Will you answer the claim that the narration saying, “My ummah will be divided into seventy-three sects” is not reliable?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The following is stated in another hadith narration: 

“My Ummah will be divided into seventy-two sects; only one of them will be the people of salvation.” When he was asked who they were, he said, “They are those who are in the congregation.” (Ahmad b. Hanbal, 3/145; Zawaid, 6/226) The following statement is included in another narration: “They are those who are on the path that I and my companions follow.”

There are different narrations with different chains of narrators. Some of them are weak and some are sound. The narrations that the scholars who have analyzed the hadiths regarding the issue call weak are different from the narrations that are sound.

One of those sound narrations is as follows:

“Jews were divided into seventy-one (71) sects; all but one will enter Hell. Christians were divided into seventy-two (72) sects, all but one will enter Hell. And this ummah will be divided into seventy-three (73) sects, all but one will enter Hell.” (Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 1; Tirmidhi, Iman, 18; Ibn Majah, Fitnah, 17; Ibn Hanbal, 2/332)

Tirmidhi reports that this hadith narrated from Abu Hurayra is sound (see Tirmidhi, ibid.) Al-Mundhiri also attracts attention to Tirmidhi’s explanation. (see Tuhfatul-Ahwazi, the explanation of the hadith in question)

However, this narration of Tirmidhi does not include the addition, “All but one will enter Hell.” Tirmidhi uses the expression “hasan, gharib, mufassar (interpreted by the narrator)” for the narration with this addition. (ibid)

Ibn Taymiyah, who is known for his meticulousness in analyzing hadiths, considers this hadith to be sound and uses it as evidence regarding the issue. (see Majmu’ Fatawa-Shamila-1/285)

Hakim narrates this hadith in a very short form and states that it is sound: “My Ummah will be divided into seventy-odd sects, the largest of which will do things according to their own desires, making what is halal haram and what is haram halal.” (Mustadrak, 4/430)

As it is understood from the explanations above, it is not possible to say that this hadith is fabricated. Although there are weak narrations, there are also narrations that are accepted as sound by many scholars.

The determination of the sects mentioned in the hadith is a difficult issue. The Prophet (pbuh) defined firqah an-najiyah (saved sect) as “those who are on the path that I and my companions follow”. Given that, it would not be appropriate to exclude more than a hundred sects today by calling them the others. Undoubtedly, there may be groups that directly contradict the principles of belief in Islam. Our scholars have tried not to declare those who do not think like them as unbelievers throughout history.

Do we, who consider ourselves Ahl al-Sunnah, not make any mistakes? In this century, the “brotherhood of belief” envisioned by the Quran is more important than in any other century. It is necessary to strongly avoid attitudes that will damage it, and not to discuss controversial issues. We accept Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia and Shiites in Iran as Muslims, and we refer their mistakes, if any, to Allah.

In an era when irreligious movements are shoulder to shoulder attacking the common belief principles of all the heavenly religions, it is obligatory for Muslims not only to ensure unity among themselves, but also to join hands with the sincere religious groups of the heavenly religions to fight against unbelief and debauchery, and to defend the basic principles of the true religion. While hundreds of currents around an atheist, materialist philosophy - just to eradicate the principles of the true religion and replace them with all kinds of immorality - have allied and united, so to speak, in the religion of irreligion, it is necessary and essential for the members of the true religion to unite for the sake of defending the truths of the true religion, for the sake of Allah, and not to see one another’s faults. Otherwise, it would be like fighting against the bite of a mosquito while ignoring the attacking dragons.

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