The Pandemonium in the Hadith of 73 Sects الفوضى في حديث افتراق الأمة

Unlike most of the prevailing readings of the “Hadith of sects of Muslim Ummah”, which establishes a discord and conflict that disturbs the unity of Muslims, there is an urgent need to study this Hadith differently, to give a better understanding of the relationship between Muslim sects; an understanding that maximizes denominators and common word. The claim of uniqueness of a certain sect to be right and to consider others to be wrong and deserves hell, is about to be a general phenomenon in the history of Muslim sects.

This article aims to explain the reliability of the Hadith and its meanings, the way in which the Hadith addresses the difference between the various Muslim groups, the indicators related to the number of groups, the possibility of identifying the right one, the dangers of the sectarian reading of the Hadith, and main features of a monotheistic reading of the study of Muslim sects.

Likewise, this article deals with the influence of the “73 sects hadith” which states that Muslims will be separated into 73 sects, when Jews had 71 and Christians had 72 sects, and that only one of them will be saved whereas the others will go to Hell, on, particularly, Islamic scholars of Aqeedah(theologians) works written to examine and classify theological sects and their beliefs in the Islamic community from the beginning. This ḥadith has had a crucial and decisive role in those works’ form and way to study the sects as well as their authors’ perception of their own sect and the other sects.

Certainly, there are differences in hadith authentication, and the reasons for this are the differences in the methodologies of each scholars of Hadith; coupled with each inclination. Most scholars who regarded an hadith to be da’eef(weak) had accepted as Sahih(sound) an hadith with similar chain if it is tandem to his inclination – and vice versa. So, scrutinizing a hadith upon tasheeh and tad’eef principles will take a thorough critical research. Hence, we focus more on studying the influence, not mostly the authenticity, of the 73 sects hadith.

No doubt this hadith which states that the Islamic community would be divided into 73 sects and only one of them would be saved from Hell, has had great influence on Islamic thought as it has determined how the followers of a sect should see the followers of other sects and how the relationship between them should be.

This hadith has different narrative versions(riwaayaat and turuq) and can be classified into four:

1: Narratives declaring only the number of sects into which the Muslim community will divide (recorded by al-Tirmidhi, Abu Daawud, Ibn Majah, alNisabuuri, alBayhaqii, Ibn Ḥibban).

2: Narratives saying that only one sect will be saved while the other will be in Hell كلها في النار إلا واحدة (recorded by al-Darimi, Aḥmad bn Ḥanbal).

3: Narratives explaining the exact identity of the saved sect ما أنا عليه و أصحابي(recorded by Abu Daawud, Ibn Majah, al-Tirmidhi, Aḥmad bn Ḥanbal, al-Nisabuuri).

4: Narratives stating that all sects will be in jannah except for only one كلها في الجنة إلا واحدة (recorded by al-‘Ajluuni, al-Suyuuti, ‘Ali al-Qaari, Ibn ‘Arraq).

None of the narratives of the 73 sects hadith is mentioned in Saheeh al-Bukhari, Muslim, and al-Nasaa’i. For further details of the different narrative versions of the 73 sects hadith and the investigation of narrators, see Kash al-khafaa pages 149-151, if it is the one printed by Dar iḥya al-turaath al-‘arabi 1932, Beirut.

Meanwhile, the most common version of this hadith is as follows:

“Jews were divided into 71 sects. One of them is in Heaven, seventy of them are in Hell. Christians are split into 72 sects. Seventy-one of them are in Hell, the one is in Heaven. I swear to Allah whose mighty hands hold the Muhammad’s will, beyond any doubt, my ummah will be divided into 73 sects. One will be in Heaven, seventy-two will be in flames. They Said: ‘Oh Messenger of Allah! Who are they?’ Thus he said: ‘They are al-jamaa’ah(the community)’.” This is the narration of Ibn Majah.

In another narration, the saved sect is expressed as “The one on which path I and my companions are.” This is the narration of Tirmidhi.

