The Saved Sect
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has informed us that:
The Jews divided into seventy-one or seventy-two sects, and the Christians did likewise. My nation will divide into seventy three-sects.
Tirmidhi
In other variations of the Hadith we are informed that seventy two of the sects will be in the hellfire and one will be in heaven1. A sect is a group who differ in beliefs (Aqidah) to the Prophet ﷺ and his companions. The saved sect mentioned is known as Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama’ah (the people of the Sunnah and the majority). The other seventy-two sects are also Muslim, they are not disbelievers, yet they went astray in some beliefs and will therefore be deserving of temporary stay in the hellfire. Despite this, eventually they will enter heaven2.
In another Hadith we are told that the saved sect (Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama’ah) are the majority of Muslims. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Allah will not allow my Ummah to agree upon an error.
Tirmidhi
In another Hadith, the saved sect has been explicitly called ‘the vast majority’ (al-sawad al-a’zam)3. These narrations and many others tell us that the majority of the Muslims will be in the saved sect. And the saved sect will be upon the beliefs which the majority of Muslims are upon. Throughout history the majority of Muslims have followed the Aqidah of the Ahl Al-Sunna wa al-Jama’ah4. It is therefore imperative for every Muslim to ensure their beliefs are in line with the majority, the saved sect; the Sunnis (a Sunni is an adherent of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama’ah).
How to spot a sect
The most important and effective thing a Muslim can do in this regard is to study the Sunni Aqidah. This is a relatively simple task as the essential Islamic beliefs can be learnt in a short period of time. Furthermore, thousands of simple Aqidah books are available and a good amount have now been translated into English. Once somebody does this, they will be able to determine which beliefs are part of the Sunni creed and which are not.
Having said that, there are other clear signs and habits you will find in misguided non-Sunni sects. One of those, is that they will cherry-pick verses of the Holy Quran and Hadith to suit their ideologies whilst dismissing the verses and Hadith which do not. Examples will be given below.
The Sunni Methodology
To detail out the methodology (usul) of the Sunni Imams in interpreting the Quran, deriving rulings in Islamic Law, classifying Hadith etc. would not be possible in a short article like this. Additionally, these sciences are extremely complex and are the domain of the scholars. The list of pre-requisites of being called an authority in these sciences is extremely long. It should be understood therefore that the below is a very simplified explanation of a complex topic. However, it should suffice for the intended purpose of this article.
The Ulema (scholars) of Islam never made decisions or judgements based upon isolated evidence. In every Islamic science, the scholars had sophisticated methodologies which they used to derive rulings. None of the Ulema would cherry pick verses of the Quran or Hadiths whilst ignoring other verses and Hadith about the same topic. Rather, they would ensure they had encompassed all of the evidence on that topic before reaching a conclusion. Before giving a ruling on any topic we must look at all of the verses of Quran, Hadiths, rulings of the Sahaba and opinions of the scholars before making a judgement. Choosing to focus on certain evidence whilst ignoring the rest is a practice of sects and cults. Interestingly, it is also a trait of non-Muslim haters of Islam.
Cherry-Picking Examples
Allah Most High says in the Holy Quran:
أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ
Surah al-Baqara: 85
“Then do you believe in a part of The Book and reject the rest?”
Example 1: Preaching terrorism in the name of Islam
Terrorist groups will engage in and promote acts of terrorism, wanton murder and indiscriminate killing of non-Muslims. Worryingly, they use verses of the Quran and Hadith to justify their behaviour and beliefs. They will quote for example the below verse:
“And slay them (the unbelievers) wherever you come upon them, and expel them from where they expelled you.”
Surah al-Baqarah: 191
They will use this verse to justify the merciless killing of non-Muslims (and even Muslims they deem to have left Islam) whilst ignoring all of the other verses on the same topic. They will ignore, for example, the fact that the above verse was revealed in a specific scenario regarding specific disbelievers. They will also ignore the fact that Messenger of Allah ﷺ lived in the same city as disbelievers, signed peace treaties with them and gave judgements in their favour on many occasions. They will also ignore verses like the following:
“God does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with those who have not fought against you about the religion or expelled you from your homes. God does not love the unjust people.
Allah only forbids you respecting those who made war upon you on account of (your) religion, and drove you forth from your homes and backed up (others) in your expulsion, that you make friends with them, and whoever makes friends with them, these are the unjust.”
Surat al-Mumtahanah: 8-9
Anybody familiar with all of the verses of Quran dealing with this topic and the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who was a living example of the Quran, will know that the initial verse quoted above cannot mean what they claim. Nonetheless, they use these kinds of verses in isolation in order to promote their ideology, and many people fall for it. Ironically, anti-Muslim atheists use the same arguments to argue that Islam is a violent, barbaric religion.
Example 2: Forced conversions
Some sects will justify forcing non-Muslims to convert to Islam against their will. Notwithstanding the fact that a forced conversion is meaningless, they will do this whilst quoting cherry picked verses of Quran and Hadiths to condone their actions. They will quote, for example, the below sentence from a famous Hadith:
“I have been ordered to fight against the people until they testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah…”
Bukhari and Muslim
Once again, they take a literal meaning of this sentence whilst ignoring all of the other evidences on the same topic. The word for fighting used in this narration is ‘qaatala’5 and it is used to denote two parties. The Ulema therefore explain that the correct understanding of the Hadith is “I have been ordered to fight those who fight against us.”. To claim that the Hadith means we must fight all non-Muslims till they accept Islam would be absurd! It would also be a baseless understanding since we know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions did not do that.
