Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Do you also believe Prophet's saying that ' there are 73 sects and one is the right one'. Can you also elaborate this further.

Which firqa will go to heaven as one hadith states that there will be 72 firqas in the muslims but one will go to heaven?Now every firqa seems to be on right path then which one is going to heaven?Now being a muslim i would like to know that which is that firqa so that i also follow the same go to heaven? Why 72 firqas, why not only one religion Islam?

Hope you will clear these question in the light of Holy Quran,because being a muslim i believe that Quran is the only right path .

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

ANSWER:

Out of the 73 firqas which one will go to heaven?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

It has been reported in an authentic tradition that Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “There will befall my Ummah exactly all those evils which befell the people of Israel (Jews and Christians), so much so that if there was one amongst them who openly committed fornication with his mother, there will be amongst my Ummah one, who will do the same. And if the people of Israel were fragmented into seventy-two sects, my Ummah will be fragmented into seventy-three sects. All of them will be in Hell Fire except one sect.” The noble Companions asked: “O Allah's Messenger (saws), which one is that?” Whereupon he (saws) said: “It is one to which I and my companions belong.”

The Prophet (saws) prophecized that there will come a time that Islam will be divided into seventy-three sects, and unfortunately we live in those times today. Every one of these sects will go to the Hell Fire, except the one which was followed by the Prophet (saws) and his companions (r.a.).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Mu’minoon verse 52-54: And you all belong to one and the same ummah, and I am your Lord; so fear Me Alone! Yet afterwards the people divided themselves into different sects, and each sect rejoices in what it has. Well, leave them deeply involved in their heedlessness up to an appointed time.

Allah says in Chapter 45 Surah Al-Jathiyah aayat 17: "Then they differed amongst themselves after the knowledge (of Islam) had come to them, only because they wanted to wrong one another. Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning the matters in which they have been differing."

Allah does not have any favorite sect or people for whom He has promised Paradise. For Allah Subhanah, all his slaves are created equal, and the All Just, will not judge somebody according to petty things like his religion, his sect, his nationality, his family, etc. The All Just will judge with Justice!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Al Baqarah verse 111-112: The (Jews and Christians) say: “None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian.” These are their wishful fancies! Say to them, “Bring your evidence if you are right in your claim!”. The fact is that no one has any special claim to Paradise! Whoever surrenders himself to Allah in obedience, and is a door of good deeds, shall have his reward with His Lord. There shall be neither fear nor grief for such people.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 72: Whoever commits ‘shirk’ (invoking anything with Allah), Allah shall forbid for him Paradise, and Hell shall be his abode. And for such wrong doers there will be no one to help.

Allah has given clear guidance of how we will be judged on the Day of Judgement in the Holy Quran Chapter 79 Surah Naziaat verse 27-33: Then, when the Great Disaster (Day of Judgement) befalls: the Day when man shall remember whatever he had worked for. And Hell shall be laid open for everyone to see. Then the one who had rebelled (disbelieved) and preferred the life of this world, Hell shall be his home. As for him who had feared to stand before his Lord and restrained himself from evil desires, Paradise shall be his home.

Thus from the above and several other Quranic aayahs it is clear that the one who believed, did good deeds, and feared Allah and the Last Day will be shown Mercy by the All Merciful. Allah says Himself, “THE FACT IS THAT NO ONE HAS ANY SPECIAL CLAIM TO PARADISE!” The All-Just will judge everyone with justice. Thus no religious leader or imam has a right to claim that he will take his sect to Paradise. Allah says Himself: “These are their wishful fancies!”

Prophet Mohamed (saws) and his companions were mu’mins in the true sense of the word. They believed in Allah, their good deeds are beyond doubt, and they feared only Allah and the Last Day, where, they were certain that they were going to be presented One Day for Accounting. Thus only the ones who follows the way of the Prophet (saws), are the ones who will be shown the Mercy of Allah.

Is there any sect that can claim that Mohamed (saws) was a Sunni? Was he a Shia? Was he a Dawoodi Bohra? No, my brothers and sisters, our beloved Prophet (saws) was a muslim who had surrendered his will to Allah.