Before going to the matn(context and influence) of this hadith, let me quickly brief issues with its Isnad(chain of transmission). And they are:

1: The most authentic among these ahadeeth is the one said to be narrated by Abu Hurayrah; reported by Imam Ahmad in his musnad, Abu daawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, narrated from Muhammad bn Amru bn Alqamah, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah.

And in this hadith of Abu Hurayrah, the phrase “كلها في النار إلا واحدة – all in Hell except one” is not in the Hadith.

The narration of Mu’aawiyah bn Abu Sufyaan and Anas bn Maalik is the Hadith that mentioned the phrase كلها في النار إلا واحدة. And in the isnad of the Hadith of Mu’aawiyah, there is a man called الأزهر بن عبد الله الحرازي in the narration and he was a nasibi who abuses Ali bn Abi Taalib. Likewise the narration of Anas has many turuq that are not free from blames.

Another narration by Abdullah bn Amru bn ‘Aas, which says ما أنا عليه و أصحابي, recorded by Imam Tirmidhi who classed it as “hadeeth Ghareeb”, in this narration, there is Abdur Rahman bn Zayad bn An’am Al-afreeqiy – a righteous man but munkir hadeeth da’eef.

2: Despite how important the subject of this hadith is, it cannot be found in Bukhari, Muslim and Nasaa’i. And that denotes the hadeeth is not saheeh(authentic) based on their conditions/principles. As for the excuse that they only did not record it, the one who knows Bukhari and Muslim verywell will know that they hardly/never ignore an important chapter except they report even if it is a hadith on the subject matter.

3: Some of the narratives of the Hadith did not mention that “all sects will be in hell except one”, they only mentioned the occurrence of sects and its numbers.

As for the narrative that has the phrase “all in Hell except one”, in addition to what was said earlier, Sheikh Shu’aib Al-Arnaut is of the opinion that the Isnad of the hadeeth is weak because of Ibn Luay’ah who has a bad memorization and the narrative of Sa’eed bn Abi hilaal from Anas is Mursal.

In Musnad of Imam Ahmad(12147), the narrative is
“و أنتم تفرقون على مثلها، كلها في النار إلا فرقة”
Sheikh Shuaib Arnaut, as well as Ibn Hazm said this Isnad is likewise weak for the weakness of An-Nameeriy found in the isnad.

Ibn Wazeer(d.840AH) in his العواصم و القواصم said: “the phrase ‘all in hell except one’ is a wrong addition, not authentic and it frustrates our unity”.

Ibn Hazm said: “the addition was fabricated, not mawquuf, not marfuu’ “.

As for the narratives without the phrase “all in hell except one”, though Imam Tirmidhi said Hassan saheeh, Ibn Ibban also authenticated it. But it is a narrative from Muhammad Bn Amru bn Alqamah bn Waqaas, and whoever read his biography in تهذيب التهذيب of Ibn Hajar will know alot was said about this narrator’s memorization.

This should be the brief note about the isnad of the hadeeth. Well Knowning that Sheikh Al-Albaani authenticated the hadeeth and refuted his predecessors that considered it weak and ‘the phrase’ fabricated. Bringing the counter differences here will be of no use.

For the sake of argument(لو سلمنا جدلا), let us even agree that the Hadith is authentic in term of its Isnad, coming to the matn(context and influence of the hadeeth),

When the Hadith is reflected on, a set of questions come to mind. For instance, what is meant with the number 73 in this hadith? Does it indicate a number adding up to reality or is it used as a figurative count implying plenitude? Besides, is this the count of major sects? If so, no writer has managed to specify the number of major sects as more than 10-12. If the hadith implies major sects together with their subbranches, then the number 73 can be easily exceeded.

Furthermore, what would be the criterion for being defined as sect and who would determine the identity of these 73 sects and how would it be done? However, if the number 73 is used figuratively, what does the division of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims into 71, 72, and 73 sects refer to, respectively?

