Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Amir of Hizb ut-Tahrir
To the Questions of the Visitors to his Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
Answer to a Question
To: Abdullah Omar
Question:
Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.
I am Abdullah from Afghanistan. May Allah protect you, our Sheikh.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "My Ummah will split into seventy-three sects, and all of them are in the Fire except one."
I hope your eminence can explain this hadith.
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,
First: The hadith you are asking about is not in the exact wording that appeared in your question. We addressed this noble hadith in a previous answer issued on 24 Rabi’ al-Akhir 1439 AH, corresponding to 11/01/2018 CE, citing various narrations, some of which contained different additions. We concluded at the end of that answer that (the hadith about the Ummah splitting into seventy-three sects—without the additions—is authentic... and the first addition "all of them are in the Fire except one" was graded as hasan (good) by many... as for the second addition "all of them are in Paradise except one," many graded it as weak, while only a few authenticated it or graded it as hasan... accordingly, what I prefer is that the addition to be adopted is "all of them are in the Fire except one," while the other addition "all of them are in Paradise except one" is not to be adopted, based on the narrations we mentioned for both additions...). Based on what we presented in the aforementioned answer, the narrations that can be relied upon and used as evidence include the following:
Tirmidhi narrated in his Sunan from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
تَفَرَّقَتْ الْيَهُودُ عَلَى إِحْدَى وَسَبْعِينَ أَوْ اثْنَتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً وَالنَّصَارَى مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ وَتَفْتَرِقُ أُمَّتِي عَلَى ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً
"The Jews split into seventy-one or seventy-two sects, and the Christians likewise, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects." (Tirmidhi). In another narration by Tirmidhi from Abdullah bin Amr, he said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
وَإِنَّ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ تَفَرَّقَتْ عَلَى ثِنْتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً وَتَفْتَرِقُ أُمَّتِي عَلَى ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً كُلُّهُمْ فِي النَّارِ إِلَّا مِلَّةً وَاحِدَةً قَالُوا وَمَنْ هِيَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ وَأَصْحَابِي
"...And indeed, the Children of Israel split into seventy-two creeds, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three creeds, all of them in the Fire except one creed. They said: Who is it, O Messenger of Allah? He said: That which I and my companions are upon." Abu Issa (Tirmidhi) said this is a hasan gharib hadith.
Al-Hakim narrated in Al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn from Abu 'Amir Abdullah bin Luhay, who said: We performed Hajj with Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan... then he stood up after praying Dhuhr in Makkah and said: The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَفَرَّقُوا فِي دِينِهِمْ عَلَى اثْنَتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً، وَتَفْتَرِقُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةُ عَلَى ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ كُلُّهَا فِي النَّارِ إِلَّا وَاحِدَةً وَهِيَ الْجَمَاعَةُ
"Indeed, the People of the Book split in their religion into seventy-two creeds, and this Ummah will split into seventy-three; all of them are in the Fire except one, and it is the Jama'ah (the community)..." Al-Hakim said these are chains of narrations through which proof is established for the authenticity of this hadith, and Al-Dhahabi agreed with him.
Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah narrated similar reports in their Sunan.
Second: The meaning we prefer for this hadith is as follows:
- The terms "division" (furqah) and "splitting" (tafarruq) are frequently used in Shariah to mean disagreement in creed (aqeedah), the foundations of the religion, and disagreement regarding definitive matters (qawati') and clear proofs (bayyinat):
Allah (swt) says: وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَأُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ "And do not be like those who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them. And those will have a great punishment." (Surah Ali 'Imran 3:105)
Allah (swt) says: وَمَا تَفَرَّقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَةُ "Nor did those who were given the Scripture become divided until after there had come to them clear evidence." (Surah Al-Bayyinah 98:4)
Allah (swt) says: إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ بَغْياً بَيْنَهُمْ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ "Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah, then indeed, Allah is swift in [taking] account." (Surah Ali 'Imran 3:19)
Allah (swt) says: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعاً لَسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ "Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects - you [O Muhammad] are not [associated] with them in anything. Their affair is only [left] to Allah; then He will inform them about what they used to do." (Surah Al-An'am 6:159)
The term "The Community" (al-Jama'ah) in these hadiths refers in Shariah to the body of Muslims united upon the Islamic creed. Shariah texts have established this meaning, including the agreed-upon hadith from Abdullah bin Mas'ud who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
لَا يَحِلُّ دَمُ امْرِئٍ مُسْلِمٍ يَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَّا بِإِحْدَى ثَلَاثٍ الثَّيِّبُ الزَّانِي وَالنَّفْسُ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالتَّارِكُ لِدِينِهِ الْمُفَارِقُ لِلْجَمَاعَةِ
"It is not permissible to spill the blood of a Muslim who bears witness that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, except in one of three cases: the married person who commits adultery, a life for a life, and the one who leaves his religion and separates from the community." This is the narration of Muslim. In this noble hadith, the Prophet ﷺ explained that leaving the Jama'ah is exiting the religion, because he described the one who leaves his religion as one who separates from the community. Thus, it is known that separating from the community in this sense is disbelief (kufr) and exiting the religion and the creed.
