In
the name of Allah the most Beneficent and Merciful
The purpose of this
writing is not to “resolve” the Shia-Sunni divide. Religious scholars, very
powerful political and military figures, from both sides, in the last 1350
years were unable to achieve this resolution so it is a futile attempt to do
so. What we can and must do is to manage it, because if we don’t then the
consequences will be devastating. Just look at sectarian based conflicts in Syria
(350,000 killed), Iraq (450,000 killed), Yemen (130,000 killed) as examples of
what can happen if this jinni is let out of the bottle. Our current situation
is very precarious because America is blaming Pakistan for her defeat in
Afghanistan, and India under BJP rule, would really want to see Pakistan up in
flames. To manage it we need to consider two obvious points. First, we cannot
change history. Who ever did what he/she did or said whatever he/she said is
not going to change, they are all dead and in the presence of Almighty Allah.
It is up to Him to judge them as He sees fit. It is absolutely not our position
to pass judgement. Nowhere in Quran or Sunnah we see such demand being made
from Muslims. Secondly, from an Islamic eschatology(end times) discussion the
arrival of Imam Mehdi is very important. Shia firmly believe he will be for
sure from ahl-e-bait but Sunnis are not very sure about him being from
ahl-e-bait. But both are sure that when he arrives no Muslim will doubt him,
and he will be declared as unanimous leader of Muslims. The question is until
he appears what should we do? I think we should adopt following three part
plan.
1)
Follow your sect but don't taunt another
sect.
2)
Avoid all those maulanas or muftis or
zakirs who spread negativity and animosity towards other sects. This can be
done very effectively by:
a. not
donating to their organization
b. not viewing and subscribing to their social media channels like Facebook,
Youtube etc. Trust me such people really crave social media attention.
3)
Stop supporting Iran and Saudi Arabia on
sectarian basis. In all three earlier mentioned examples both countries
supported their respective sectarian based proxies but did not directly fight
with each other for a single day. There are reports that Iran sent young Shia
boys from Pakistan to fight in Syria and Saudi Arabia hired Sudanese boys to
fight in Yemen.
I think if we follow this
plan, we or our children have a good chance fighting kufar under the leadership
of Imam Mehdi otherwise we have a good chance of killing each other before his arrival.