The explanation for the reason why Muslims split into 73 sects while Jews and Christians were divided into 71 and 72 is that the Prophet wanted to express that Islam has more qualities compared to Judaism and Christianity and make a comparison between three religions. It has been also marked that this supremacy should be sought within the freedom of thought, which Islam features and which is entitled to Muslims.

However, explaining the fact that there is only one sect to be saved and all others would be in hell with the freedom of speech in Islam does not seem to be so consistent. If this is a consequence of the freedom of thought, why does only one of these thought-holders deserve to go to Heaven and others are sent to the Hell?

Accordingly, one can understand a Muslim being proud of the virtues of his religious community, but the multiplicity of sects is hardly a matter for pride. How did the tradition about seventy-three sects come to find acceptance among Muslims? Perhaps a group of extreme rigorists was happy to maintain that they belonged to the one ‘saved sect’ (firqa naajiya) while the other seventy two sects would go to Hell.”

As a matter of fact, this hadith has been used by the followers of the sect which considered itself the saved sect in the hadith as a means to justify their claims and to marginalize other sects by stigmatizing them as deserving of hell, as well as Ahl Bid’ah.

Narrations suggesting that the Islamic community would be divided into 73 sects, 72 of them would go to Hell while only one of them would ascend to Heaven, along with the sayings accredited to the Prophet such as “al-Qadariyyah are the majuus of the ummah”, “al-Khawārij have abandoned the religion just as an arrow loosing from the string” brought the problem
of “takfiir (declaring a Muslim as apostate)”.

So will the followers of these sects which the Prophet vilified to such extent be considered as believers or non-believers? At this point, as Imam al-Shahrastaani (d. 548 AH) states, there is disunity among juristic methodologists on the problem of takfiir of ahl al-ahwa(people of desires); while more radical and fanatic ones in terms of sectarianism lay the blame on their opponents for blasphemy and heresy, whereas tolerant ones seek to reconcile, standing clear from takfiir. Imam Al-Ashʿari in his “maqaalat al-islamiyyiin” for example, instead of ostracizing antagonistic sects emerging after the Prophet’s demise, opted to include them into the circle of Islam by saying “Islam unites them and draws them together!”.

Imam Gazaali in his Faysal al-tafriqa, he prefers to use the narration “My ummah will split up into seventy-odd sects. They all will go to Heaven, except unbelievers (zindiiqs)” for 73 sects ḥadith. Nevertheless, being aware of the other famed narration, he attempts to combine both forms. According to him, two ḥadith can be reconciled as following: There is one sect among them that is certainly infernal and they have no chance to be saved. These are zindīqs. Yet there is another sect, whose followers will be directly sent to Heaven without passing through the Hell, and thus will be totally saved. The ones that will remain between these two will either be brought to account or will be interceded for after giving account or will stay in the Hell as much as their sentence. That is, in any case, they will not be able to escape totally and their situation will be on a shaky ground. Two hadiths are thus reconciled.

Regarded less tolerant than Imam Al-Ashʿari and al-Ghazali, Imam al-Baghdadi in his book “alfarqu bayna alfiraq” argues that the followers of 72 sects -which he discusses under the title of deviant sects- can be considered within the Islamic community in some aspects, yet excluded in other aspects. From his view, members of these sects could be considered to belong to Islamic community in that they are allowed to be buried in Muslim grave, have a share for spoils providing they fight beside Muslims and they must not to be prevented from praying in mosque; while they are not regarded in Islamic community regarding the following aspects: they cannot be the imam in prayers, Sunnis should not pray at their funeral, marry them, and the animals they slaughter are not halal.

Many theologians have written claiming the number 73 in the hadith is true and adopted different methods in an effort to designate their own sect as the saved sect that would go to the Heaven and resorted to different methods to round up the number of the other sects which would perish to 72. This effort, however, left scholars in a considerably difficult situation. As many of them tried hard to fix the number of the sects to 72, they could not escape from a set of contradictions.

