English Summary of the talk delivered by Shaykhul Islām Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani {Ḥāfiẓahullāh}
Tuesday 4th November 2025 at Taiyabah Masjid, Bolton UK.
In the name of Allāh, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
All praise is due to Allāh, the Lord of all the worlds.
Peace and blessings be upon His noble Messenger, upon his family, his companions, and upon all those who follow them with goodness until the Day of Judgement.
My respected and beloved brothers,
Assalāmu Alaykum wa Rahmatullāhi wa Barakātuh.
All praise is for Allāh — I have been coming to the United Kingdom repeatedly, and each time I come, I notice, Alhamdulillah, that our Muslim brothers here are showing progress in their efforts to preserve and strengthen their faith.
Masjids are being established, maktabs (religious schools) and madrasas are running, and every time, I see more improvement than before.
May Allāh bless all your efforts and grant you success in this world and the next.
Among all the European countries, this is perhaps the only one where Muslims have made such strong efforts to safeguard their religion and the faith of their future generations — and, to a great extent, have succeeded.
May Allāh increase you in goodness and unity, Ameen
The Central Message
All the respected people gathered here are believers and attached to the masjid and the faith.
On this blessed occasion, I wish to share a topic that is deeply important — not only for us but for the entire Muslim Ummah.
Today, Muslims number around two billion across the world.
There are 57 Muslim-majority countries.
We have immense wealth, countless resources, and our lands occupy some of the most strategic locations on earth.
We have oil, gold, and other riches — blessings like never before in history.
Yet despite this, Muslims as a community are weak, dependent, and disunited.
We depend on others for everything — in education, economy, defence, and even in our basic self-reliance.
Why is this the case?
The Prophet ﷺ already foretold this
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once told his Companions that a time would come when other nations would invite one another to attack you just as people invite others to share in a feast spread on a dining table.
The Companions were shocked and asked,
“Will that be because we will be few in number, O Messenger of Allah?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied,
“No, rather you will be numerous — but you will be like the foam on the sea — many in number but weightless.”
That is our condition today: a vast population but without strength or direction, swept away by every current because of a lack of unity and inner power.
*Why has this happened?*
Allāh says in the Qur’ān:
“You will be the most superior, if you are true believers.” (Qur’ān 3:139)
But despite this promise, we see Muslims living in humiliation and dependency.
So what is the root cause?
A great scholar, Shaykh ul-Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan رحمه الله, who was imprisoned by the British during their rule, said after his release that he had pondered deeply during his years in jail over the causes of Muslim decline.
He concluded that there are two main reasons:
Muslims abandoned the Qur’ān.
Not just in recitation, but also in understanding, implementing, and conveying it to others.
The four duties regarding the Qur’ān,
recitation, understanding, practice, and propagation — have been neglected.
Muslims became divided among themselves.
Differences are not always evil, but when disagreement leads to factions, hostility, and hatred — that is tafarraqu (division), and it destroys nations.
Qur’ān on Unity
Allāh says:
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا
“Hold fast, all of you, to the rope of Allāh, and do not be divided.”
(Sūrah Āl-Imran 3:103)
The Prophet ﷺ united the Companions so beautifully that Bilal RA — an Abyssinian — was respected by Arabs as their leader, and Salman al-Farsi RA — a Persian — was made commander among Arabs.
This was the blessing of Islam, which erased all divisions of race and language.
When the Muhajirun (migrants) arrived in Madinah, the Ansar opened their homes and even offered to share their wealth and families. Such was their spirit of sacrifice and brotherhood.
Once, an argument broke out between an Ansari and a Muhajir, and each called out to his group for support — “O Ansar!” and “O Muhajirun!”
When the Prophet ﷺ heard this, his face changed with anger and he said:
“Leave these calls, for they are foul. These are the slogans of ignorance.”
Whenever Muslims have fallen into disgrace, it has often been due to tribalism, nationalism, or group identity.
Nationalism and Racism
The Ottoman Empire — once a unified Muslim world — was destroyed because the Turks were told, “You are Turks; why follow the Arabs?”
And Arabs were told, “You are Arabs; why follow the Turks?”
Thus, unity was broken, and the Ummah fragmented into weak states dependent on others.
Allamah Iqbal RH expressed this beautifully:
“The idol that the new civilization has raised the highest is the idol of the homeland (nationalism); the robe it wears is the shroud of religion.”
Islam recognizes one homeland — the Ummah.
Whether Arab, Persian, African, or Indian — a Muslim is a Muslim.
Religious Division
Another cause of weakness is sectarian division — not diversity of thought itself, but hostility over it.
There have always been differences — between Hanafi, Shafi‘i, Maliki, Hanbali — in jurisprudence and practice.
But the Companions differed too, and yet none refused to pray behind another.
All four schools are based on sound scholarship; none is false.
Differences are natural. What is wrong is turning difference into enmity.
When Divisions Destroyed Muslims
During the Mongol invasion, when the armies of Hulagu Khan were at the gates of Baghdad, the scholars inside the city were busy arguing whether eating crow was halal?
The enemy destroyed Baghdad while the learned were busy debating petty issues.
As a poet said:
“Give glad tidings to the Muftis — your debates have completed the enemy’s mission.”
The Tigris River was flowing red with the blood of Muslims.
Lessons for Muslims in the West
Here in Britain, Alhamdulillah, Muslims have made efforts to preserve their faith.
But beware: do not import the divisions of Pakistan, India, or the Arab world into your Masjids here.
You face much bigger challenges — atheism, secularism, and the loss of faith among your children.
Instead of arguing over sect or language, unite to protect your next generation from disbelief and immorality.
Whether Deobandi, Barelvi, or Salafi — when it comes to shared causes like faith, family, and future — be one body.
Hadīth on Avoiding Disputes
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“I guarantee a house in the gardens of Paradise for the one who abandons argument, even when he is right.” (Abu Dawood)
Even if you are right, if continuing an argument will lead to bitterness, let it go.
Mufti saheb gives an example of his own father, a great scholar, Mufti Muhammad Shafee RH who once had full legal rights over a piece of land for a madrasa.
When someone began disputing ownership, he said, “I will not build an institution on the foundation of dispute.”
He left it all — the land, the rooms, the phone line — and started anew elsewhere.
That Madrasah later flourished far beyond the first location.
He preferred peace over contention, trusting Allah for success.
Final Advice
Muslims must revive the spirit of brotherhood.
Whoever says “La ilaha illallah” is your brother — regardless of race, language, or school of thought.
If you see a fault in your brother, correct him gently, privately, with love — not with harshness or public shaming.
As the Prophet ﷺ said:
“A believer is the mirror of another believer.”
Just as a mirror quietly shows one’s faults without spreading them, a believer should lovingly guide another.
Conclusion
Our unity is our strength.
Our divisions are our downfall.
Let us hold fast to the Qurʾān and the Sunnah, avoid disputes, and work together to safeguard our children, our faith, and our future.
May Allāh unite our hearts, forgive our shortcomings, and make us worthy of representing His Deen with honour and sincerity. Āmīn
