In the name of Allāh, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. All praise is due to Allāh, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muḥammad, and upon his family and all his companions. To proceed: Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (may Allāh have mercy on him) says: [The second principle: Allāh commands unity in religion and forbids division in it. Allāh has clarified this with a clear explanation that even the common people can understand. He forbade us from being like those who divided and differed before us and perished. He mentioned that He commanded the Muslims to unite in religion and forbade them from dividing in it. This is further clarified by the astonishing things mentioned in the sunnah regarding this. Then the matter reached a point where division in the fundamentals and branches of religion became considered knowledge and understanding of religion, and the command for unity in religion is only spoken by a heretic or a madman.] Shaykh al-Imām Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (may Allāh have mercy on him) says: (The second principle) meaning: from the principles indicated by the Quran and brought by the sunnah in a widespread manner. He said: (Allāh commands unity in religion and forbids division in it). Unity in religion cannot be achieved except by adhering to the wise book and following the sunnah of the Seal of the Prophets (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), and following the path of the Companions and the Followers from the best generations. These three matters achieve unity in religion, and without them, unity cannot be achieved; rather, anything else is the division that Allāh forbade and His Messenger (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) warned against. Allāh has commanded unity in religion in many verses, just as He has forbidden division in many verses. Among the commands for unity in religion is His saying: "He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus, to establish the religion and not be divided therein" (Sūrah al-Shūrā, 13). This is what Allāh has ordained for this nation, just as He commanded those who preceded from the messengers, and His command to the messengers is a command to the nations. For Allāh commanded the messengers and their nations to establish the religion, saying: "to establish the religion and not be divided therein." Establishing the religion cannot be achieved except by adhering to the wise book and the sunnah of the Master of the Messengers (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam). It is obligatory upon the nation, if it desires unity, to reject everything except these two revelations: the Book of Allāh and the sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), as well as what the predecessors unanimously agreed upon; because what the predecessors of the nation agreed upon must have evidence from the book or the sunnah. Allāh, the Exalted, said in clarifying this: "And hold firmly to the rope of Allāh all together and do not become divided" (Sūrah Āl ʿImrān, 103), and His rope is His legislation which He revealed to His Messenger (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam). The command for unity is not merely agreeing in any manner, as some with little knowledge suggest, saying: the nation must unite its sects despite their differences and conflicts. This, in his view, is the obligation upon the nation. We say: this is the obligation, but with your command for unity, you must clarify the path to unity, which Allāh has explained in His book. To call for unity without clarifying the path leading to unity does not achieve the intended purpose; because when Allāh commanded unity, He did not command it unconditionally, but rather with a clear, specific command, saying: "And hold firmly to the rope of Allāh all together and do not become divided" and He, the Exalted, said: "to establish the religion and not be divided therein" (Sūrah al-Shūrā, 13). Establishing it can only be by taking it from its original sources, the book and the sunnah. The command for unity and the prohibition of division is clearly indicated by the book and the sunnah. Therefore, the author (may Allāh have mercy on him) said: (Allāh has clarified this with a clear explanation that even the common people can understand), meaning: it is not confused, nor does it require deep contemplation and great reflection for a person to reach this conclusion, but it is clear and evident to anyone who has read or heard the Quran well, for Allāh commanded this with a single command. As for the prohibition of division, it is abundant, including His saying: "And do not be like those who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them" (Sūrah Āl ʿImrān, 105). Then he (may Allāh have mercy on him) said: (He forbade us from being like those who divided and differed before us). He forbade us, as mentioned in the verse: "And do not be like those who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them" and His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, those who divided their religion and became sects, you, [O Muḥammad], are not [associated] with them in anything" (Sūrah al-Anʿām, 159), and the verses warning against division in religion are very numerous.