When the word “Qur’an” is used on its own it signifies faith, just as faith points to the Qur’an; the two are inseparable. God willing, this will be discussed later. Allah has commanded unity and harmony and has forbidden division and discord. He, the Exalted, says:

“Hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allah and do not be divided.” (Q 3:103)

He also says:

“Indeed, those who have split up their religion and become sects—you have nothing to do with them.” (Q 6:159)

And He says:

“Do not be like those who split up and differed after clear proofs had come to them.” (Q 3:105)

He further informs us that those encompassed by His mercy will not differ, saying:

“They will always differ, except those upon whom your Lord has mercy.” (Q 11:118–119)

Accordingly, the people who follow the Messenger most closely are the least prone to disagreement—namely, the People of Ḥadīth and Sunnah. They are less divided than all other groups, and whatever group stands nearest to them among those who claim affiliation with the Sunnah is likewise less divided. Conversely, the farther a faction strays from the Sunnah—such as the Muʿtazilah and the Rāfiḍah—the more disagreement one finds among them.

The profusion of disagreement among the philosophers:

As for the philosophers, their differences are beyond enumeration. Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī, in his book al-Maqālāt, records positions held by the non-Islamic philosophers that al-Fārābī, Ibn Sīnā, and their peers never mentioned. Likewise, Qāḍī Abū Bakr ibn al-Ṭayyib, in his work al-Daqāʾiq—wherein he refutes the philosophers and astronomers and gives precedence to the logic of the Muslim theologians over that of the Greeks—reports many such views. The theologians of the Muʿtazilah, the Shīʿah, and others, in their critiques of the philosophers, also cite numerous doctrines and proceed to rebut them.