According to a report from Kathir ibn 'Abdi'llah ibn 'Amr ibn 'Awf, on the authority of his father, who heard it from his grandfather (may Allah be well pleased with him), the latter stated that Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:
“You must follow the exemplary traditional practices [sunan] of those who have gone before you, by treading in their very footsteps. You must take exactly the same course as the one they took, inch by inch, cubit by cubit, span by span, to the extent that if they had ever entered a lizard's lair, you would enter it too.
What happened in the case of the Children of Israel was that they split up, in spite of Moses, into seventy-one sects, each and every one of them in error, apart from one solitary exception, namely the party [firqa] of Islam and their community [jama'a].
Then they split up again, in spite of Jesus, son of Mary, into seventy-two sects, each and every one of them in error apart from one solitary exception, namely the party of Islam and their community.
What will happen next is that you [Muslims] will split up into seventy-three sects, every one of them in error, apart from one solitary exception, namely the party of Islam and their community.”
According to another traditional report, this one transmitted by 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Jubair ibn Nufair, on the authority of his father, who passed it on from 'Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja'i (may Allah be well pleased with him), the latter said that Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:
“My Community [Umma] will split up into seventy-three sects, and the sect that will cause the greatest mischief for my Community will be the one made up of people who use their own subjective opinion as the standard by which to assess affairs. They will declare what is lawful to be illegal [yuharrimuna'l-halal], and they will legitimize that which is unlawful [yuhalliluna'l-haram]."
We have it on the authority of 'Abdu'llah ibn Zaid that the following words of Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) were reported by 'Abdu'llah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be well pleased with him and with his father):
The Children of Israel split up into seventy-one sects, each and every one of them in the Fire of Hell, apart from one solitary exception. My own Community will eventually split up into seventy-three sects, each and every one of them in the Fire of Hell, apart from one solitary exception.”
When they asked: "Which is that one solitary exception?" He replied (Allah bless him and give him peace):
“Those who are about what I and my Companions are about.”
This splitting up into sects, which was predicted by the Prophet himself (Allah bless him and give him peace), did not occur in his own lifetime, nor yet during the period [covered by the Caliphates] of Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman and 'Ali (may Allah the Exalted be well pleased with them all). It happened only after the lapse of many years and decades, with the passing of the Companions [
Sahaba] and the Successors [
Tabi'un], the seven jurists [
fuqaha'] known as the Jurists of Medina, and the learned scholars [
'ulama'] and jurists of the great provincial cities [
amsar], generation after generation. As these worthy people died out, true knowledge [
'ilm] was taken beyond the reach of all but a very few, a tiny band who were to become the only group saved from damnation [
al-firqat an-najiya], and through whom Allah would keep the religion [din] intact. It all turned out just as Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) had said it would, in the words transmitted by way of 'Urwa on the authority of 'Abdu'llah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be well pleased with him and with his father):
"Allah (Exalted is He) will not remove knowledge from the breasts of men after He has given it to them. What He will do instead is take away the learned scholars. Each time He takes away a learned scholar, He will be taking away the knowledge that was in his possession, until the only people left are those who know nothing at all. These people will therefore be in error themselves, and they will also lead others astray."
According to a differently worded version, transmitted by 'Urwa on the authority of his father, it is reported that 'Abdu'llah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be well pleased with him and with his father) once heard Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) say:
“Allah (Exalted is He) will not remove knowledge by snatching it directly away from the people at large, but He will take knowledge away by taking away the learned scholars. Eventually, when there is not a single learned scholar left, the people will accept ignorant men as their leaders. When they are asked to give advice [on questions of Islamic religious law], they will issue pronouncements [aftaw] without knowledge, so they will be in error themselves and they will also lead others astray.”
This next report has been handed down to us from Kathir ibn 'Abdi'llah ibn 'Awf, on the authority of his father, who stated that his grandfather attributed the following words to Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace):
“The religion will surely wriggle back home to the Hijaz, just as a snake wriggles home to its lair. Within the Hijaz, the religion will then most certainly take refuge in the inaccessible stronghold at the peak of Mount Arwiya. The religion first appeared as a stranger in exile [gharib], and it will go back to being a stranger in exile once again, so may blessings abound for the strangers in exile [fa-tuba li'l-ghuraba']!"
When someone asked: "Who are the strangers in exile?" he responded by saying (Allah bless him and give him peace):
"Those who will repair the damage done to my exemplary practice [sunnati] by those who come after me.”
