People have good intentions, but shaytan directs us at one another. It's very important to realize how dangerous argumentation actually is. Even polite debate in excess. All the friction leads to hatred, hardening of hearts, and breaking of bonds. You end up with many different smaller believing groups -- easier work for shaytan to pick them off one at a time. "Divide and conquer" was not a Roman invention, it's definitely out of the Iblis playbook.
Argumentation & division are so bad that when Bani Isra’il worshipped the golden calf, Prophet Musa grabbed Prophet Harun and said, "Why didn’t you stop this when you saw them going astray?!" Harun replied,, “I feared you would say, 'You divided Bani Isra’il.'”
We do not unify upon error, but we also do not divide the group because of it.
Ibn Mas'ud said, "Differing is evil."
Malik said, "I saw the most knowledgeable person of this city, Sulayman b. Yasar. Whenever an argument would break out in the masjid, he would gather his belongings and walk straight out" (Kitab Jami' IBn Abi Zayd).
If we are going to go far, it will only be together as one unit. A group of people who care about each other and have the same goal is more valuable than a larger group of more talented people who are in it just for self interest.
Our goal is to pass the baton of Islam on to the next generation, while individually remaining steadfast until our final breath.
One of my favorite, an African proverb: "If you need to go fast, go alone. If you need to go far, go together."
