In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh
A lot has been written about disagreement in the Ummah. However, disagreement is a healthy sign of a sane mind and a thinking attitude.
As long as humans inhabit this Earth, disagreement will not go away. However, disagreement needs to be studied, managed and focused.
No Go:
There are areas in which there is no room for disagreement for us. It does not matter whether we understand or we do not, there is no disagreement on the issue.
We accept and we move on.
Loading Qur'aan Verse 
[7:54] Indeed, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne. He covers the night with the day, [another night] chasing it rapidly; and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, subjected by His command. Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Lack of Understanding:
The biggest contributor to disagreement is lack of understanding. This is when a person does not or does not want to understand the issue. This is the area where the issue is lost in noise.
It is unfortunate that “Non-Muslims” have made great strides in this area, there are drills and exercises to cut down the noise and focus on the actual area of disagreement.
Muslims have no such practise, it is not a failure of Islam, it is a failure of Muslims. Since our Ulama, leaders and (Islamic institutes) do not lead the way, the layman have no idea how to do it.
Instead of sitting down and saying, let’s see which areas we actually disagreement on…We just go round and round in circles.
Lack of Context:
It is entirely possible for two people to disagree because they view an issue in two different realities.
For example:
- India has no Hayati vs Mamati issue
- Pakistan is the hot-bed of Hayati vs Mamati issue. The Terrorism, Extremism, Violence in Pakistan is largely perpetrated by “Mamati Deobandees”
- America, Canada and South Africa has no Hayati vs Mamati issue
- Jamiatul Ulama (Britain) are all Mamati vs Darul-uloom Bury, Wifaqul Ulama and all others are Hayati. The Moonsighting problems in UK are largely managed by “Mamati Deobandees”
It is entirely possible that depending on where a person lives, their understanding is clouded by their local context.
Management:
Disagreement can be easily managed by layman. Layman are obligated to make “Taqleed” and they can simply respond by saying I am a Muqallid so I am making Taqleed.
The problem occurs when layman try to be Mujtahid without having a grasp of the subject and expose their lack of knowledge and experience.
If everyone drives in their own lanes and follows the speed limit, there will be no accidents.
Accidents happen when (natural) laws are violated.
Resolution:
Once you have drilled down, focused and understood the exact area of disagreement you just need to ask yourself:
- Can I manage this disagreement and continue to work together for common cause?
- If not, be polite and walk away.
It is unfortunate that “Non-Muslims” have made great strides in this area, there are drills and exercises to manage the actual area of disagreement. Muslims have no such practise, it is not a failure of Islam, it is a failure of Muslims. Since our Ulama, leaders and (Islamic institutes) do not lead the way, the layman have no idea how to do it. Whenever Muslims have a disagreement, they fall apart.
Flamethrowers:
These are the (evil) Muslims who jump in the middle and throw gasoline on the fire. In every dispute, there are those who stoke the fire to enjoy the spectacle.
It is critical to minimise the impact of flamethrowers but continue the discussion.
Learning:
Nobody has ever learned without disagreement!
