Imam Al-Jawad (a) and Islamic Unity

Islamic unity has been always regarded as a crucial dilemma for the leaders of Islamic societies¡ especially Shi’ites. Shi’a Imams have declared and emphasized on the importance of Islamic unity as well as introducing certain strategies. The presence of different religious sects and groups in the time of Imam Al-Jawad (a) has led to a gap between them in society. However¡ Imam Al- Jawad (a) understood the crucial situation of the time and introduced a number of proper strategies based on Islamic principles. The question of the present paper is: What were the strategies of Imam Al-Jawad (a) in order to avoid profound differences along with achieving Islamic unity? Avoiding disagreements¡ referring to the Holy Quran and Sirah of Prophet Muhammad (s) and respecting beliefs and opinions of addressees are among the most important strategies applied by Imam Al-Jawad (a). Through analyzing the cultural situation of the time¡ the present paper tries to explain Imam Al-Jawad (a)’s strategies in achieving Islamic unity.