you spent all that is in the earth you could not have united their hearts, but God united them together.21
Materiality is unable to bring hearts together; materiality is incompatible with the soul. Should the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran convert the entire Alborz Mountains to gem and distribute it among the people in order to please and unify them that would only be the beginning of conflict. Material resources can never serve as a unifying element.
In an Islamic state, injustice to our private rights is sufferable. We must, however, prevent at all costs any harm to the state itself. In a letter addressed to Abu Musa, the Master of the Faithful writes, “There is not a man—heed this—more anxious to preserve the integrity and union of the community of Muhammad (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him and his household) than I.”22
Imam‘Ali asserted the truth—that his rights had been violated—with reasoning but was, nevertheless, careful to prevent faction within the community of Muslims.
But they fragmented their religion among themselves, each party exulting in what it had.23
Imam‘Ali strove to prevent such a conclusion.
“Verily, you are brothers in faith. Nothing can separate you but the wickedness of your intentions and the evil of your hearts.”24 For identifying the cause of disunity, we must introspect, and on introspection we will realize that the cause of disunity is our evil-nature, which consumes our hearts:
the fire…which overspreads the hearts.25
Our religion is one; our book is one; our qiblah is one; our prophet is one; the heaven and hell we strive for are the same. So it is our inner evil that instigates conflict and splits the community of the faithful into factions. We must reform ourselves in order to bring about unity: neither submission to the West nor invoking the East could unite us. (And most certainly it would be useless to work with a regime that slaughters several hundred Hajj pilgrims without second thoughts.) It is only through heeding the directions of Islam that we can secure unity.
Imam‘Ali says, “Beware of subjecting God’s religion to vagaries. Indeed unity in regard to a just cause you dislike is better than disunity in an unjust cause you like.”26 Obviously for group work to succeed, one must humble oneself. This may be unpleasant, but it is necessary. Coming together in a group may be disagreeable, but its collective reward is worthwhile.
“Conform to the great majority, for indeed God’s hand is with the community.”27 “Great majority” doesn’t mean merely a big city; it, rather, refers to manifestations of brotherhood in the Islamic community, such as the elections.28 We must adhere to the Islamic community, “for indeed God’s hand is with the community.” Just as the sheep that stray away from the flock are prey to wolves, so those who distance themselves from the community of Muslims for preserving their status are prey to satanic deceptions.29 It is folly to think that solitary action could produce any good: “Verily God (immaculate is He) does not grant any good to anyone, from nations past or nations to come, through disunity.”30
Imam‘Ali informs us of this truth not as a historian who has studied the annals of history but as God’s viceroy with knowledge of Divine Norms. He tells us that this truth holds not only for nations past but also for nations that are yet to come. “God does not grant any good” means that He has ordained it such that a disunited nation should not receive any good. If we desire to secure any good, even personal good, we have no choice other than unity.
And it is no excuse to claim that elements of unity are lacking. Elements of unity are aplenty. Elements of unity are essential, whereas those of disunity are accidental. The principle that preserves the individual and the society alike exists within us, and it is so firm that it withstands any attempt at bending it. It is neither alterable nor bendable.
In describing the “upright” book (the Qur’an), God says,
[He] did not let any crookedness be in it.31
Only a book thus “upright” can serve to guide mankind to the right path. The human being’s spiritual nature (fitrah) is likewise upright and a source of guidance. As such, these two are unalterable elements of unity. So where conflict in words and deeds arises, we should know that it is in violation of our spiritual nature and on account of our evil intentions.32
We should recognize that we reside in the Islamic Republic as guests. Our hosts are those pure souls who sacrificed themselves to safeguard this nation from the assaults of the West and the East. Bearing this in mind, we must strive to purge our evil intentions and purify our soul so as to pave the way for unity.
(Before the Islamic Revolution in Iran, we had difficulty understanding a good number of Qur’anic verses and hadiths. This revolution, however, served as a practical interpretation of these instances. One such instance is this saying by Imam ‘Ali: “One who is pleased with the action of a people is as if though he shared in it with them.”33
After the Islamic Revolution succeeded, we encountered situations where two qualified individuals were candidates for a position. The position would be granted to one of the two. If the other whom was denied the position was pleased with the first’s office and activities, he would share in with the spiritual rewards that the first official would procure by fulfilling the needs of the people. And this would naturally produce a harmonious environment. If, however, he protested the appointment of the first on account of evil and selfish intentions, he would be instigating conflict.)
By traversing this inner path of unity, we will succeed in resolving many a theological and jurisprudential problem. There are naturally certain differences among various groups. The Asharites (asha‘irah) have differences among themselves, and so do the Mutazilites (mu‘tazilah) and the Adliites (‘adliyyah).