In a report that has been handed down to us on the authority of 'Ikrima, Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be well pleased with him and with his father) is quoted as having said: "Never will there come a period of time in which people do not kill off a traditional practice [
sunna] and bring an heretical innovation [
bid'a] to life."
We learn from a report transmitted by al-Harith that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be well pleased with him) once said: "Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) had been speaking about disruptive temptations [
fitan], so we asked him: 'What is the way of escape from them, O Messenger of Allah?' To this Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) replied:
"he Book of Allah is the Wise Remembrance [
adh-Dhikr al-Hakim]. It is the Straight Path [
as-Sirat al-Mustaqim]. It is that which tongues do not become confused about. It is that about which the jinn did not stop saying, once they had heard it
: "We have indeed heard a marvelous Qur'an!" (72.1). If a person makes it the basis of the doctrine he chooses to profess, that person will be professing the truth, and if a person makes it the basis on which he rests his judgment, that person will be acting justly.'"
In a report from 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Umar, al-'Irbad ibn Sariya (may Allah be well pleased with him) is quoted as having said:
Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) had performed the dawn prayer [
salat as-subh] with us, then he had treated us to an eloquent exhortation [
maw'iza], which affected us so powerfully that tears streamed from our eyes, our hearts trembled, and our hides were scorched. We felt so moved by it that we said: 'O Messenger of Allah, it seems like the exhortation of one who is about to take his leave!' He responded to this by saying (Allah bless him and give him peace):
"The counsel I bequeath to you is dutiful devotion [taqwa] to Allah, and paying heed and obedience [to your leader], even if he happens to be an Abyssinian slave, for anyone who lives on after me will experience much disharmony.
You must therefore strive to follow my exemplary practice [ sunnati], and the exemplary practice of the rightly guided Caliphs [sunnat al-khulafa' ar-rashidin] after I am gone. You must hold on to it with a very tight grip, and doggedly sink your teeth into it. You must beware of novel fashions [muhdathat al-umur], for every novelty is an heretical innovation [bid'a], and every heretical innovation is a deviation from the right path."
According to a report transmitted on the authority of Abu Huraira (may Allah be well pleased with him), Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:
Whenever a person summons other people to take the path of right guidance, and finds followers, he will be entitled to the same reward as those who follow his lead, though nothing will be subtracted from their rewards. And whenever a person summons other people to take the way of error, and finds followers, he will be subject to the same penalties as those who follow his lead, though nothing will be subtracted from the penalties incurred by them.
The following are the ten basic divisions, from which the seventy-three sects have arisen:
- The Khawarij.
- The Shi 'a.
- The Mu'tazila.
- The Murji'a.
- The Mushabbiha.
- The Jahmiyya.
- The Zirariyya.
- The Najjariyya.
- The Kullabiyya.
- The People of the Sunna [Ahl as-Sunna].
The People of the Sunna constitute one single group or denomination [ta'ifa]. The Khawarij are subdivided into fifteen sects. The Mu'tazila are made up of six distinct sects. The Murji'a account for twelve sects, and the Shi'a for no fewer than thirty-two. The Jahmiyya, the Najjariyya, the Zirariyya and the Kullabiyya represent only one sect each, while the Mushabbiha are made up of three sects. This gives us the grand total of seventy-three sects, which tallies exactly with the reported statement of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
Inevitability of Differences
Differences in the ummah are thus blameworthy, and the differences here are differences in the essentials. There do exist legitimate differences of opinion, which are differences in the peripherals. Abundant examples of these can be found in the jurisprudential verdicts of the great scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah. They all agreed on the fundamentals, but arrived at different verdicts on some finer issues. Such differences are not reprehensible, for the Prophet (May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace) has promised reward to those mujtahids who exert their utmost effort to arrive at a verdict. "When a judge gives a verdict, and tried his hardest (to find the truth), then if he is wrong, he gets a single reward, while if he is correct, he gets two rewards." [Riyad as-Salihin] The objectionable differences are thus those in matters such as Tawhid, reward and reribution, destiny and free-will, pre- ordainement, the names and attributes of Allah, prophethood,, justice and other such issues which the Saved Group, Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah, have concurred upon.
Early Disagreements
Differences in the ummah arose very soon after the death of the Prophet (May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace). Up to that time, the ummah was united in both fundamentals and peripherals, for they had direct recourse to the Prophet (May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace) himself to resolve any disagreements which occurred. The first difference occurred at the time of the Prophet's (May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace) death. Some people thought that he had not died, but that Allah had raised him up, just as He raised up Jesus. The difference was allayed by Abu Bakr, who recited to people the verse (meaning), "You shall die, and they shall die." [Zumar:30] and told them, "Whoever was worshipping Muhammad, then Muhammad has died, and whoever was worshipping the Lord of Muhammad, then He is living and does not die."
