“all together”—that is, join forces upon the Qur’an and the Sunnah—and His saying, “and do not divide.” When Allah enjoined unity He simultaneously forbade schism, and He made it clear that true cohesion is to be built upon the rope of Allah, namely the Qur’an; it is impermissible to rally around any other banner—be it a school, a party, or a faction—for that only breeds discord.

Unity, then, can be achieved solely through the Book of Allah. The Exalted says, “Hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah and do not divide” (Āl ʿImrān 3:103).

Thus Allah, glorified be He, has commanded us to unite and to cast aside division both in our views and in our hearts. No matter how widely Muslims are scattered or how distant their lands, they remain one upon the truth: their hearts are joined and they love one another. As for the people of falsehood, even if they stand shoulder to shoulder in a single place, their bodies are together but their hearts are at odds. Allah the Exalted says, “You would think them united, yet their hearts are dispersed” (al-Ḥashr 59:14). He also says, “Do not be like those who split up and differed after clear proofs had come to them; for such there is a tremendous punishment” (Āl ʿImrān 3:105), and, “Do not be of the polytheists—of those who split up their religion and became sects, each faction rejoicing in what it had” (al-Rūm 30:31–32). He, exalted is He, further says, “Establish the religion and do not fall into division regarding it” (al-Shūrā 42:13).

Accordingly, it is obligatory for the Muslims to be a single ummah in their creed, in their worship, in their communal life, and in their obedience to their legitimate leader, so that they become like one hand,