Islam calls for unity and solidarity. Both Sunnis and Shiites are required to work together and try to overcome their points of difference or forget about them, simply because the Ummah is facing a plight and both parties are targeted by one enemy.

Here, we’d like to stress the fact that at a time when the enemy of Islam encroaches the Muslim Ummah, elements of enhancing unity should dominate and disputes between different Muslim groups and sects are to be avoided.

Hence, Muslims should be aware of all routes and channels that may lead to divisions, differences and conflicts among them. They should abide by the Qur’an and Sunnah, which are the assured means of salvation. Almighty Allah says: “And hold fast, all of you together, by the covenant of Allah and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favor on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may beguided.” (Aal `Imraan 3: 103)
In our day and age, it is more important to stress points of agreement rather than points of disagreement and to try to bring a bridge between the Sunnah and the Shi`ah without compromising any Islamic values, because what unites Muslims is much greater than what disunites them.

The eminent Egyptian scholar, Sheikh `Abdul-Khaliq Hasan Ash-Shareef, states the following: “I don’t know any authentic hadiths carrying the meaning of what you have referred to in the second part of your question. Imam At-Tabari himself stated that he narrates the hadith according to what has reached him irrespective of whether the narration itself is authentic or not. I advise you, dear brother, to send us the Arabic text of the hadith or any narration to allow us to track its authenticity in the authentic collections of hadith. In addition, we do advise you not to promote such websites and such sayings as they add to the disunity of the whole Ummah, and add more fuel to the flames triggered by the enemies of Islam. How come we believe that the Mother of the Believers, `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) say that about one of the Prophet’s Companions and his cousin (`Ali Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him)

The best course of action in this regard is to mention the famous saying the Caliph `Umar Ibn `Abdul-Aziz who stated while referring to such sedition and similar acts in which blood of some the Prophet’s Companions has been shed: “This is a sedition we don’t witness, and such blood we don’t shed and Allah saved our hands from being stained by it, so we should keep our tongues clean by refraining from talking about these issues anymore.”