Allah Almighty says in Surat āl-Imran in the Quran that we should be united: وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا ۚ وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ النَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ And hold fast to the rope of God, altogether, and do not become divided. And remember God’s blessings upon you; how you were enemies, and He reconciled your hearts, and by His grace you became brethren. And you were on the brink of a pit of fire, and He saved you from it. God thus clarifies His revelations for you, so that you may be guided. (3:103) Allah is reminding us about being united in the verses we recite in our salah continuously. Before Islam those who were fighting were brought together through the message of Allah. Warring factions came to peace and the brotherhood of the Ummah was created – that has since crossed time and space as Muslim all over the globe are United by their faith in One God. While the Oneness of Allah unites Muslims, the Ayah is a clear message that if you leave the advice and command to hold fast to Allah’s message you will revert to a state of Jahiliyyah- a state of ignorance and enmity and killing each other. Sadly a state that we have become very familiar with. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast in Muharram which is one of the four sacred months, especially on the tenth day, which is Ahsurah. The confirmed and authentic Sunnah is that he would fast on this day and he was inspired to do this before the obligation of Ramadan. Many scholars said it was obligatory for the Ummah to fast … Continue reading ‘Ashura – Focus on unity not division