Then, they differed regarding where the Prophet (May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace) should be buried. The people of Makkah wanted to take him back to Makkah, since that had been the place of his birth and appointment to prophethood, as well the location of his ancestor Isma`il's grave, and the qiblah. The people of Madinah wanted to bury Him in Madinah itself, since it was the destination of his migration and the home of his Helpers (the Ansar). Others thought he should be taken to Jerusalem and buried there next to his forefather Abraham (peace be upon Him). Once more, it was Abu Bakr who solved the problem. He narrated the hadith, "The Prophets are buried where they die." Thus, they buried him in his room in Madinah.
The next difference was with regard to leadership. The Ansar wanted to pledge allegiance to Sa`d ibn `Ubadah al-Khazraji, while the Quraysh said that leadership must come from the Quraish. The Ansar submitted when they were related the hadith, "The leaders are from Quraish." Next, they differed regarding inheritance of the land of Fadak. This was a piece of land which the Prophet had acquired as a form of booty, and which he retained during his lifetime. When He passed away, `Ali (May Allah be pleased with Him) said that the Prophet (May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace) had assigned it to Fatimah (May Allah be pleased with Her) during his lifetime. Al-`Abbas denied this. Once more, it was Abu Bakr who passed judgment, ruling that it could not be inherited because of the hadith, "The Prophets do not leave behind inheritance." Later, after the death of Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with Him), `Umar allowed al-`Abbas and `Ali to supervise the land, but not to own it.
The early Muslims differed also over the course of action against those people who refused to pay Zakat. Abu Bakr was in favor of fighting them until they payed it. `Umar disagreed, citing the hadith, "I have been ordered to fight people until they testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and [until] they establish salah and give zakat. Then, if they do that, they have secured their lives and their property from me, except in the cause of Islamic justice, and their reckoning is with Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic." He proposed that these people's lives were sacrosanct because they had said "La ilaha illallah." Abu Bakr responded, "I will surely fight against those who make a distinction between salah and zakat." Eventually, `Umar also came around to see the truth in Abu Bakr's position.
After this, the Companions were busy fighting Tulayhah ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi, who had apostatized, but who later returned to Islam in the time of `Umar. He repented, and witnessed the battles of Qadisiyyah, and of Nahawand, where he was martyred, May Allah be pleased with Him. They also fought Musaylimah, the Liar, Sajah bint al-Harith and Aswad ibn Zayd al-`Ansi, who all laid claim to Prophethood, as well as all the rest of the Arabs who apostatized after the Prophet's (May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace) death.
After this, they fought the Romans and the Persians. They won these conquests, and at this time were still united in issues of `aqidah. They differed only in peripheral issues of fiqh, such as the inheritance of a grandmother. Matters continued in this manner throughout the reigns of Abu Bakr and `Umar, and for six years of `Uthman's reign. At this point, some people disagreed with some aspects of `Uthman, on account of which they came to murder him. After his assassination, they disagreed over what should be the fate of his murderers. Ali (May Allah be pleased with Him) was of the opinion that the Caliphate should be reestablished before bringing the murderers to justice, since law and order and stability have a higher priority. Mu`awiyah (May Allah be pleased with Him) thought that the people who had committed such a heinous crime as murdering the Caliph should be brought to justice immediately, and that the current Caliph's (i.e. Ali's) permission was not needed, because Allah has said, (meaning), "Whoever is killed unjustly, We have given authority to his representative." Both of them were qualified mujtahids, and they were fighting on the basis of the resulting disagreement, and so we do not criticize either of them, although Ali was correct. Several prominent Sahabah were on both sides. For example, `A'ishah, Talhah and Zubayr were initially on the side of Mu`awiyah. Others, such as `Abdullah ibn `Umar, chose to remain neutral. Some people at the time condemned one or both groups. Two battles, the Battle of the Camel and the Battle of Siffin were fought. Abu Musa al-Ash`ari and `Amr ibn al-Aas were then appointed as judges, and people differed in their position towards them also. The Khawarij believed that Mu`awiyah (May Allah be pleased with Him) had committed kufr by fighting against the Caliph, and that `Ali (May Allah be pleased with Him) had also committed kufr by agreeing to an arbitration. They were a strictly religious group who believed that any sin was kufr.