The Call of the Quran
2. The Call to God and Unity
~ 49 ~
into Islam. But, regardless of this criticism, it should
be noted that the two-decade long rule of
Mu’awiyah gives us an important lesson. Any
sincere effort to deter Muslims from internal strife
and conflict, even if it is at the cost of introducing
monarchy to a political institution, will always
bring fruitful results in favour of Islam. Internal
conflict leads Muslims to make destructive use of
their Islamic spirit, yet, once distracted from the
path of factional feuds, their zeal finds an active
outlet in the efforts of spreading Islam.
Factional conflicts among Muslims are highly
deplorable. An attempt, therefore, to save Muslims
from internal strife encourages them to eschew
unlawful acts and harnesses their Islamic spirit to
the popularising and spreading of Islam. The
energy or collective force that might otherwise be
used in destructive activities is then devoted to the
progress and consolidation of Islam. The target of
Muslims’ reform and the inculcation in them of the
exalted qualities of a noble Islamic character from
which they had earlier been diverted by factional
feuds, is automatically achieved.
