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Without any doubt, the most important issue of the Islamic world today is the issue of unity. For a meaningful progress and development in any society, unity is a priority. That is to say, no meaningful development could be achieved in any society without unity. The disunity that is so rampant within the Muslim community today is due to either intolerance or ignorance. And a major obstacle to Islamic unity is the lack of a genuine desire to understand the beliefs and perspectives of other parties/schools of thought.
There are various ideas and conceptions among the Muslim scholars about the concept of Islamic unity. Some scholars believe that the Islamic unity is the coming together of the Islamic schools of thought to form a single denomination. This idea or belief is incorrect, impractical and does not represent the true conception of the Islamic unity.
On the contrary, some scholars such as Shahīd Mutahhari are of the opinion that: “Islamic unity in no way is related to the unity of the different schools of Fiqh (jurisprudence), but signifies the unity of the Muslims and the unity of the followers of different schools of Fiqh, with their different religious ideas and views.” (Mutahhari, Imamah Wa Rahbari, p. 15)
In the light of this, therefore, Islamic unity is not about forming one single uniform denomination with the same doctrines and practices. This is impossible as the Muslims are not on the same level of understanding and exposure. However, the Islamic unity is about the unity of purpose and goal among various schools of thought. Every Muslim irrespective of their sects/schools of thought believes in the oneness of Allah, prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad, day of resurrection, divinity of the Holy Qur’an, daily obligatory prayers, fasting in the month of Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj), having one Qibla (i.e. Ka’bah) etc.. These points of uniformity should serve as a formidable background towards achieving the unity among all Muslim sects and denominations.
In addition, if the noble Prophet (pbuh) could be enjoined by Allah to invite the People of the Book to a common ground between them, then, what could be the obstacles towards the coming together of the Muslims?
"Say, ‘O People of the Book! Come to a common word between us and you: that we will worship no one but Allah, that we will not ascribe any partner to Him, and that some of us will not take some others as lords besides Allah.’ But if they turn away, say, ‘Be witnesses that we have submitted [to Allah].’" (Qur’an 3: 64)
Meanwhile, in an attempt to achieve the Islamic unity, it is pertinent that every sect/school of thought learns to tolerate the perspectives of others and respect their sacredness.