What is your opinion of those who say that the division of the Muslims is an inevitability, and who cite the saying of Allah the Exalted, "And they will continue to differ, except for those upon whom your Lord has mercy," as evidence for this?

The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. Some people say that the division of the Muslims is an inevitability.

The Shaykh : What?

The questioner : The division of the Muslims.

The Shaykh : Division.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes

The questioner : They cite the saying of Allah the Exalted: They say that the "lam" is for causation, so Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, created them in this state. This is the correct view.

The Shaykh : This is a mistake, a great mistake. The original state for the Muslims is unity and not division, as Allah the Exalted said: And Allah the Exalted said: And Allah the Exalted said: This is the original state.
As for the verse you referred to, Allah the Exalted says: People in general, if Allah had willed, would have gathered them upon guidance and they would have been one community. Then they would not differ. Are the Muslims among those whom Allah has shown mercy to? The answer is yes. Therefore, there will be no difference among them. As for His saying, "And for that We created them," it is a causation for people in general, meaning that for the sake of this difference He created them. Were it not for this difference, the Fire would not find anyone, and the creation of the Fire would be contrary to wisdom. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: So this statement is a mistake. But there is no doubt that people differ in knowledge, they differ in understanding, and they differ in piety. If they differ in these matters, their opinions must differ. But does a difference of opinion, such as one man saying that wudu from camel meat is obligatory and another saying it is not obligatory, lead to a difference in hearts? It must not lead to a difference in hearts. But our problem now is that many people, if you differ with them in such matters, differ with you in their hearts. Even in matters less than that, you find that, for example, he hates you if you place your knees before your hands in prostration, because he thinks you should place your hands first, even though the stronger opinion is to place the knees first. Likewise, he hates you if you place your hands on your chest while standing after bowing, because he thinks they should not be placed there, even though the correct view is that they should be placed there. He hates you for this, even though the entire matter is a subject of ijtihad and there is room for ijtihad in it. The obligatory thing is that if a person differs with you based on the evidence he has, you should increase your love for him. The fact that he differs with you, knowing that you dislike him differing with you, for the sake of the evidence he has, indicates his adherence to what he sees as evidence. This is what necessitates increasing love for this man. This is the truth. But to take such a difference as enmity and hatred, this is undoubtedly...

The questioner : ...Does the statement imply that the one who says this intends that the separation is a reality in existence and by divine decree, but the religious command is "do not differ"? Does this reconcile the two?

The Shaykh : No, no. The Muslims as a whole do not differ. But as we said, the matter of opinions—this is halal and this is haram—people differ according to knowledge, understanding, piety, and faith. So people differ, but it is not permissible for them to take this as a difference in their hearts.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Yes

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : He said that all of them are in the Fire. What the Messenger confirmed, all of them are in the Fire except one.