After the end of the Rightly Guided Caliphate, the tragedy wasn’t just that monarchy took root among the Muslims — a far greater calamity was that under the label of Dīn, the seed of religious traditionalism (Mazhabiyat) was planted.

Later on, kings and so-called spiritual figures (pseudo-Sufis) nurtured this seed with such devoted care — watering it, feeding it — that it grew into a thick and overwhelming tree. But this seed of “religion” was in fact the seed of weeds — an offshoot path diverging from the main divine highway of Islam. And inevitably, weeds give birth to more branches and tangled growth.

Thus, sects and factions emerged, each forming their own sturdy tree, while the original tree of Dīn, planted under the era of the Caliphate, began to wither and dry up.

Today, we are left consuming the bitter and thorny fruits of those religious trees.

These bitter fruits still cause pain to every sincere and sensitive soul. When a God-conscious person sees this disunity — this sectarian religiosity wrapped in robes of piety — it tears at their heart. But the moment such a soul frowns upon it, they are accused of betrayal of the faith and threatened with being excommunicated from Dīn itself.

Yet, Alhamdulillah! The true Dīn, the original divine seed, remains protected — for its safeguarding was guaranteed by none other than Allah Himself. And from time to time, Allah has always raised such courageous voices who pointed toward the true tree of Islam, and unveiled the deceptive nature of these overgrown, weed-like religious offshoots.

Today, more than ever, we must reconnect directly with the Qur’an, rediscover that original divine seed, and water the withering tree of Dīn — so that it may once again grow tall and strong. So that people may find shade under its canopy of mercy, and taste its sweet, nourishing fruits — fruits of truth, unity, and divine guidance.