- It is stated in Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari by Ibn Hajar: [... قَوْلُهُ وَالْمُفَارِقُ لِدِينِهِ التَّارِكُ لِلْجَمَاعَةِ كَذَا فِي رِوَايَةِ أَبِي ذَرٍّ عَنِ الْكُشْمِيهَنِيِّ وَلِلْبَاقِينَ وَالْمَارِقُ مِنَ الدِّينِ لَكِنْ عِنْدَ النَّسَفِيِّ وَالسَّرَخْسِيِّ وَالْمُسْتَمْلِي وَالْمَارِقُ لِدِينِهِ قَالَ الطِّيبِيُّ الْمَارِقُ لِدِينِهِ هُوَ التَّارِكُ لَهُ مِنَ الْمُرُوقِ وَهُوَ الْخُرُوجُ وَفِي رِوَايَةِ مُسْلِمٍ وَالتَّارِكُ لِدِينِهِ الْمُفَارِقُ لِلْجَمَاعَةِ وَلَهُ فِي رِوَايَةِ الثَّوْرِيِّ الْمُفَارِقُ لِلْجَمَاعَةِ... And what is meant by the community is the community of Muslims, meaning he separated from them or left them through apostasy, so it is a description of the one who leaves or separates... Al-Baydawi said: التَّارِكُ لِدِينِهِ is an emphatic description for the one who has left, meaning the one who left the community of Muslims and exited from their collective body...] end quote.
His saying ﷺ in various narrations of the hadith: "My Ummah will split," "This Ummah will split," "This creed will split"—it is clear that the Ummah or creed here refers to the Ummah of Islam that believed in the religion of Islam. The Messenger ﷺ attributed the Ummah to himself in one narration: "My Ummah," and identified it in other narrations as "This Ummah" and "This creed." It is clear that the discussion is about a specific Ummah and a specific creed, which is the Ummah of Islam.
Difference (ikhtilaf) in Islam, as is well known, includes that which is blameworthy and that which is praiseworthy. Praiseworthy difference is disagreement in ijtihadi matters based on the difference in understanding texts; for the one who is correct there are two rewards, and for the one who errs there is one reward, as stated in the hadith narrated by Bukhari from 'Amr bin al-'Aas that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying:
إِذَا حَكَمَ الْحَاكِمُ فَاجْتَهَدَ ثُمَّ أَصَابَ فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ وَإِذَا حَكَمَ فَاجْتَهَدَ ثُمَّ أَخْطَأَ فَلَهُ أَجْرٌ
"When a judge gives a ruling, having exercised ijtihad and is correct, he will have two rewards. If he gives a ruling, having exercised ijtihad and is mistaken, he will have one reward." As for blameworthy difference, it includes disagreement in creed (aqeedah), definitive matters (qawati'), and clear proofs (bayyinat), which is a difference that takes its proponent out of Islam. It also includes disagreement based on whims, such as the disagreement of the people of innovation (bid'ah) who do not commit kufr by their innovation, and disagreement against the Imam and his obedience, among other types of blameworthy difference that do not take the person out of Islam.
Third: Based on the observations mentioned above, we can understand the noble hadith regarding the splitting of the Jews, Christians, and the Ummah of Islam... and its explanation would be as follows:
Allah (swt) sent Moses (as) with the religion of truth to the Children of Israel. Those who believed in him followed him and united upon the creed of truth and Monotheism (Tawhid), thus becoming one believing creed (millah). However, over time, groups of people departed from this creed and differed in the religion: "Indeed, the People of the Book split in their religion into seventy-two creeds." They separated from it in its creed and the definitive matters of the religion of Moses (as), thus exiting his religion and becoming disbelievers. These groups that left the religion of Moses and became other creeds due to their differences in the foundation of the religion reached seventy or seventy-one sects. All of them are creeds of kufr and are among the people of the Fire. As for the creed that remained upon the religion of Moses—the seventy-first or seventy-second—it is among the people of truth and Paradise, and it was the Saved Sect among the followers of the Prophet Moses (as).
