Shia Sunni Divide

 

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.