Moreover, these writers sought 73 sects within the period until their time, reckoning without the possibility that the new sects could emerge after their lifetime. 73 sects hadith, considered as authentic, has shaped the theologians’ mentality and their view on other sects. As this hadith paved the way for a schematic approach towards the tradition and history of religion, as well as supported theologians to perceive the Islamic doctrine in a static and stable manner, without any historical change. According to Imam al-Jabiri, theologians evaluated earlier sects over the debates he entered with other sects at the time; thus adopted ‘an ideological and epistemological imperialism’ by imposing his time’s criteria upon the past. Besides, in these works, reader is epistemologically pushed out of the history since the time and developments are left out because the sects are considered as sect from their very beginning and hence the political motives behind their views are overlooked.

Those Who Consider the 73 Sects Hadith Authentic

Many scholars of Sunnah are of the opinion that the hadith is authentic. Based on the hadith, each writers claimed their own sect to be the saved one, thus the identification of the sect that would be salvaged varies as to the writer(scholar).

For instance, according to scholars such as Abu l-Husayn al-Malati, ‘Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, Abu l-Muzaffar al-Isfara’ini, al-Shahrastani, Fakhru Din al-Raazi, al-Saksaki, and ‘Adud al-Din al-Iji, the saved sect is Ahl sunnah wa-l-Jama’ah. From the perspective of Isma’ili scholar, Abu Haatim al-Razi, the saved sect is Ahl sunna wa-l-Jama‘a. According to another Isma’ili writer, Abu Tammam al-Khawarizmi, the saved sect is Ahl al-batin, that is the Isma’iliyya; according to Ibn al-Murtadoh, it is Zaydiyya; and according to Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Qalhati, it is Ibadiyyah.

The Qadi ‘Abd al-Jabbar, one of the important figures of Mu‘tazila, attempts to interpret the saved sect as Mu‘tazila and to infuse this idea. For him, “al-Jama‘ah” which was mentioned in 73 sects hadith to be the sect that will attain salvation is not those in the majority, but those who are on the right path. In fact, Allah praises the minority in many verses, yet discredits the majority. According to ‘Abd al-Jabbar, those who genuinely embrace the Sunna and Jama’ah are Mu‘tazilah. And he interprets the 73 sects hadith with another narrative(hadith) which supports his own sect.

Hence, those who agree that the 73 sect hadith is authentic are divided on the matter whether the number 73 in the hadith is a fact or a metaphor. And they are of 2 categories:

1: Those who think that the number 73 in the hadith is for a fact.

According to the scholars in this group, the number 73 in the hadith refers to a fact. As the Prophet stated, the Islamic community is divided into 73 sects. Accordingly, after the writer has found that his sect is the one that will attain salvation, it is necessary to determine 72 sects to perish. However, there is one obstacle to overcome for the writer, that is, the number of major sects is not even close to 72. To overcome this obstacle, the number of the sects was rounded up to 72 with their subsections. Of course, this led to the artificial sects and newly created sects.

Every theologians divided the sects to reach up 73 until his own era, and the following theologians needed to remove or reorganize the sects in the lists of former theologians in order to include new sects arisen in between the time passed. For example, Imam al-Baghdaadi said that al-Najaariyya had more than 10 sects in his era, yet they can be reduced to 3. If otherwise, the number 73 will be exceeded.

The scholars that agree the number 73 in the hadith is a fact developed various classification methods to complete the sect number up to 73. Scholars such as Imam al-Barbahari(d. 329AH), al-Ajurri (d. 360AH), Ibn Batto (d. 387AH), and al-Saksaki (d. 683AH) said that the main sects apart from the saved one divide into 4 subsections, and these subsections divide into 18, thus reaching the number 72 by 4 x18 formula. And according to this classification mostly preferred by Hanabillah scholars, the main sects apart from the saved one that is Ashab Al-hadith are Rawafid, Khawarij, Qadariyya and Murji’a each of which are divided into 18 subsects whose exact names were not generally mentioned by those scholars. This classification was traced to Yusuf bn alAsbat (d.192AH) by al-Ajuuri. While some states that the classification was attirubuted to ‘Abdullah bn al-Mubarak(d.181AH).

