INTRODUCTION

The division of the Muslim Ummah into various sects whether due to ideological (theological), jurisprudencial or political reasons have brought with it a huge disgrace of disunity and heaviest price of "terrorism" against one another. This has led to discrimination, hatred, castigation, fighting, killing and declaration of one sect or the other as “unbeliever” who will end up in eternal hell fire. Without fear of misinterpretation, and of course with ample authentic evidences, the discord and disunity within the Ummah started with the Sahabah of the Prophet themselves just almost immediately after the blessed demise of the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa Ahli. Ever since till date, things have become more tensed and the bridge of discrimination, hatred, takfirism (declaration of one group or the other as unbeliever) become more wider.



ROOT CAUSE OF TODAY'S SECTARIANISM

There is a popular hadith documented by Imam al-Tirmidhi which seems to give us the root cause of this problem. It states:

 Narrated Abdullah bin Amr:

"... Indeed the children of Isra’il split into seventy-two sects, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects. All of them are in the Fire Except one sect." He said: "And which is it O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "What I am upon and my Companions."

Grade : Da’if (weak)

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2641 In-book reference : Book 40, Hadith 36 English translation : Vol. 5, Book 38, Hadith 2641
https://www.sunnah.com/tirmidhi/40/36

The hadith is actually graded “Hasan (good)” by Imam Tirmidhi and others as opposed to the source above who graded it “da’if (weak)”.


Perhaps due to the natural law of “action and reaction”, Muslims generally are scared and of course wary of this hadith as no one wants to end up with those condemned 72 sects of the Ummah that fire is destined upon. The “reaction” to this hadith is that every Muslim sect continue to identify herself as the only saved sect who is upon what the Prophet and his companions were. This has led to excommunication of others and the idea of takfirism.


OTHER VERSION OF THE HADITH

 The hadith, interestingly, got another twist in another version when the “saved sect” is identified as “al-Jama’ah (the community)”. The hadith says:

It was narrated from ‘Awf bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

“The Jews split into seventy-one sects, one of which will be in Paradise and seventy in Hell. The Christians split into seventy-two sects, seventy-one of which will be in Hell and one in Paradise. I swear by the One Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, my nation will split into seventy-three sects, one of which will be in Paradise and seventy-two in Hell.” It was said: “O Messenger of Allah, who are they?” He said: “ The Jama’ah”

Reference : Sunan Ibn Majah 3992 In-book reference : Book 36, Hadith 67 English translation : Vol. 5, Book 36, Hadith 3992 https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah/36/67

FALSE INTERPRETATION

 
The understanding and interpretation of this hadith (if at all the matn – text is truly accurate) has come into differing opinions and thoughts. Some scholars are even try to be smarter by saying the “jama’ah” is being refer to those that identified themselves as “Ahlu Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah” as against others that either identified themselves or being identified as Sufi, Shi’ah, Deobandi, Ash’ariyyah, etc.


Interestingly, this smart move has even worsen the case as subsects within the self acclaimed “Ahlu Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah” begin to define who “Ahlu Sunnah wa alJama’ah” is/are.

 Conflicting definitions with varying “terms and conditions” and excommunication and takfirism within this self acclaimed Ahlu Sunnah are some of these worst outcome. The truth is “Ahlu Sunnah” are divided into subsects by ideological differences hence we have Mu’tazila, Ash’ariyyah and Athariyyah (known today as Salafiyyah). Then, by jurisprudencial differences, we have Malikiyyah, Shafi’iyah, Hanbaliyyah and Hanafiyyah and dozens of extinct Sunni madhhabs (school of thoughts).


Furthermore, the fact that this group (Ahlu Sunnah) do not have monopoly of hadith sources, other group for example, the Shia equally bring forth their own version of the same hadith where the saved sect is being identified as “those who recognize and follow the wilayah (mastership) of the Ahl al-Bayt, and of course in this view, Shia seeded the “saved sect” to themselves only.


THREE CONFLICTING VERSIONS

 So far, we have highlighted three versions of the hadith (firqat an-Najiyah) that talks about division of the Prophet’s Ummah into 73 sects:

* One version claimed the saved sect will be “upon what the Prophet and his companions were”

* Second version claimed the saved sect is the “Jama’ah”

* Third version identified “Shia” who acknowledged the wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (and Ahl al-Bayt)

Yet, the last version of the hadith of “firqat an-najiyah” do not even mention “saved sect” in its matn (context). Imam al-Tirmidhi documents:

 Narrated Abu Hurairah:

that the Messenger of Allah (s) said: "The Jews split into seventy-one sects, or seventy-two sects, and the Christians similarly, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects."

