Follow the Qu'ran & the Sunnah of the Prophet(peace be upon him)
The
final book Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) who is the final
Prophet & Messenger of Allah(swt). We as muslims are bound to follow the
Sunnah which has been left for us by the Prophet(peace be upon him). For the
Sunnah along with the Qur’an is part of revelation.
Allah(swt)
says in the Quran,
“Indeed,
I have revealed the Reminder, I will, indeed, protect it”[1]
We
are not allowed to deviate from the path which has been prescribed by the Prophet(pbuh).
He is the best example send to us by Allah(swt). His entire life has been
recorded in the form of hadith. People who tend to reject hadith also reject
the Qur’an as the words & actions of the Prophet(pbuh) give us the correct
interpretation of the commandments of Allah(swt).
Allah(swt)
says in the Quran,
“And
whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you -
refrain from. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.”[2]
Hadith
of the Saved Sect
Ibn ‘Umar reported that
Allaah’s messenger said, “What happened to the children of Israel will surely
happen to my nation, step by step. So much so that if there are those who
openly have sex with their mothers, among them there will be among my nation
those who do that. Surely the Israelites splintered into seventy-two sects and
my nation will splinter into seventy-three sects, all of which will be in the
fire except one.” When the (Sahaabah) asked “Which sect is it, O Messenger of
Allaah?” He replied, “The one followed by my companions and myself.”[3]
The
Prophet(pbuh) in this hadith mentioned how the Jews & Christians broke away
into sects. He then prophesized that Muslims would also deviate & break
away into 73 sects. It was a warning for us as the Christians & Jews by way
of deviation, by making changes to the words & interpretation of the books
they held differed & thus broke away from the real essence of the religion
that was send to them.
The
Hadith ends by saying that all sects that the Muslims breakaway into will be in
the fire of hell except those that follow him & his companions. In another
narration it says the one saved will be those who stick closely to the Jam’ah.
Hadith
Classification & Sources
This
hadith is found in At-Tirmidhi & classified as Daeef hadith[4].
It is also found in Sunan Abu Dawood hadith 4597 & Musnad ahmad with
reliable narrations[5]. It is classed as Saheeh by Al- Haakim, who
said “It is an important hadith that represents a basic principle. It was
classed hasan by Ibn Hajr Asqalani in his book Takhreej al Kashshaafi. It is
also classed as saheeh by Ibn Taymiyah in Majmoo al Fataawa, al shaatibi in al
itisaam and al- Iraaqi in Takhreej al Ihya. It is mentioned frequently and
often quoted as evidence by the scholars in the books of Sunnah. It was
narrated by many Sahabah through many
chains of narrations, mostly mentioning the number of sects as 73.[6]
73
sects
The
only sect that will find their place in the midst of paradise is the
ahl-al-sunnah wal-jamah. They are those who will follow the Qur’an, Sunnah of
the Prophet(peace be upon him), his companions & stay close to the
scholarly consensus.
The
scholars of Ahl al sunnah wal-jamah have said that the other 72 sects are the
misguided & doomed innovated groups. This is so because of the ideas &
grave innovations they have brought into Islam. But in most cases they are not
regarded as kaafirs, rather they are regarded as Muslim Sects.[7]
Imam
Taymiyah(ra) said that groups that hypocrites fall into are inwardly kaafir,
whereas those who within their hearts believe in Allah(swt) & his
Prophet(pbuh) are not inwardly kaafir even though some of their interpretation
may not be inline. Some of them may have qualities of hypocrisy that would lead
them into hellfire or they might not have that level of hypocrisy to doom them
to the hell fire.
Imam
Taymiyah(r.a) also said that it is not permissible for us to label all the 72
sects as being kaafirs. For if we get into this practice this will lead us to
be outside the fold of the Quran, sunnah, consensus of the Sahaba & the
view of the imams.
Nevertheless
some of the sects may be out of the fold of Islam like the extreme raafidis,
the druze, nusairis and others.
Causes
for the emerging of different sects
Sects
have broken away from mainstream Islam because they differed with the ways
prescribed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) & the ways of the companions
of the Prophet(pbuh). The Khawarijites
preferred their personal opinions over the opinion of Prophet Muhammad(peace be
upon him). They also rebelled against the command of the muslim leaders for the
time that the sect survived. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had advised the
muslims to stay close to the jam’ah & to follow the command of the ruler
even if he be an Ethiopian slave. The
Prophet of Allaah said, the Khaarijites will be the dogs of hell’s inhabitants.
Therefore one who calls himself a part of this sect is doomed for the hellfire
& is outside the fold of Islam.
The Prophet (peace be
upon him) said:
“Surely
whoever among you who lives after me will see great disputes, so adhere to my
Sunnah and that of the rightly- guided Caliphs who will come after me. Stick
closely to this Sunnah, bite into it with your molars and beware of newly invented
matters (in religion) for every invented matter (in religion)is a cursed
innovation (Bid‘ah) which leads astray.”[8]
The
Shias have splintered into being another sect by making an additional pillar in
this religion, imamate. They have given the qualities of Allah(swt) to their
Imams by calling them infallible & knower of the unseen. Some Shias are
outside the fold of Islam as per scholarly view while some of the sects within
the shias are labeled as Kafirs due to the innovations they have introduced in
the methods of worship. They even believe that all of the companions of the
Prophet(peace be upon him) apostated except a few.
Some
Sufi groups elevate the status of the Prophet(pbuh) over that of Allah(Swt)
which excludes them from the fold of Islam. Others have committed kufr by
innovating in the religion. They have introduced modes of worship and practices
which are not present in the Sunnah of the Prophet(pbuh) such as celebrating
his birthday etc. Sufi groups that permit worshipping of graves & the dead
are outside the fold of Islam as this is shirk akbar.
The
Ismailis consider themselves Muslim but are outside the fold of Islam. They
believe in Aga Khan to be their spiritual leader who has keys to the unseen.
Their modes of worship, their place of worship, their books are all separate.
The Batinites are also outside the fold of Islam as their beliefs and actions
are totally contrary to Islaam. The end result of their philosophy is the
negation of the Creator; invalidation of Prophethood and worship; and the
denial of the hereafter.[9]
Conclusion
The
Prophet(peace be upon him) commanded us to stick close to his Sunnah & to
hold fast to the rope of Allah(swt), ‘the Quran’. He forbade us from associating anything to
him which he has not said or done. Sects that have broken away from the
ahl-al-Sunnah wal Jam’ah have splintered into sects by taking the deviant paths
paved by the Satan. Practising Bid’ah is one of the major reasons which has
lead these groups to commit Kufr or be completely outside the fold of Islam.
Therefore as Muslims we must strive hard in order to follow the Prophets (pbuh)
path without doing any act which has not been prescribed by him or Allah(swt).
The book of Allah(swt) should be interpreted in a way as done by the
Prophet(pbuh), his companions & the pious predecessors.
On
one occasion the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) drew a line in the dust with his hand
and said, “This is the straight path of Allaah.” Then he drew a series of lines
to the right and to the left of it and said, “Each of these paths has a devil
at its head inviting people to it.” He then recited, “Verily this is my
straight path so follow it and do not follow the (twisted) paths.”[10]
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