However the old rankling rancor is mother-pain of Muslims...

However the old rankling rancor is mother-pain of Muslims; now it is contagion in the world of Islam. The enemy too benefits from it always. It seems that the accuser has mistaken the sense of Islamic unity. Islamic sects must overlook principles of their respective beliefs for the sake of unity. This was not the conception of Islamic unity among clerics and scholars of faith and open-mindedness a century ago.

In other words, it means to accept joint material of belief among sects and to set aside the very particulars of their own belief. Such a thing is neither reasonable nor practicable. How is it possible to ask followers of a faith to ignore or give up certain principles, which are in belief or practice, in his view constitutes a part of text of Islam? That is for the sake of unity of Islam and Muslims he should turn a blind eye at a portion from the whole of Islam in the name of Islam?

There are several other ways to make people committed to a religious principle. The most natural one is reason and logic. People cannot be made faithful by means of request or in the name of interests nor can they be stripped of faith. We ourselves are Shia. We are proud to be followers of Ahle Bayt of Prophet. We do not consider a least thing, whether be it an appreciable or undesired, worthy of transaction against interests. We do not entertain any request from any in this regard.

Likewise, we do not expect from others also to give up a principle among principles of their belief for sake of Islamic unity. To accept common elements of belief and to repudiate particulars of a sect is a kind of transgression on absolute consensus. [1] Moreover, it is not a true Islamic product. In any case, particulars of any sect among sects of Islam are parts of Islamic text.

There cannot be Islam [1] [A new statement different from the one having consensus (Refer: Lughta Name Dahe Khuda, Vol. 26, Pg. 450)] if it happens to be devoid of these distinctions and specifications. In usual terms, it is a difference in one party and in one single front. Unity of a party demands that all individuals be at equity with regard to ideology, thought, way and vogue with the exception of personal matters. Nevertheless, unity of a front means something different.

All parties and groups, no matter however different in their taste, ideology, customs and norms must stand in one row against their common enemy because of combined elements common among them.