Muslims divided into 73 sects

3-12-2007 | IslamWeb

Question:

What is your opinion about Sufism? Is it among the seventy- two groups that will enter Hell as was mentioned in the Hadeeth, or is it among the Saved group?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

 

It is narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the Ummah will divide into seventy-three groups; all of them will enter Hell except one, namely, the one that follows the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and that of his companions . [At-Tirmithi]

 Undoubtedly, the form of Sufism we see nowadays in many cases does not follow the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and his Companions. Sufism has been subdivided into many sects and followed different paths, some of which lead to disbelief while others are grave but didn’t reach the state of disbelief. The determining criterion is following the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and that of his companions in both words and actions. However, there is no doubt that some earlier Sufis (and those who followed them) are true followers of the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who shun innovations in religion. Indeed, Allaah The Almighty does not waste the reward of anyone who does good deeds.  Allaah Knows best.