مُنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ وَٱتَّقُوهُ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَلَا تَكُونُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا۟ شِيَعًۭا ۖ كُلُّ حِزْبٍۭ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ

Al-Qur’an 30:31-32

Turn towards Him, be mindful of Him, and establish prayers. and do not be among those who associate partners with God, among those who have divided their faith and became sects, every group rejoicing in what it has with itself

Our greatest accomplishment in this life is to put Allahﷻ above everything including ourselves, our emotions. Emotions tend to mislead us a lot. Love and hate in the name of Allahﷻ and His Prophetﷺ is probably the most misunderstood principle of the religion. We have submitted our will to Allahﷻ and follow Prophetﷺ, in other words became a Muslim, this means we have committed to love and hate in the name of Allahﷻ, like Prophetﷺ did. When people differed with Prophetﷺ he never ridiculed them. He did not create walls between them. Heﷺ welcomed them time and again, with a smile on his face. Prophetﷺ became so worried about the rejection of truth by disbelievers that Allahﷻ revealed the aayah below. It was not ego and frustration boiling over that someone differs with his belief; or because they assaulted him verbally and physically. He grieved for the rejection of truth and the message of our Lord. He asked Allahﷻ to forgive them just so that their future generations would have a chance to accept the truth.

لَعَلَّكَ بَـٰخِعٌۭ نَّفْسَكَ أَلَّا يَكُونُوا۟ مُؤْمِنِينَ

Al-Qur’an 26:3

[O Prophet], It may be that you will kill yourself [with grief] that they will not become believers

Narrated Aishaؓ: That she asked the Prophetﷺ, ‘Have you encountered a day harder than the day of the battle) of Uhud?” The Prophetﷺ replied, “Your tribes have troubled me a lot, and the worse trouble was the trouble on the day of ‘Aqaba when I presented myself to Ibn Abd-Yalail bin `Abd-Kulal and he did not respond to my demand. So I departed, overwhelmed with excessive sorrow, and proceeded on, and could not relax till I found myself at Qarnath-Tha-alib where I lifted my head towards the sky to see a cloud shading me unexpectedly. I looked up and saw Gabriel in it. He called me saying, ‘Allah has heard your people’s saying to you, and what they have replied back to you, Allah has sent the Angel of the Mountains to you so that you may order him to do whatever you wish to these people.’ The Angel of the Mountains called and greeted me, and then said, “O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I will let Al-Akh-Shabain (i.e. two mountains) fall on them.” The Prophetﷺ said, “No, but I hope that Allah will let them beget children who will worship Allah Alone, and will worship None besides Him.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3231

Prophet Muhammadﷺ came with the truth in the midst of falsehood. It was inevitable that his message would be offensive to worshipers of false gods. His invitation to righteousness would be difficult for the dishonest and corrupt. That they would shun and threaten his very existence. Yet he delivered the divine message with sincerity and kindness. He was persistent in his invitation to Islam and firm on every aspect of the faith. It was never about winning people by pandering to them. It was never about ridiculing people for their false beliefs. Rather it was about winning over darkness with light. It was about protecting people from their own transgressions. He was sent to save us from our destructive morals, ethics and beliefs derived from our limited subjective comprehension. He was sent to teach us the wholesome objective morality and ethics prescribed by our Creator, Allahﷻ. He was sent to lead us away from ignorance towards enlightenment into the protection of the most compassionate, the most merciful, Allahﷻ.

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةًۭ لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

Al-Qur’an 21:107

We have not sent you [O Prophet] except as a mercy for the worlds

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا كَآفَّةًۭ لِّلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًۭا وَنَذِيرًۭا

Al-Qur’an 34:28

We have not sent you [O Prophet] except comprehensively, a bearer of good news and a warner for all humanity

لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌۭ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًۭا

Al-Qur’an 33:21

Certainly, an excellent example for you is in the Prophet of Allahﷺ, for [one] who has hope [in] Allah and the last day, and remembers Allah often

Slandering a Muslim

Our Prophetﷺs example is the only way to our Creator, Allahﷻ. How appropriate is it for us to let emotions lead us in to darkness. Ridiculing and shunning a Muslim – Follower of Quran and Sunnah. Pointing fingers at individuals and unleashing slander when we are so much as ignorant of the sincerity in their hearts towards Allahﷻ and His Messengerﷺ. How can we follow Allahﷻ and Prophetﷺ only when in a good emotional state and abandon their commands in the name of their love when we feel appropriate. It’s like driving a car, when you get emotionally charged mid way you abandon the steering wheel. This is when you need to be more attentive with the wheel, not less. When we start to judge a Muslim’s beliefs, know that we are being judged by Allahﷻ for these actions. We won’t be called to answer for the beliefs of others but we will have to answer for passing this judgement.

