Allah (SWT) says in the Noble Qur'an: "And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves." (3:103)

Allah (SWT) says in the Noble Qur'an: "The believers are but a single brotherhood. Make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers and fear Allah so that you may receive mercy." (49-10)

Allah (SWT) says in the Noble Qur'an: "As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, you have no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah. He will in the end, tell them the truth of all that they did." (6-159)

Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "The Muslims are like a body, if one part of the body hurts, rest of the body will also suffer." Meaning that the Muslims, whether they are of Chinese, African or Arabian or European origin, are one Ummah and they cannot be separated from each other.

Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Believers are brethren, their lives are equal to each other and they are as one hand against their enemy."

Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "It is not permissible for two Muslims to be annoyed and angry for more that three days."

Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "When Muslims are angry with each other for three days. If they do not compromise then they go away from the limits of Islam and the one who compromise first will enter Jannah (Paradise) earlier."

The utmost important duty for every Muslim is to preserve and protect the Muslim unity and not to cause any division in the Muslim rank. O Muslims: Know that union is strength and division is weakness. A building will not be strong except by the cohesion of its bricks. A tower will not arise except on correct foundations and solid principles. So, there are not sects in ISLAM, we should always call ourselves as Muslims, follower of Islam.

Sunnis pray at Shia mosque in Lucknow (June 1, 2008)

Setting a new tradition in Lucknow which has a long history of Shia-Sunni riots, a handful of Muslims belonging to the Sunni sect offered namaz at a Shia mosque here this Friday.

The proposal, considered as a move to end the decades long animosity between the two sects that had clashed several times, especially during the month of Moharrum over taking out of processions and their routes, had come from noted Shia cleric, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, who is also the vice president of the Muslim Personal Law Board.

Sadiq had proposed to offer the Eid namaz led by the Naib Imam of Idgah on Eid which is still some months away but this Friday, Padamshri Haji Kalimullah of Malihabad led a delegation of about 20 to the historical Asifi mosque to offer namaz.

The namaziz were led by, Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, who welcomed the move by the Sunnis of Malihabad.

In reciprocation, Shias would offer namaz next Friday at a Sunni mosque in Malihabad, he said.

Terming the move as a new beginning, Jawwad said a message of unity would go from here and prove a dampener on the designs of some vested interests bent upon creating rift within the community.

A Sunni scholar who also offered prayers at the Asifi mosque said when both sects offer namaz together at Kabaa why can they not do the same here.

Source: Times of India

Shias, Sunnis celebrate Eid together in Lucknow (October 02, 2008)

For years, Mecca was the only place in the world where Muslims from different sects offered Namaz together. But now, it is happening in Lucknow too.

It began as a gesture in 2007 and it is already almost a tradition.

"When Shias and Sunnis from Lucknow go for Hajj, they go together. They go together to the Muzdelefa, Arafat. They do Tawaf together. So when they return to Lucknow, why do they go to separate mosques? In Hajj, we are trained to be together, so we should stay together over here as well," said Dr Kalbe Sadiq, vice president, AIMPLB.

This Eid, Shias will offer prayers at this Idgah, which is managed by Sunnis and the man leading them will be Sunni cleric Maulana Kahlid Rashid.

"I think this will give a very clear and good message not only throughout Lucknow and India, but throughout the world as there are Shia-Sunni conflicts in other parts of the world also," said Maulana Khalid Rashid, Sunni cleric.

The city of Lucknow has been witness to volatile relations between the two sects with often riots breaking out during Moharram. But this unique gesture will undoubtedly help offset the strained relations between Shias and Sunnis.

Source: NDTV.com

Rare show of Islamic unity in Saudi Arabia (June 15, 2008)

In a rare gesture of unity and amity with their brothers in Islam, a delegation of Sunnis performed Juma prayers at one of the Shiite Mosques in the eastern city of Qatif, the only part of Saudi Arabia where Shiites are a majority.

Observers see it as an unprecedented move to soothe the feelings of alienation among the Shiite minority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The delegation, headed by Shaikh Mukhlef Bin Daham Al Shamri, were attentive to the Friday sermon delivered by the well-known Shiite Shaikh Hassan Al Safar, in which the preacher underscored the significance of strengthening Islamic and national unity and closing ranks among followers of Islam.

"This is part of our duty to promote virtue and prevent vice," he noted. The new initiative on the part of Sunnis and Shiites to close their ranks received wide media coverage and some foreign media such as BBC also covered it extensively.

Shaikh Al Shamri is one of the shaikhs of Shamr tribe, which spreads over a vast area in various regions of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. In yet another gesture to express the significance of national unity, Shaikh Al Shamri and those accompanying him, covered their shoulders with the Saudi flags while they were praying at the mosque, according to witnesses.

During the talks with the Shiite community, Shaikh Al Shamri proposed that a similar delegation of Shiites would come over to one of the Sunni mosques in Al Khobar next Friday. This move was regarded as a bold initiative from the part of the majority Sunnis to bury the hatchet and show their reciprocal respect to fellow members of the community.

This also comes as part of repairing the damage caused by a statement issued two weeks ago by some 22 Sunni clerics blaming Shiites. In their statement, radical Sunni clerics accused Shiites of destabilising Muslim countries and humiliating Sunnis.

