Hawzah News Agency- Perhaps nothing illustrates this challenge—and the wisdom required to overcome it—better than the difference of opinion concerning the date of the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). While the 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal is widely observed among Sunni Muslims, and is also held by some Shi’a scholars, the majority of Shi’a scholars traditionally place the birth of the Prophet on the 17th of Rabi’ al-Awwal. What could have remained simply a difference in historical dating was given an entirely different meaning by the late Imam Ruhollah Khomeini (RA) .
Rather than allowing the difference to become another line separating Muslims, Imam Khomeini proposed that the period between the 12th and 17th of Rabi’ al-Awwal be observed as Unity Week. It was a remarkably simple idea, but one of profound wisdom: instead of asking Muslims to choose one date against another, why not use the entire period to celebrate what they unquestionably share—their love, reverence and devotion to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWA)?
For many years, Unity Week has been observed in the Islamic Republic of Iran as an important occasion for bringing Muslims of different schools and intellectual orientations together. Scholars, academics, intellectuals and ordinary Muslims from different backgrounds are invited to participate in conferences, seminars and other programmes.
When Muslims come together, sit together, listen to one another and engage one another directly, many of the differences that once appeared enormous begin to assume their proper proportions. Some may remain, but they cease to appear as insurmountable obstacles. People discover that the person they had been taught to regard as “the other” also loves Allah, reveres the Prophet, reads the Qur’an, prays, fasts and aspires to live a righteous life. They begin to discover that beneath their differences lies an enormous common ground.
This is perhaps one of the most important lessons that Unity Week offers the Muslim world: people are often divided more by what they imagine about one another than by what they actually know about one another.
The idea eventually found a meaningful expression in Nigeria through the initiative of the revered leader of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky (H), who established a similar Unity Week in the country. Following the same broad pattern, the Nigerian programme begins on the 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal and culminates on the 17th. During the period, Muslims from different backgrounds and schools of thought are invited to participate and to share their perspectives. Speakers may address subjects of their own choice or themes arranged by the organisers.
The significance of this development in the Nigerian context cannot be overstated. Nigeria is a country in which religious, ethnic and social differences have frequently been exploited to create suspicion and division. Within the Muslim community itself, differences in jurisprudence, theology and historical interpretation have sometimes been allowed to assume disproportionate importance. In such an environment, creating opportunities for Muslims to meet outside the narrow boundaries of their respective communities is not merely desirable; it is an essential contribution to the health of the Ummah.
Source: islamicmovement.org
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