MAKATI CITY (MindaNews / 10 April) – It’s as if the long-simmering national discourse between the pro-liberal (yellow/pink), the pro-Duterte (green) and the pro-PBBM (red) has found renewed vigor, new lexicon — even, perhaps, new fractures.
But this time, the colors aren’t just political.
They are theological. They are moral. They are existential.
After the resurfacing of takfīrism in the country immediately following the U.S.–Israel war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran (as I reflected in “The Resurrection of Takfiris,” a similar pattern now unfolds closer to home. The registration this week of political parties for the long-delayed BARMM parliamentary elections has not only opened democratic space; it has also exposed fault lines.
On one hand, there is the invocation of a slogan: “we hear and we obey.” On the other, the enumeration of past sacrifices, past credentials, past heroism.
Both sound familiar as we have heard them before. We have written about them before.
Read:
“Mt. Kabalukan: Not Just Watching But Listening,”
“The Criterion Called ‘Now,’” https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AzZCpiHLp
And yet, here we are again.
What, then, is this question pressing itself upon us not as an academic inquiry but as a moral necessity:
What should our parameters be in those moments of disagreement whether that be international, national or regional?
1. Verify Before You Vilify
“O you who believe! If a corrupt person brings you news, verify it…” (Qur’an 49:6)
We live in an age where a forwarded message travels faster than reflection. A screenshot becomes evidence. A clipped video becomes truth. A rumor becomes conviction.
But the Qur’an interrupts this haste.
Fatabayyanū—verify. Not react. Not repost. Not retaliate.
Verify.
It’s because a society that abandons verification eventually loses justice. And a community that loses justice will soon lose itself.
2. Avoid Slander, Suspicion, and Surveillance
“Avoid much suspicion… do not spy… do not backbite one another…” (Qur’an 49:12)
How quickly disagreement turns into character assassination. From “I disagree with your position” to “I question your intention” to “I deny your sincerity.”
And before long, we are no longer debating ideas. We are devouring reputations.
The Qur’an does not merely discourage this—it paints it vividly:
“…Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?”
This is not rhetoric. This is moral shock therapy.
3. Speak with Justice—even Against Yourself
“O you who believe! Stand firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even against yourselves…” (Qur’an 4:135)
Partisanship tempts us to selective morality. When “our side” errs, we contextualize.
When “their side” errs, we weaponize.
But the Qur’an dismantles this convenience.
Justice is not tribal. Truth is not partisan. The believer is not a mouthpiece of a camp, but a witness to the truth.
Even when it hurts. Nay, I would say, especially when it hurts.
4. Do Not Let Hatred Distort Justice
“Do not let the hatred of a people cause you to be unjust…” (Qur’an 5:8)
There are moments when disagreement becomes deeply personal. Historical wounds resurface.
Old grievances reawaken. And so, now, justice is not just a matter of right and wrong; it’s us and them.
But the Qur’an sets down an immovable boundary:
As your enemy, he is entitled to your fairness as well, because injustice, even meted out against the unjust remains justice.
5. Return Disputes to Higher Principles
“If you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger…” (Qur’an 4:59)
Amid the clamor of competing narratives, we should be asking:
What anchors us? Is it personality? Popularity? Political expediency? Or is it principle?
To “refer back” is not merely to quote a verse or a hadith. It is to align our instincts with revelation. It is to ask not, “What benefits my side?” but “What pleases the Lord?”
6. Maintain Brotherhood Beyond Disagreement
“The believers are but brothers, so make peace between your brothers…” (Qur’an 49:10)
Disagreement is inevitable. Disunity is not.
The tragedy of our time is not that we disagree, but that we forget how to disagree. We sever ties over opinions. We withdraw respect over positions. We reduce people to their last post.
But the Qur’an insists: Brotherhood is not conditional on agreement.
It is sustained despite disagreement.
7. Speak Good—or Remain Silent
“…and speak to people good [words]…” (Qur’an 2:83)
Not every thought deserves expression. Not every reaction deserves articulation.
At a time of immediate commentary, silence has become rare and thus potent.
(And sometimes, restraint is the most principled stance.) At times, the most Islamic response is no response. And so, we come back to where we started.
Between demands of fealty and stories of past service… Between brands that demand allegiance and voices that require adherence… Between global wars and neighborhood battles…
We are left with a choice. Not of which side to take. But of how to take a side.
For in Islam, adab (proper behavior) is not ornamental. It is foundational.
Inasmuch as our jurisprudence is so detailed that it gives guidance on cutting nails and even spitting, do not expect that it is silent on something far more consequential:
How we disagree.
For, in the end, it is not our positions that will define us. It is our conduct. And maybe, just maybe, the actual challenge of our faithful witness these days is not if we can present a case convincingly but if we can disagree faithfully.
[MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Mansoor L. Limba, PhD in International Relations and Shari‘ah Counselor-at-Law (SCL), is a publisher-writer, university professor, vlogger, chess trainer, and translator (from Persian into English and Filipino) with tens of written and translation works to his credit on such subjects as international politics, history, political philosophy, intra-faith and interfaith relations, cultural heritage, Islamic finance, jurisprudence (fiqh), theology (‘ilm al-kalam), Qur’anic sciences and exegesis (tafsir), hadith, ethics, and mysticism. He can be reached at mlimba@diplomats.com and www.youtube.com/@WayfaringWithMansoor, and his books can be purchased at www.elzistyle.com and www.amazon.com/author/mansoorlimba.]
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