Concept Of Condemned Firqa In Islam
Wa Alaikum salam. Definitely referring to religion, not political differences. For example in Surah Al-An’am [6:159] “Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects – you, [O Muḥammad], are not [associated] with them in anything. Their affair is only [left] to Allāh; then He will inform them about what they used to do.” So technically, Christianity and Judaism are sects of the One true religion (that exists since Adam (as)). As for the famous Hadith of 73 sects, it clearly goes against the Qur’an. There is no way our Nabi (saw) would say anything that promotes/defends being in “one lucky sect” OR contradict the Qur’an by saying that the whole group of sect (rather 72 sects) who call and consider themselves Muslims are all Hell-bound… and that “one sect” is given a free ticket to Jannah? No Sir. Allah (swt) says everyone will be judged on That Day. And their deeds will be weighed. No one is thrown into Hell or Paradise based on “sects”, rather, as you mentioned, Allah (swt) strictly forbade being in sects, so “one lucky sect” theory fails here. Now, the question is, where did the Hadith come from? Surely Nabi (saw) said something similar that it got much attention? Did you know, that this hadith actually has numerous versions? each differing in which sect goes to Jannah ! Surely one of those narrations might be original (unchanged). If we keep the man-made labels of “Sahih” and “Hasan” aside, then I personally think the following hadith (which has no direct chain to confirm its authenticity) might as well be exactly what Nabi (saw) may have said, because it complies 100% with the Quran! Anas (may God be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “My ummah [community] will divide into 70 or 70 something groups; all of them will be in Jannah [Paradise] except for the unbelievers” [Musnad Al-Firdaws] That makes sense doesn’t it? So where does the “1” Paradise and “72” Hell come from? Islamic politics (back in the days), where every sect wanted to disregard the others in hatred, much of what is still happening. Mufti Kamran Shahzad has detailed video on the potential origin of this corrupted 73 sect Hadith, if you are interested. Ghamidi sahab as well have clarified it in many videos. Just shared my thoughts and the analysis I had on this topic so far. Hope this helps.