Beside these, scholars such as Abu Mutii al-Nasafi (d. 318AH), Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597AH) and some scholars who had become prominent with their Hanafi identities, such as Abu Shakur al-Salimi al-Kashshi, al-Iraqi, reach the number 72 by dividing the main sects to 6 and their subsections to 12, thus the formula of 6×12.

Isma‘ili theologian Abu Tammam classifies the 11 main sects, apart from the saved sect Ahl al-Baatin, as 24 dividends of 3 major disputed subjects, and reaches the number 73 by the formula of 3×24.

There are some other theologians that did not use similar patterns, yet reached the number 73 by various methods. For instance, al-Malati (d.377AH) divides the sects as Zanadiqa(5 subsets), Jahmiyya (8), Qadariyya (7), Murji’a (12), Rafido (15) and Haruriyya (25), thus reaching up to 72.

In a statement on the 73 sects hadith, Imam al-Munawi (d. 1031AH) said that there is a classification dividing the sects as Rawafid (20), Khawarij (20), Qadariyya (20), Murji’a (7), Najjariyya (1), Dirariyya (1), Jahmiyya (1), and Qarramiyya (3), along with a 6×12 formula. And the first scholar to state that the number of sects will reach up to number 73 in the hadith by citing the 73 sects hadith is Abul Abbas al-Naashi’ al-Akbar (d. 293AH)..

You can see those who even agree among the salaf that the number 73 sects in the hadeeth is for a fact, further disagreed on its classification.

2: Those who agree that the number 73 in the hadith is a metaphor.

Some respected scholars say that the number 73 in the hadith does not state a fact, yet is a mere allusion on abundance as it is highly prevalent with the numbers 7, 70, 700 in Arabic language. In talbees al-iblis, Ibn alJawzi states that, although he prefers the 6×12 Hanafi formula in classification of sects which he had attributed to some (uncertain) scholars, the number of sects and their viewpoints are so many that it is not possible to comprehend them all.

Another scholar whose opinions to be cited is Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Raazi(d. 606AH). Imam al-Raazi in his work ‘I‘tiqadaat firaq al-Muslimeen wa-l-mushrikeen’ states his opinion about the 73 ḥadith by organizing an imaginary question-answer format, after classifying the sects:
Question: If one says the sects you have counted are more than seventy-three. Yet the Prophet did not voice that there would be that many, then how should one understand this ḥadith?
The answer would be: “Here, the Prophet could have meant major sects. However, the sects we have counted are not major sects. Besides, he declared that there would be no fewer than seventy-three sects. If there are more sects, it does not falsify what is meant by this hadith. Given that the number 73 is exceeded, what else could be meant? If we were to mention them elaborately, there could be many more than we have assumed. In fact, as there are seventy-three sects of Imamiyya itself, there can be as many sects in any of Rafidi sects”.

It is seen in other theological books that the number of major sects does not exceed ten. Thus, this case indicates that the number 73 cannot refer to major sects. Ar-Raazi’s second approach is that the number seventy-three can be the lowest limit, meaning that the Prophet declared that the number of sects can be 73 at least, and that it cannot be fewer but more than that. Yet, whether a coherent meaning can be deduced from the Hadith is up for discussion.

According to Imam al-Dawwaani (d. 908AH), who has a different approach with regard to the number 73, it is not necessary and groundless to think that the number is lower when attributed to major sects and higher when attributed to subsects. The number 73 can be attributed to disputed matters between the sects or it can be thought that the sects might have reached up this number at any time.

