PART THREE
HADEETH NO. 1
HADEETH OF 73 SECTS
Are the 72 sects non-Muslims?
Translated
By
Abbas Abu Yahya
From Abdullaah ibn Amr who said, the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said:
افْتَرَقَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَى إِحْدَى وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً، وَتَفَرَّقَتِ النَّصَارَى عَلَى ثِنْتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً، وَتَفْتَرِقُ أُمَّتِي عَلَى ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً
“The Jews had split up in to seventy-one sects and the Christians had split up into seventy-two sects, and my nation will split up into seventy-three sects all of whom will be in the fire except one.’
The Companions asked, ‘Which one O Messenger of Allaah?’
He replied:
الْجَمَاعَةُ
‘The Jamaa’aah.”
In another narration:
مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ وَأَصْحَابِي
“What I am upon and my Companions are upon.”
[Collected by Tirmidhi, Al-Hafidh al-Iraqi said in ‘al-Mughni’: collected by Tirmidhi from the Hadeeth of Abdullah bin Amr and graded it Hasan, by Abu Dawood from the Hadeeth of Muwayeeyah, ibn Majah from the hadeeth of Anas and Awf bin Malik, and it is the Jamaa’ and its asaneed are good, and Al-Albaani graded it Hasan in Saheeh Sunnan Tirmidhi]
Are the 72 sects non-Muslims?
Shaykh ul Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah -Rahimahullaah- said in his masterpiece ‘Aqeedah Wasiteeyah’:
لَكِنْ لَمَّا أَخْبَرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّىْ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمْ أَنَّ أُمَّتَهُ سَتَفْتَرِقُ عَلَى ثَلاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً؛ كُلُّهَا فِي النَّار؛ إلاَّ وَاحِدَةً، وَهِيَ الْجَمَاعَةُ. وَفِي حَدِيثٍ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: “هُمْ مَنْ كَانَ عَلَى مِثْلِ مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ الْيَومَ وَأَصْحَابِي”،صَارَ الْمُتَمَسِّكُونَ بِالإسْلامِ الْمَحْضِ الْخَالِصِ عَنِ الشَّوْبِ هُمْ أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ
‘The Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said that his Ummah will split up in to seventy-three sects, all of them will go to the Hellfire, except for one, and it is the Jamaah.
In another hadeeth from the Prophet where he said:
‘They are those who are upon the like of what I am upon today and what my Companions are upon.’
The Companions became those who adhered to pure Islaam free from defects and doubts, they are the Ahl ul Sunnah wal Jammah.’
Shaykh Salih ala Shaykh commented on this:
‘The intent of those in the hadeeth of ‘splitting of the Ummah’ are those who are from the ‘Ummah al-Ijaaba’ (those who accepted Islaam) and not the Ummah ad-Dawa (those who have not accepted Islaam yet).
Therefore, these sects in the hadeeth, the seventy-three sects, they are from the ‘Ummah al-Ijaaba’ (those who accepted Islaam), but they are the sects which opposed the first Jamaah (the Companions), however, they did not innovate the type of innovation like the sects who were regarded as non-Muslims who exited out of the Nation of Muslims.
The Ahl ul Sunnah were in consensus in exiting the Jahmeeya from the Ummah. This is because the extreme Jahmeeya who are the first followers of Jahm, were not a people initially from the seventy-two sects.
A group of the people of knowledge from the past and present also exited the extremist Rafidah from the seventy-two sects. So, these seventy-two sects are not kuffar who are out of the millah (nation of Muslims).
As for the saying of the Prophet -alayhi as-Salat wa Salam:
كلها في النار
‘All of them will go to the Hell-fire’, meaning that they have been threatened with the Hell-fire and it is not a judgement on them that they will remain in the Hell-fire for eternity.
Shaykh ul Islaam and other Imams of Islaam said:
‘Whoever assumed that these sects will be in the Hell-fire for eternity as will the Non-Muslims, then he has opposed the consensus of the Salaf as-Salih.’
The Salaf as-Salih did not judge these sects to be disbelievers, those who exit from this millah (nation of Muslims).
This is why some of the people are mistaken when they bring the innovated definition saying, ‘These are sects of the Hell-fire’
What is correct is all of them are in the Hell-fire, as for the wording ‘of the Hell-fire’, then it has the possibility of being in the Hell-fire eternally or not.
Even though the apparent wording is, that they will remain eternally in the Hell-fire, this is why it is not correct to say this statement ‘of the Hell-fire’.
In fact, it is said that these sects will go to the Hell-fire, being threatened with the Hell-fire, and they are not on the path of Ahl ul Sunnah, misguided etc, they are innovators and their innovations are of different types and levels.
[Al-a’ali al-Baheeya fee Sharh Aqeedah Wasiteeyah 2/662 – 663]
قال شيخ الإسلام :(لَكِنْ لَمَّا أَخْبَرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّىْ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمْ أَنَّ أُمَّتَهُ سَتَفْتَرِقُ عَلَى ثَلاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً؛ كُلُّهَا فِي النَّار؛ إلاَّ وَاحِدَةً، وَهِيَ الْجَمَاعَةُ. وَفِي حَدِيثٍ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: “هُمْ مَنْ كَانَ عَلَى مِثْلِ مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ الْيَومَ وَأَصْحَابِي”، صَارَ الْمُتَمَسِّكُونَ بِالإسْلامِ الْمَحْضِ الْخَالِصِ عَنِ الشَّوْبِ هُمْ أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ).
هذا المقطع فيه بحث أو عدة مباحث :
الأول أن حديث الافتراق المراد به أمة الإجابة لا أمة الدعوة ، فهذه الفرق ، الثنتين والسبعين فرقة ، هذه من أمة الإجابة ، وهم الفرق التي خالفت الجماعة الأولى ولم يحدث منها كفرقة مُكَفِرْ مخرج من الملة .
أخرج أهل السنة منها بالإجماع الجهمية ، لأن الجهمية الغلاة أتباع جهم الأوائل هؤلاء ليسوا من الثنتين والسبعين فرقة أصلاً .
وأخرج طائفة من أهل العلم من المتقدمين و المتأخرين الرافضة الغلاة أيضاً من الثنتين والسبعين فرقة .
هذه الفرق الثنتين والسبعين ليست بكافرة خارجة عن الملة وقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام (كلها في النار) يعني متوعدة بالنار وليس محكوماً لها بالخلود في النار .
قال شيخ الإسلام وغيره من أئمة الإسلام ، قال (من ظن أن هذه الفرق خالدة مخلدة في النار كافرة فقد خالف إجماع السلف الصالح) والسلف الصالح لم يحكموا على هذه الفرق بأنهم كفار خارجون عن الملة .
ولهذا يغلط بعضهم فيقول (هذه الفرق النارية) ، هذه تسمية محدثة ، صحيح كلها في النار ، لكن كلمة النارية تحتمل أن تكون مخلدة في النار أو غير مخلدة ، وقد يكون ظاهر اللفظ أنهم مخلدون في النار ، ولهذا لا يصلح أن تقال هذه الكلمة ، بل يقال هذه الفرق في النار ، متوعدة بالنار ، خارجة عن طريق أهل السنة ، ضالة ونحو ذلك ، مبتدعة وبدعهم مختلفة متفاوتة .
(2/367)
اللآلئ البهية في شرح
الكتاب : شرح العقيدة الواسطية
للشيخ صالح بن عبد العزيز آل الشيخ