Global Intifada

Imam Zaid (May Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) shower His blessings upon him) has written an interesting piece clarifying many issues such as: a traditionalist view of Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah, the hadeeth of the 73 sects, tariqas, and the Ashari school.

For those of you not interested in the Salafi-Sufi debates, you can ignore the other sections, but I strongly recommend everyone read the section on the hadeeth of the 73 sects which I have copied in part here:

Q: What is your position of the Hadith of the Seventy-three sects?

A: This Hadith is a warning against sectarianism. The mentioning of seventy-three, although generally meaning a large number, is understood literally by some scholars who in their books of heresies try to meticulously delineate seventy-three sects among the Muslims. It should be noted that this hadith is not reported by Imam Al-Bukhari or Imam Muslim in their compilation of hadiths, and is deemed by Ibn Hazm to be a weak narration. Others, such as Imam Hakim hold it to be sound. The meaning it conveys is also contradicted by stronger evidence. For example, Allah mentions in the Qur’an, which is collectively narrated (Mutawatir), and therefore stronger than the singularly narrated hadith of the seventy-three sects, You are the best of communities brought forth for humanity (3:110). The virtue of this Ummah over other communities is in praiseworthy traits. As division and sectarianism are blameworthy, the meaning of this verse must be seen as qualifying or negating the meaning of the hadith in question.

The fact that the Prophet, peace upon him, mentioned the Ummah in this hadith—”My Ummah will split into seventy-three sects,”—indicates that all of these sects are of his Ummah. Therefore, they are all subject to salvation and escape from the hellfire for several reasons. Among these is his intercession for the entirety of the Ummah on the Day of Judgment at a time when the attendant horrors will move everyone to plead for his soul—Nafsi! Nafsi!, while the Prophet, peace upon him, will be pleading for his community—Ummati! Ummati!.

Another reason is found in his saying, peace upon him: “This Ummah of mine is a recipient on divine mercy. It will have no punishment in the Hereafter. Rather its punishment will be in this world in the form of internal dissention, earthquakes, and widespread killing.” The gist of this hadith is that although specific individuals may be consigned to Hell for various transgressions, the generality of the Ummah will not. It should be noted that this Hadith is also stronger than the Hadith of the seventy-three sects.

Additionally, the Prophet, peace upon him, mentioned that half of the people of Paradise will be from his Ummah. He also mentioned that very few of the people of idolatry, the only sin that Allah does not forgive, will be from his Ummah. This is mentioned both in the Hadith related by Bara ibn ‘Azim, “Verily, I do not fear that you will fall into idolatry…” and the Hadith related by Ibn Mas’ud, “Your likeness among the people of idolatry is like a single white hair on the body of a black ox, or like a single black hair on the body of a white ox.” These and similar narrations, all of which are stronger than the Hadith of the seventy-three sects, indicates that the majority of the people of this Ummah, and not just an exclusive group among them (al-Firqa an-Najiya) will be in Paradise.

As far as using this Hadith to exclaim the virtue of one group of the Muslims over others, by the exclaiming group declaring themselves to be the only ones upon that which the Prophet, peace upon him, and his companions were on, this is a vain exercise in arrogance that proves absolutely nothing. In ‘Aqida, all groups can point out with strong arguments the “innovations” of their opponents. Anyone believing otherwise is unfamiliar with the intellectual history of the Muslim community.

In worship, even if someone were absolutely certain that they are doing everything exactly as the Prophet, peace upon him, and his companions, he does not know if his internal state matches theirs and therefore he does not know if any of his acts are accepted by Allah . For example, when the verse, Rather, Allah only accepts from the righteous (5:27) was revealed, many of the companions were deeply shaken for they would never assume that they were among the righteous. This humble spirit was an essential part of their religion, which is severely lacking in many of those who use the hadith of the seventy-three sects to proclaim themselves the saved sect while condemning others to Hell.

Speaking of internal states, one of the things that the Prophet, peace upon him, and his companions were on in their religion was humility. This is an integral aspect of the religion, as affirmed by the Hadith, “The first knowledge to be lost from the religion will be humility (Khushu’).” The assumption of many of those who use the hadith in question to proclaim their salvation while condemning other Muslims to Hell is an indication that they may be lacking in Khushu’, and therefore may not be on, in their religion, what the Prophet, peace upon him, and his companions were on.

Furthermore, to proclaim oneself a member of a “saved sect” implies that one is free from sins or transgressions that might lead one to Hell. Ibn Taymiyya himself mentions:

[The threat implied] in “…seventy-two [sects] in Hell and one in Paradise is not greater than [the threat implied] in the verse, Those who oppressively squander the wealth of the orphan have taken into their stomachs hellfire and they will be fuel for the blazing inferno (4:10); or the verse, Whoever does that in an aggressive and oppressive manner, we will make him fuel for the Hellfire (4:30). Minhaj as-Sunnah 5:249

Ibn Taymiyya is stressing, may Allah have mercy on him, that one is far more likely to end up in Hell due to one’s personal transgressions and sins than to end up there because one does not belong to the “saved sect.” Ibn Taymiyya and others such as Imam Ash-Shatibi mention that the early Muslims did not preoccupy themselves with endeavoring to establish the identity of the sects mentioned in the Hadith of the seventy-three sects. Hence, the fact that some Muslims contemporarily are obsessed with this vain exercise is an indication that they are not following the way of the Salaf.

One of the greatest tribulations Allah can afflict a servant with is to preoccupy him with the faults of others, and blind him to his own faults. While he points out what he perceives to be the flaws of other’s religion and beliefs, he neglects his own and therefore meets Allah with his own faults unchecked. This Hadith is one of the means that is contemporarily used to do just that. Surely, Allah knows best.

Read the rest of the article here.

Sidi Abul Hussein has written a response to Imam Zaid on the section concerning Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah.

For those of you interested in the Deobandi view on Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah, see here.

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