Undoubtedly, there are revered ahlu sunnah scholars that do not consider the 73 sects hadith as authentic:

After Ibn Hazm (d. 456AH) stated that some people argued that those who suggest contradictory opinions on aqeedah can be labelled mubtadi’oon(heretics) based on the hadith: “al-Qadariyya and al-Murji’a are the Zoroastrians of the umma” and “This ummah will divide into more than 70 sects, all of them will go to Hell, except one, which will go to Heaven”, he remarked that these two hadiths are not authentic in terms of narrators’ chain, thus it cannot be evidence even for those who consider al-khabar al-wahid(lone narration) as evidence.

Hence, in his book entitled “al-Fasl” which includes critical knowledge and assessments on the history of Islamic sects, Ibn Hazm did not appeal to a method in order to classify the sects accordingly with the number 73.

Likewise, there are those who do not take notice of the 73 sects hadith,

Some scholars neither mention the 73 sects hadith, nor try to reach up to 73 in their classifications. Imam Al-Ash‘ari (d. 324AH) is an outstanding figure in this group. He does not make a comment on the narrations about 73 sects in his book “Maqalaat al-Islamiyyin” and does not mention this hadith. He divides the major sects into 10; the number of all sects he mentions well exceeds 73 with their subsects.

In line with this, some assumed that Imam was not informed about the 73 sects hadith; which cannot be true. On the other hand, with regards to the facts that this hadith is mentioned in Musnad of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, to whom Imam al-Ash‘ari esteemed and subjected to, and that al-Ash‘ari lived in Baghdad in a period when Hanbalis were highly active, it can be thought that Imam al-Ash‘ari knew of this hadith, yet he did not deem it authentic or binding or that he did not accept it as a determinative source of information in classifying sects.

CONCLUSION

The 73 sects hadith had a structuring effect on both the form and content of the Islamic theologians works and the mentalities of the writers of these works. Especially during and after the 4th/10th century, the writers who undertook the classification of the sects, except very few, could not remain indifferent to this hadith, in fact, many of them accepted this hadith as the benchmark forming the classification. Thus, theologians works, instead of identifying the theological beliefs and groups actually existing in the Muslim society, became the works that was written in order to classify these 73 sects one by one and to show how far the other sects from the righteous path, except one, of which the writer is a follower.

The effort to identify the 73 sects surpassed the research to find whether these sects actually exist, and led writers to forced activities such as creating imaginary sects and regarding the diversity in opinions on various matters as sects to reach the desired number.

Also, the perception developed out of this hadith which states that only one sect will reach salvation and others will go to Hell caused the writer to see his own sect at the center of truth, to canonize it above all, to belittle, and alienate other sects. According to this perspective, other sects are not regarded as the riches of the Islamic thought and the manifestation of the importance that is given to free speech by Islam, yet as some deviant sides outside of true Islamic thought.

Besides, although deserving Heaven or Hell is ought to be measured by the fulfillment of responsibilities assigned to each individual by the religion, this measure is degraded to sects formed as a result of some speculative discussions and came to be measured by whether being a member of a certain sect or not. While the followers of the sect determined by the writer to be the saved one reach salvation, followers of the other 72 sects of bid‘a, even if they fulfill their religious obligations, deserve hell for their initiation. Therefore, one cannot imagine that followers of a sect other than his can be religious and good believer.

The individual is evaluated, not by his inner situation and conduct, but by the viewpoints he bears. Besides all these, the individual justifies awarding himself with the authority to adjudge who deserves Heaven or Hell with some solutions he came up as this hadith allows.

Lastly, this 73 sects hadith is not a suitable benchmark in identification and classification of religious sects that emerged within the Islamic community. Instead, a researcher, whose intent is to identify and classify the religious sects, is to process the data he obtains through observation, experiment, and studies, and to suggest explicable, internally consistent and fact-related findings. Actions attributed to any Sect should be considered and placed on the scales of shari’ah instead of condemning and labelling a sect as lost and misguided Sect.