Likewise, Allah (swt) sent Jesus (as) with the religion of truth to the Children of Israel. Those who believed in him united upon the creed of truth and Monotheism, becoming one believing creed. However, over time, groups departed from this creed and differed in the religion, separating from it in its creed and the definitive matters of the religion of Jesus (as), thus exiting his religion and becoming disbelievers. These groups that left the religion of Jesus (as) and became other creeds due to their differences in the foundation of the religion reached seventy-one sects, all of which are creeds of kufr and among the people of the Fire. As for the creed that remained upon the religion of Jesus—the seventy-second—it is among the people of truth and Paradise, and it was the Saved Sect among the followers of Jesus (as).
Then Allah (swt) sent His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ with the religion of truth and the creed of Monotheism. The Muslims believed in him and united upon the creed that the Prophet ﷺ and his noble companions believed in. By this unity, they became the Ummah of Islam, the creed of Islam, and the Jama'ah. However, groups of these Muslims have exited (and will exit) the religion of Muhammad ﷺ and have separated (and will separate) from what the Prophet ﷺ, his companions, and the body of Muslims were upon regarding faith in the Islamic creed and adherence to the definitive matters and clear proofs of Islam. Each of these groups that exited Islam became a different sect and creed from the creed of Islam because they believed in creeds that contradict the Islamic creed. Those sects whose followers were initially from the people of Islam and then exited Islam reached or will reach seventy-two sects/creeds, all of which are sects of disbelievers and are among the people of the Fire. The seventy-third sect/creed remains, which is the "Mother Sect"—the Jama'ah and the creed of Islam—believing in what the Prophet ﷺ and his noble companions were upon, adhering to the definitive matters and clear proofs of Islam. This is the Muslim Ummah in its entirety, which believes in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the Divine Decree (Qada wal-Qadr), both its good and its evil being from Allah (swt). This is the Islamic Ummah in general; it is the Saved Sect, it is among the people of Paradise, it is the sect and creed united upon what the Prophet ﷺ and his companions were upon, and it is the Jama'ah.
Fourth: Based on this explanation of the meaning of the hadith and its reality, we can conclude the following:
- The Saved Sect is the Ummah of Islam in its general sense. It is the one that united upon the Islamic creed and the definitive matters and clear proofs of the religion, regardless of how much the opinions, ideas, and schools of thought of its members differ in other matters such as the branches of creed and Shariah rules... etc. The reason for its salvation and being among the people of Paradise is its faith in the Islamic creed and its definitive matters. Accordingly:
a. The Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah from the scholars of Kalam (scholastic theology) such as the Ash'aris, Maturidis, and other theological schools, as well as those referred to as "Salafis," the People of Hadith, and others among the proponents of Islamic intellectual schools and discourses... they are all from the Saved Sect, Allah willing, because they are from the followers of Muhammad ﷺ who believe in the Islamic creed and its definitive matters. The differences among them do not take them out of Islam.
b. The various schools of jurisprudence (Madhahib) such as the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis, and others, and the followers of various mujtahids... they are all from the Saved Sect, Allah willing, because they are from the followers of Muhammad ﷺ who believe in the Islamic creed and its definitive matters. The differences among them do not take them out of Islam.
c. The Islamic groups and movements working in the field in our era, such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Muslim Brotherhood, Jama'at al-Tabligh, Jihadi groups, Salafi groups, and others... they are all from the Saved Sect, Allah willing, because they are from the followers of Muhammad ﷺ who believe in the Islamic creed and its definitive matters. The differences among them do not take them out of Islam.
Therefore, it is not correct for any group from the Ummah of Islam to claim, based on this noble hadith, that it alone is the Saved Sect or the Saved Group, because the meaning of that would be to exclude the Muslims who disagree with them from the circle of Islam into the circle of kufr, and this is not permissible in any way. All Muslims who believe in the Islamic creed and adhere to its definitive matters and clear proofs are from the Saved Sect, Allah willing.
- The sects that exited Islam and became disbelievers, thus deserving to be perished sects among the people of the Fire, are the sects that contradicted the religion, deviated from the creed of Muslims, and transgressed against Islam and its definitive matters. They associated others with Allah, took a prophet after Muhammad ﷺ, or denied the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, or the like... such as the Druses, Nusayris, Baha'is, Qadiyanis, and other disbelieving sects that exited Islam. They are similar to the Jews who exited the religion of Moses (as), the people who claimed Ezra (as) was the son of Allah, and the followers of Jesus (as) who claimed he was the son of Allah. These groups deviated in their creed from the creed and religion of these two noble prophets, and thus became among the disbelievers.
I hope that the meaning of the hadith has become clear through this explanation. Allah knows best and is most wise.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
16 Jumada al-Akhirah 1442 AH Corresponding to 29/01/2021 CE
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