The Shaykh’s remarks on how outward disagreement leads to inward disagreement, and the evidence for this.

The Shaykh : He pointed out a very serious issue, namely that if Muslims disagree in their outward appearance, which our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) has commanded to be uniform, this leads to disagreement in their inward selves and in their hearts. Among the evidence for this is the hadith in the Sahih that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he stood for prayer, would not say the takbir for prayer until he had ordered the straightening of the rows. He had several phrases when he ordered the people to straighten their rows. Among those related to our topic is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): This is a physical straightening, as is known in the practical Sunnah, where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when straightening the rows, would say to the one lagging behind, "Move forward," and to the one whose body was protruding, "Move back and straighten." This straightening was commanded by the Messenger (peace be upon him), and he linked disagreement in this matter to being a cause of disagreement in the hearts of those who disagree in straightening the rows. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made the disagreement among the Muslims standing in the rows for the Lord of the Worlds a cause for disagreement to occur between them themselves in their hearts. This disagreement in the heart undoubtedly leads to the corruption of the Ummah and its weakness, and it may lead to its complete disappearance. In reality, this is something that scholars and students of knowledge should note: the cause of the weakness, humiliation, and subjugation of Muslims today, to the point that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has subjected them to the most humble of nations, as attested by the Qur'an, is their distance from the Shari'ah, sometimes in understanding, sometimes in practice, and sometimes in both. Many people never realize that a Muslim’s rectification of his outward appearance is an obligatory duty that Islam has emphasized and commanded Muslims to perform. They believe that these matters, or that these people believe that these are merely formal, outward matters to which Islam does not assign great weight.