It is not permissible to interpret Hadiths as we please. There are strict rules regarding interpreting verses of Quran and Hadiths. Sometimes is it necessary to dig deeper and look beyond the literal meaning. This is especially the case when the apparent meaning contradicts well known principles of the Religion. Allah Most High clearly says in the Quran that nobody can be forced to accept Islam:
“There is no compulsion in religion”
Surah al-Baqara: 256
The Quran also states that we are not to fight those non-Muslims who do not fight us. It is impossible that the Hadith could mean we have to fight all non-Muslims until they become Muslim. Throughout history no scholar of Islam understood this to be the meaning.
Example 3: Labelling everything an evil innovation (bid’ah)
A bid’ah is an innovation. Linguistically it means something newly introduced which did not previously exist6. In Islam, an innovation can be good or bad depending on whether or not it conforms to the Sharia. Some however will misrepresent the issue of innovations by quoting one Hadith and ignoring the other Hadiths about innovations as well as the practices of the Companions. One of the Hadiths about innovations says:
“…Beware of newly invented matters, for every new matter is an innovation (bid’ah) and every innovation is misguidance.”
Abu Dawud
There are other Hadiths however which clarify the exact meaning of the above:
“Whoever innovates into this matter of ours that which does not belong to it, it will be rejected.”
Bukhari and Muslim
“Whoever performs a deed that is not in accordance with our matter will have it rejected.”
Muslim
This make it clear that the evil innovations are those things which are not in accordance with the principles of the Quran and Sunnah. As for innovations which are in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah then these are not evil nor are they rejected. In fact, the one who introduces them will be rewarded:
“Whoever initiates a good practice in Islâm (sunnah hasana) has its reward and the reward of all those who practice it.”
Muslim
Later in the same Hadith it says “whoever initiates a bad practice in Islâm (sunnah sayyi’ah) bears its sin and the sins of all those who practice it.”
Sayiduna Umar, the fourth Caliph of Islam, famously said, “What an excellent innovation (bid’ah) this is!” regarding his decision to make the Muslims pray taraweeh in congregation behind one Imam.
The understanding of the Ulema from all four Sunni schools, as clearly stated by the likes of Imam al-Shafi, has been that innovations (bid’a) can be good or bad. As for those who say all innovations are bad, they ignore the above narrations as well as the fact that the Sahaba and the pious Muslims after them innovated many new matters for the benefit of the Ummah.
Compiling the Quran into one copy, adding dots and vowels to the Quranic script, performing the second Azan before the Friday prayer, establishing formal Madrasas, formalising Islamic sciences and introducing specific terminology (like in tajwid or mustalah al-hadith) and using technology for dawah, are all examples of good innovations in Islam. This is because they are new matters which have a basis in Islam and do not contradict the Sharia.
Often Muslims who are even partially educated in Islam are left wondering whether they should laugh or cry as they see a young man on the internet shouting to the camera that “all religious innovations are evil” whilst using his microphone, laptop and internet connection to inform us of this fact!
There is also the issue of those who label certain practices as innovations when they are in fact not. This topic is vast and if Allah wills there will be a dedicated more detailed article about the Sunni understanding of bid’ah.
“But the Hadith is sound brother!”
As previously mentioned, the Sunni Imams understood that interpreting the Quran and Sunnah and deriving rulings from them was no simple task. Far from simple, unsophisticated, cherry-picking armchair scholarship, they had advanced methodologies which allowed them to take into account all of the pieces of evidence on any given topic, thus allowing them to give rulings consistently and allowing later scholars to give rulings (based on their methodology) on new issues which would arise in the future.
They cry “but the Hadith is sound brother!” as they attempt to convince common Muslims that they must follow their literal, narrow minded understanding of a particular Hadith.
The great scholar of Islam, Imam Malik bin Anas would say:
“This knowledge is vital to the Deen, so look to the one from whom you take it.
I have met seventy people who said ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said (such and such)’…I did not take anything from them. Had any of them been entrusted with a treasure, they would have proved trustworthy, but they were not worthy to undertake this business.”
Imam Malik 7
In other words, many people would narrate Hadith from the Prophet ﷺ, and whilst they may have been trustworthy, they were not people of knowledge.
And Allah knows best.
Footnotes
- Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud
- This is according to one reliable interpretation. The 72 sects who had wrong beliefs are still Muslims however they are sinful for innovating in their Aqidah (beliefs). Eventually they will also enter heaven out of the mercy of Allah and due to the fact that they still believed in the core tenets of Islam. Only those whose incorrect beliefs reached a level of kufr (unbelief) thereby causing them to leave Islam will enter the hellfire eternally.
- Al-Bayhaqi and others
- I.e. the Asharis, Maturidis and Hanbali/Atharis. For more clarity on Sunni Islam read: https://orthodoxmuslim.com/2021/11/15/the-aqidah-beliefs-of-a-muslim-part-1-an-introduction-to-aqidah/
- A form 3 verb (or baab mufa’alah).
- See Lane’s Lexicon
- The Four Imams by Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zahra
Orthodox Muslim 