However, the Saudi officials disclosed then that the clerics who issued the statement do not represent the official Saudi religious establishment, and their views do not reflect those adopted by the government.

Source: GulfNews.com

Hezbollah-Salafist Memorandum of Understanding Signed (August 18, 2008)

Once again, Hezbollah signs a new memorandum of understanding with another Lebanese group, in a bid to preserve national unity and prevent sedition in the country.

Source: almanar.com

A tailor was at work. He took a piece of cloth and with a pair of shining, costly, scissors; he cut the cloth into various bits.

Then he put the pair of scissors at his feet. Then he took a small needle and thread and started to sew the bits of cloth, into a fine shirt. When the spell of sewing was over, he stuck the needle on to his turban.

The tailor's son who was watching it asked him: "Father, the scissors are costly and look so beautiful. But you throw them down at your feet. This needle is worth almost nothing; you can get dime a dozen. Yet, you place it carefully on your head itself. Is there any reason for this illogical behaviour?"

"Yes, my son. The scissors have their function, no doubt; but they only cut the cloth into bits. The needle, on the contrary, unites the bits and enhances the value of the cloth. Therefore, the needle to me is more precious and valuable. The value of a thing depends on its utility, son, not on its cost-price or appearance."

Similarly, there are two classes of people in the world-those who create dissensions and disharmony, who separate man from man; and those who bring about peace and harmony, who unite people.

The former are generally the rich people, powerful politicians and kings; the latter are generally the poor devotees of Allah (SWT), the penniless wandering monks, and mendicants. The Lord makes use of both to carry on his function of providing the field for the evolution of individual souls. He throws down on the dust the mighty kings and millionaires who create wars and disharmony; and He keeps the poor, pious devotee over the top. In His eyes the scale of values is entirely different!

A father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion; and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks tied with twine, and said to his oldest son: "Break it in pieces."

Oldest son tried and tried, but with all his strength, he could not break the bundle.

The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful.

"Untie the bundle," said the father, "and each of you take one stick."

When they had done so, he said to them: "Now, try to break your stick." Each stick was easily broken. "You see my meaning," said their father.

He then addressed them in these words: "My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this bundle of sticks, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies; but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these single sticks."

Moral of the Story: "United we stand, Divided we fall," the basic concept is that unless the people are united, it is easy to destroy them.

From time immemorial, Ants have had many enemies.

There were some who thought it would be wise to hold council together to see if they could come to some arrangement whereby they could live without being attacked by other animals.

At the council meeting, there were Red Ants, Rice Ants, Black Ants, Wagtail Ants, Gray Ants, Shining Ants and many other varieties.

The discussion continued for a long time, but they could not agree.

Some desired that they should all live in a small hole in the ground. Others wanted to build on the ground, where nobody could enter but Ants.

Still some wanted to dwell in Trees so as to get rid of Anteaters, forgetting entirely that there they would be the prey of Birds.

Each party resolved to go to work in its own way, with its own responsibilities.

Each group had an appointed task, and each member of the group worked regularly and well.

But unity of all the Ants could not be seen anywhere in the world.

The ants chose a King from among them. They divided the labor so that all went as smoothly as it possibly could.

But each group did it in its own way and not one of them thought of protecting themselves against the onslaught of birds or Anteaters.

The Red Ants built their house on the ground and lived under it, but Anteaters flattened their home in a minute after days of precious labor.

The Rice Ants lived under the ground and with them it went no better. For whenever they came out, Anteaters were waiting.

The Wagtail Ants fled to the Trees, but on many occasions Centipedes sat waiting for them, or the birds gobbled them up.

The gray Ants had intended to save themselves from extermination by taking to flight, but lizards, hunting Spiders and birds flew a great deal faster than they did.

When the Ant King heard that the different groups of animals could come to no agreement, he sent them the secret of Unity and the message of working together.

Until this day, they have not understood the message of unity and working together between each group and each species.

"O Naml! Enter your houses, (that) Suleiman and his hosts may not crush you while they do not know" (27:18)

Once upon a time, there was a flock of doves that flew in search of food led by their king. One day, they had flown a long distance and were very tired. The dove king encouraged them to fly a little further. The smallest dove picked up speed and found some rice scattered beneath a banyan tree. So all the doves landed and began to eat.

Suddenly a net fell over them and they were all trapped. They saw a hunter approaching carrying a huge club. The doves desperately fluttered their wings trying to get out, but to no avail.

The king had an idea. He advised all the doves to fly up together carrying the net with them. He said that there was strength in unity.

Each dove picked up a portion of the net and together they flew off carrying the net with them. The hunter looked up in astonishment. He tried to follow them, but they were flying high over hills and valleys. They flew to a hill near a city of temples where there lived a mouse who could help them. He was a faithful friend of the dove king.

When the mouse heard the loud noise of their approach, he went into hiding. The dove king gently called out to him and then the mouse was happy to see him. The dove king explained that they had been caught in a trap and needed the mouse's help to gnaw at the net with his teeth and set them free.

The mouse agreed saying that he would set the king free first. The king insisted that he first free his subjects and the king last. The mouse understood the king's feelings and compled with his wishes. He began to cut the net and one by one all the doves were freed including the dove king.

They all thanked the mouse and flew away together, united in their strength.

Moral of the Story: Strength lies in unity.