Islam believes in unified spiritual leadership to peacefully guide Muslims. This understanding stems directly from the Holy Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad’ssa example.
Indeed, the Qur’an teaches that sectarian violence exists today as a form of punishment from God for refusal to unite under spiritual leadership, “Say, ‘He has power to send punishment upon you from above you or from beneath your feet, or to confound you by splitting you into sects and make you taste the violence of one another.’” (6:66) Therefore, the Holy Qur’an implores Muslims to promote peace by remaining united, “Hold fast, all together, by the rope of Allah and be not divided; and remember the favour of Allah which He bestowed upon you when you were enemies and He united your hearts in love, so that by His grace you became as brothers; and you were on the brink of a pit of fire and He saved you from it.” (3:104) Therefore, Islam teaches it is incumbent upon Muslims to remain united as one community, as that is the best protection against violence and discord.
Prophet Muhammad’ssa practical example demonstrates the Qur’anic teaching to ‘be not divided.’ As the Chief of Medina, Prophet Muhammad kept Muslims unified and established the secular Charter of Medina. Article 15 of the Charter of Medina says, for example, “Believers (i.e. Muslims) are all friends of one another…” Likewise in Article 19 the Prophet Muhammad wrote, “The peace of the Believers of the State of Medina cannot be divided.”
In his farewell sermon Prophet Muhammadsa declared to all Muslims everywhere, “Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.” Muslims embraced this teaching and upon Prophet Muhammad’ssa demise, Muslims everywhere united under the Islamic institution of Divinely appointed Caliphate. This was according to the Qur’anic teaching that God Himself establishes Islamic leadership for those who believe in God and serve humanity, “Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security and peace after their fear.” (24:56)
Therefore, Islam believes in Divinely appointed spiritual Khilafat.