SO STOP FOLLOWING ANY SECT YOU ARE FOLLOWING, AND STRIVE TO FOLLOW PROPHET MOHAMED (SAWS). That is the only, I repeat, ONLY way to Paradise.

Islam has unfortunately broken into various sects today, each one claiming the rights to Paradise! A sect is one where they form a creed and identity of their own. And just look at our own sect of Dawoodi Bohras. They wear their own special garments. They determine their own special days of worship. They pray seperately on their own, even in the House of Allah at Makkah. They start Ramadan and do Hajj on their own dates. They have made a leader of their own, and bow down to him and his family (living and dead!). They even follow a book called Da’aim ul Islam as their basic constitution and leave the guidance of the Holy Quran, pretending not to understand it!! And above all, they claim that they have the ‘haqiqi’ truth, and promise all the followers of their sect Paradise. Have we ever wondered if they indeed have the truth, why are they keeping it all to their own sect and not propagating Islam to the other people of the world? No brothers and sisters, this is nothing but falsehood and far away from the teachings and guidance of the Holy Quran.

Allah states clearly in Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 72 (above), “Whoever commits ‘shirk’ (invoking anything with Allah), Allah shall forbid for him Paradise, and Hell shall be his abode.”

Bowing down in prostration (sajdah) to anybody is ‘shirk’! Bowing down in prostration (sajdah) to a grave is ‘shirk’! Invoking dead people in their graves is ‘shirk’! Hoping and praying that ‘some’ special people will bail you out of Hell-Fire with the sprinkling of their tears is ‘shirk’! All Power is vested with Allah Alone. He Alone is our Creator and is the Creator of everything that exists. Thus He alone deserves to be invoked and He alone deserves to be worshipped! Allah says Himself in the Holy Quran that Paradise is forbidden for the one who commits shirk and Hell shall be his abode!

What proof are we waiting for? Once we are dead and in the grave, it will be too late to repent and come back to the deen followed by our Prophet (saws). Then we will have nobody to blame except ourselves and have time eternal for regrets. All the promises of these leaders will vanish with them, and the only promise that will prevail is the promise of Allah!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa verse 122: The promise of Allah is true, and who can be truer in his word than Allah?

The only words worthy of beleiveing are the words of Allah Subhanah Himself, and the words of our beloved Prophet Mohamed (saws). His life was nothing but an example according to the guidance and teachings of the Glorious Quran. He never spoke of the unseen by himself, except by Revelation from Allah. Thus any sect who follows anything or anybody else, other than the way of Prophet Mohamed (saws) and his noble companions (r.a.), should prepare for the impending danger as promised by our Prophet (saws) himself.

The Holy Quran is available amongst us today in any language we want. All we have to do is pick it up, and read, and understand this Message from the Lord of the Worlds. In it is guidance for mankind and the God Fearing people. How many of us have ever tried to understand these 600 pages? How long will it take to read 600 pages? What will we say to Allah when He will inevitably ask us if we ever bothered to read and understand His Message? What are we going to say when He asks us why we gave preference to a book written by man (Da’aim ul Islam) over His Book (Al Quran)? What evidence are we going to give Allah on the Day of Judgment in following our sects? What are we going to say when He asks us why did we do prostrations (sajdah) to somebody else along with Him? If you are prepared to give Him the answers to these questions, go ahead and follow the sect you follow, and prepare to meet Him on the Day of Judgment.

May Allah make us recognize that our Ummah of Islam is One Ummah, and He is our Lord. May Allah make us read and understand the Holy Quran so that we can recognize the truth from the falsehood. May Allah have Mercy on all of us on the Day, which will be hard for the people who commit ‘shirk’, and easy for the people who believed in Allah, did good deeds and feared standing in His court. May Allah guide you and us all on the Straight Path of Islam as followed by our beloved Prophet (saws) and his companions (r.a.). Ameen.

May Allah guide you and us all to the Siraat al-Mustaqeem

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan