“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favour of Allah upon you – when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favour, brothers.” [Quran Surah Alee Imran 3:103]
“Let there arise from amongst you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. It is they who are the successful ones, And do not be like those who differed amongst themselves after the clear proofs had come to them; for them is a painful punishment.” (Surah Alee Imran 3:104-105).
According to a recent article in the New Straights Times, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor reminded his fellow Malaysians not to be extreme and fanatical in politics to the point of severing family ties and generating divisions between Muslims. He is the mufti of the Malaysian Island of Penang.
Wan Salim further stated that relationships between fellow Muslims, and family members in particular, must not be broken, especially due to differences in political beliefs or parties.
The Straights Times article quotes him as saying: “This is because political parties are not a pure creation of Allah. It is a methodology based on human thought that has a certain goal to achieve.”
“Relationships should not be broken for any reason whatsoever, even if a person is hurt or mistreated by any of his siblings or relatives,” he added.
He also stated that all political parties must work towards strengthening Muslim unity and also uniting fellow Malaysians from various racial backgrounds.
Wan Salim’s comments were made in the context of upcoming elections in six Malaysian states.
I think this is an uplifting and encouraging comment for the mufti to make and I personally agree with it. We all have political beliefs and orientations and many of us feel quite strongly about those beliefs regarding how society should be governed. But it is unrealistic that we, as a community, will ever arrive at a consensus regarding these matters.
Given this reality, we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by our feelings and worldviews to the point we stop speaking to one another or hold very deeply held grudges, as that will have a deleterious effect on our personal relationship with Allah as well as on the community at large. If we allow our feelings and personal political convictions to be our guide then we will fall into divisions and no small amount of error.
We can accept differences amongst ourselves in these matters as long as we remain within the limits that Allah has prescribed for us and do not generate disunity and severing of ties. In our quest to build a better world, we cannot disobey Allah and disregard what He has commanded us to do.
It is one thing to have differences of opinion between us (khilāf), but it is an altogether different matter when things lead to a full-blown conflict leading to dissension (shiqāq).
As the mufti correctly stated, politics, and political ideology, are “a methodology based on human thought that has a certain goal to achieve.” Because it is based on human thought it will sometimes be flawed and shortsighted and it will have to be occasionally modified. This is why we may reference various political ideologies or thoughts as a guide, but not treat them as an unalterable revelation consisting of no flaws.
We should also recall that Allah says in the Quran:
“And We have made some of you [people] as trial for others – will you have patience? And ever is your Lord, Seeing.” (Surah al-Furqan 25:20)
Dr. Hatem al-Haj commenting on this verse writes:
“If our entire life is a test, then our relationships are not an exception from that. We are being tested by Allāh by means of one another. He also decreed that those disagreements will not all be concluded in this life, and many times the truth will become fully manifest in the hereafter, and will not fully prevail before then.”
And remember that Allah says:
“And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose courage and your strength departs, and be patient. Surely, Allah is with those who are As-Saabiroon (the patient)” [Surah al-Anfal 8:46]
And reflect upon the following supplication:
اَللّٰهُمَّ اَلِّفْ بَيْنَ قُلُوْبِنَا، وَأَصْلِحْ ذَاتَ بَيْنِنَا، وَاهْدِنَا سُبُلَ السَّلاَمِ، وَنَجِّنَا مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّوْرِ، وَجَنِّبْنَا الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ، وَبَارِكْ لَنَا فِىْ أَسْمَاعِنَا، وَأَبْصَارِنَا، وَقُلُوْبِنَا، وَأَزْوَاجِنَا، وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا، وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَآ اِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيْمُ
O Allah! Put affection amongst our hearts, set right our matters between ourselves, guide us to the ways of peace, save us from darkness towards light, save us from all kinds of indecency; the apparent as well as the hidden, and bless our hearing, our seeing, our hearts, our spouses and our children, and turn in mercy upon us. Indeed You are the One who greatly Accepts repentance, One who is repeatedly Merciful.