Grade : Hasan Sahih (Darussalam)

Reference : Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2640 In-book reference : Book 40, Hadith 35 English translation : Vol. 5, Book 38, Hadith 2640
https://www.sunnah.com/tirmidhi/40/35

VARIOUS MEANING AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE HADITH

We have so far given few understanding of this hadith. Another interesting area of academic discussion and differing views is the “specified number of 73” versus the meaning of “al-Jama’ah”.

Whether via ideological differences or jurisprudencial or political differences, Muslim sects (from the past till date) are far more than 73 in number. The fact that the hadith itself gives no clue to the manner of counting, this has made some scholars to postulate and opined that the “73” does not intend numerical count rather it points to “many” as we have similar cases in the Quran where our Lord used “7, 70, 50,000, 70,000” to signify “many” and not really intend “numerical count”. For example, Allah says:


Surah At-Taubah, Verse 80:

(Whether you) Ask forgiveness for them or do not ask forgiveness for them; even if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah will not forgive them; this is because they disbelieve in Allah and His Apostle, and Allah does not guide the transgressing people.”
This verse does not mean if the Prophet ask forgiveness for the hypocrites seventy one and above times that Allah will forgive them. The “seventy” only denotes “many times”.

And as per the word “al-Jama’ah” used in the second version of the hadith, some scholars try to merge it with the first version saying that these particular “Jama’ah” will be “upon what the Prophet and his companions were”. And seeing the subsects of Ahlu Sunnah, Shia etc, these scholars further reason that “al-Jama’ah” do not necessarily entail a very large group as it can be few people on the right path. The truth however is that the word “Jam’h” in Arabic grammar starts from 3 till infinity. Meaning that there is a possibility that “al-Jama’ah” being talked about by the Prophet entails “all Muslims” (irrespective of their so-called sects). Imam Bukhari documents this hadith:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, " All my Ummah will enter Paradise except those who refuse." They said, "O Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him)! Who will refuse?" He said, "Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys me is the one who refuses (to enter it)."

Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 7280 In-book reference : Book 96, Hadith 12 USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 9, Book 92, Hadith 384
https://www.sunnah.com/bukhari/96/12


Interestingly, very few scholars even believe and submitted that the “hadith of 73 sects” has been distorted from its original manuscript. They claim what the Prophet actually said was that “72 from 73 will enter paradise and only one will end up in hell”. Objectively, one tend to give this submission a second thought (as not all people have access to original manuscripts of ahadith), the fact that the above hadith says “All my Ummah will enter paradise except those who refused....” makes this submission reasonable.

 In the same vein of large accommodation, Quran says:

Surah Al-Baqara: 62

Surely those who believe... whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve."

Same verse is further repeated with slight variation thus:

Surah Al-Maeda: 69

Surely those who believe ... whoever believes in Allah and the last day and does good-- they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve."

Jazaakumullahu Khairan Brother.

Oh Allah May We Die Not Except We're In a State That is Most Preferred By You.

Amin Yaa Rabbil Aalamin.

AlBaqir:
It was narrated from ‘Awf bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

“The Jews split into seventy-one sects, one of which will be in Paradise and seventy in Hell. The Christians split into seventy-two sects, seventy-one of which will be in Hell and one in Paradise. I swear by the One Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, my nation will split into seventy-three sects, one of which will be in Paradise and seventy-two in Hell.” It was said: “O Messenger of Allah, who are they?” He said: “ The Jama’ah”

Reference : Sunan Ibn Majah 3992 In-book reference : Book 36, Hadith 67 English translation : Vol. 5, Book 36, Hadith 3992 https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah/36/67

Most of the hadith are gossip and Chinese whisper and can never be reliable as absolute truth. This particular hadith can never been an exception.

It is intellectually honest to make a claim that are defensible and not conjectures or 'hear-says'.

AlBaqir:


Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, " All my Ummah will enter Paradise except those who refuse." They said, "O Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him)! Who will refuse?" He said, "Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys me is the one who refuses (to enter it)."

Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 7280 In-book reference : Book 96, Hadith 12 USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 9, Book 92, Hadith 384
https://www.sunnah.com/bukhari/96/12

Continuation:


In the above hadith, the illustrious Prophet was said to have warned that only he who do not obeys him will end up in hell-fire. According to the Quran, obedience to the Prophet must be 100% and absolute. Interestingly, no Muslim has ever come out and apparently declare disobedience to the Prophet instructions at least to the best of information that reach him. The fact that this later generation do not meet the Prophet, we do not have first hand instructions from the Prophet. What we have are collections of his reported sayings compiled centuries after his demise. Scholars of ahadith have tried their best to grade these sayings into sahih (authentic), hasan (good), da’if (weak), and mawdoo (fabrication). With all these efforts, there is yet no absolute assurance to the correctness of these “ahadith” as there might be in truth some ahadith graded “sahih” that are actually “fabrication”. And there might be some graded “da’if” that are “sahih” and what scholar A graded authentic might be rejected and graded weak or fabrication by scholar B. This is the reason we have tahqiq on books of ahadith where one scholar academically expose errors of grading system of another or even fault the authenticity of some ahadith. For example, the book sahih al-Bukhari is widely believe to contain 100% authentic ahadith yet scholars (from the past like Al-hafiz ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, and later like Nasir din al-Albani among others) had identified lots of faults in various ahadith in it. There are even sound research works which exposed that the present day 9 volumes of sahih Bukhari were not authored by Imam al-Bukhari himself. In short, the grading system only puts check and balances within the usage of ahadith. Also, apart from the fact that there is no 100% accuracy in reports (not to mention reports of centuries after the demise of the speaker), whoever is conversant with research works will find out there are tahrif (distortions) in ahadith by either compilers, narrators of ahadith or later editors.

 Amidst these problems, and the fact that everybody could not be scholars and researchers, how do we identify “true sayings and instructions” of the Prophet which whoever obeys, paradise is guaranteed? Quran gives us a general information when Allah highlights the criteria for “salvation” in the two abovementioned verses to be – belief in Him, belief in the last day and performing good deeds. This is the summary of the message of the Prophet. Of course, level of belief in Allah (Tawheed) could vary so also is the level of good deeds (from salat, sawm to sadaqat etc). This only make things into right perspectives when Quran informs that there are various levels of paradise with respect to what each presents on the day of judgement. The general submission of the Quran is “…whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.”


This put aside and bury the idea of “72 sects in the meaning of majority of the Ummah” entering hell fire, and only handful in the literal meaning of one sect entering paradise. In fact, it is even established that people will enter Jannah (paradise) in groups of 70, 000 or 700, 000 (again it could mean “many” and not necessarily numerical count) as we read:

Abu Huraira reported:

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Seventy thousand (persons) would enter Paradise as one group and among them (there would be people) whom faces would be bright like the moon.

Ref: Sahih Muslim 217
https://www.sunnah.com/muslim/1/431
Other hadith mentions 700, 000
https://www.sunnah.com/muslim/1/434

CONCLUSION

Here, one will appreciate a mutawattir hadith which identify “Shi’a of Ali” to be among those who will enter Jannah. Again the hadith says:

 “...So, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “O ‘Ali, be happy, because you and your companions and your SHI’AH will be in Paradise"


This hadith never shut the door of paradise rather the “Shia of Ali” are being identified as part of Jannah-bond groups.


It will be incomplete if we fail to mention “deviators and innovators”. These are those who knowingly oppose the Prophet. These group spread across every sect fom the past till present. Imam Bukhari for example documents:


Narrated Ibn Al-Musaiyab:

The companions of the Prophet (s) said, "Some men from my companions will come to my Lake-Fount and they will be driven away from it, and I will say, ‘O Lord, my companions! It will be said, You have no knowledge of what they innovated after you left: they turned apostate as renegades (reverted from Islam).”


If deviators and innovators could be found from amongst the sahabah, why would later groups and sects of Muslim be free from them? It is sheer ignorance and fanaticism to however label one group as “saved sect” and generality of others as deviators and innovators.


Last on the list are groups who have either researched into or there have come to them clear truth about certain differing issues yet did takabbur (arrogance) or reject with levity and carelessness. Whether Muslim, Christian, Jew, Sabian or whoever falls in this group, obviously they have no excuse infront of their Lord.

true2god:
Most of the hadith are gossip and Chinese whisper and can never be reliable as absolute truth. This particular hadith can never been an exception.

It is intellectually honest to make a claim that are defensible and not conjectures or 'hear-says'.

Yeah, they are not absolute truth as there are lots of doubts on their compilers and process of preservation over the years. Scholars of ahadith and reserchers have tried their best to put things in order (again that does not make it absolute yet as some of them have been compromised). However, for hadith to be discarded by anyone, reason for its rejection simply have to be academic and religiously and rationally convinced.

Reminder