Unity according to the Quran and Prophet's (s.a) and Imams (a.s) Traditions

Having faith in monotheism, one source of creation, Islam, Quran and tradition (of the Prophet (s.a) and of the Imams (a.s) are crucialprinciples of unity. Some of the outstanding and effective factors for achieving unity are namely, divine piety, friendship between Muslims and others, cohesive community, and faith in God.According to the viewpoint of the Prophet’s (s.a) traditions it is advisable to follow the Ahl-e Bayt (a.s); such following is the means for achieving Islamic unity. Imam Ali (a.s) describes ‘tradition of the Prophet (a.s)’ as ‘a major factor for creating Islamic unity’ and calls for Muslims to unite and have good moral, etc. The external factors against unity of Muslims are domination of the West and conspiracy of colonizers and the internal factors are Muslims’ negligence, internal dictatorship, cultural and economic weaknesses andnationalism. Some of the key elements which create unity are namely having faith in God, moving toward God, holding dialogues and conducting academic, research studies, and having attention to Islamic commonalities and humanities.