إِنَّهَآ إِن تَكُ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍۢ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍۢ فَتَكُن فِى صَخْرَةٍ أَوْ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ أَوْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَأْتِ بِهَا ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌۭ

Al-Qur’an 31:16

Even if a deed were the weight of a mustard seed—be it hidden in a rock or in the heavens or the earth—Allah will bring it forth. Surely Allah is Most Subtle, All-Aware

Prophet Muhammadﷺ was the kindest, most humble, honest and just individual

When we judge another Muslim to be misguided, we are the one getting tricked and have put ourselves in a difficult situation. Prophet Muhammadﷺ said that one of them is now misguided, the one being judged or the one passing the judgement. If the subject of judgement has their beliefs straight in their heart and were just misunderstood, then the one passing the judgement is now misguided without even realizing. It only takes a few seconds to lose it all, what a sad state of affairs. This is a trade without any profit and only loss. The best you get out of it is to break-even. A logical and reasonable person would walk away without getting involved in this terrible opportunity. Islam is not a piece of property that can only be owned by one party at a time. It is fruitless and downright poisonous to get emotionally charged about in disagreements. We need to keep our ego and emotions in check, for this is an easy road to darkness. We need to unleash our passion in practicing Islam and not in slandering other Muslims. Allahﷻ doesn’t need us to do His work. We need Him for our success. Prophet Muhammadﷺ was the kindest, most humble, honest and just individual. It wouldn’t make much sense to abandon his sunnah and be rude to other Muslims and ridicule them in disagreement, in the name of defending his sunnah. This is an oxymoron at best.

Conduct with Disbelievers

فَلَا تَاۡسَ عَلَى الۡقَوۡمِ الۡفٰسِقِيۡنَ‏

Al-Qur`an 5:26

Do not grieve over the defiantly disobedient people

Firstly, it is important to judge the strength of our own faith before worrying about disbelievers. Not every individual is equal in their conviction to their faith. For many of us it is recommended to ignore and walk away from mingling and sympathizing with disbelievers –

• Who reject Quran Or Sunnah of Prophetﷺ
• Who interpret Quran to match their agenda and desires disconnected from majority of Muslims

Instead, focus on seeking knowledge about Islam first. As there are dangers of getting misguided ourselves when we do not actively seek knowledge and practice our beliefs. Due to this lack of proficiency in religion we put ourselves at risk of destruction. Similar to the advise given when seating in an airplane, in case of emergency, put on our masks first before helping others. If we are not protected ourselves, instead of being helpful to others, we risk leading others to destruction including ourselves.

وَلَا تُجَـٰدِلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَـٰهُنَا وَإِلَـٰهُكُمْ وَٰحِدٌۭ وَنَحْنُ لَهُۥ مُسْلِمُونَ

Al-Qur’an 29:46

Do not argue with the People of the Book unless gracefully, except with those of them who act wrongfully. And say, “We believe in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to you. Our God and your God is ˹only˺ One. And to Him we ˹fully˺ submit.”

قُلْ يَـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ تَعَالَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ كَلِمَةٍۢ سَوَآءٍۭ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلَّا نَعْبُدَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ وَلَا نُشْرِكَ بِهِۦ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًۭا مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَقُولُوا۟ ٱشْهَدُوا۟ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ

Al-Qur’an 3:64

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “O People of the Book! Let us come to common terms: that we will worship none but Allah, associate none with Him, nor take one another as lords instead of Allah.” But if they turn away, then say, “Bear witness that we have submitted ˹to Allah alone˺.”

Islam, the religion of Allahﷻ, deserves nothing but respect. And we respect it by practicing it. This is Allahﷻs command. Finding common ground refers to the act of co-existing peacefully without compromising ones beliefs. Being clear about the truth – Obey Allahﷻ, respect and follow prophet Muhammadﷺ. Being clear that anything else is misguidance and/or disbelief. Agree to disagree without animosity. This isn’t about finding a compromise to our differences, quite the opposite. It is to be firm and steadfast in our beliefs, yet be just to others regardless.

All praise is due to Allah. O Allah, send prayers and peace upon Our Master Muhammadﷺand his Family. O Allah protect us from oppressing ourselves and from whispers of Iblees. Guide us as you have guided your favored ones. Ameen