Which Group?

Society Religion & Philosophy
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Everyday many people write to us asking about the different groups of Muslims: Shi’ites; Ahmadiyah; Kadianis; Sufis; Nation of Islam; Wahabi; Moorish Science; Rastafarians; Five Per centers; Submitters International; Ansar Allah, etc. So many groups of Muslims. But which one is the real Islam? –
Which Group?

Good question.
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:
“Muslims will divide into 73 groups. All will be in Hell, except one. The one me and my companions are on today.”

We have to go to the very root of Islam to solve this problem. And fortunately there is something to base our understandings on. Islam is based on only two things:
1.) The Holy Quran; and 2.) The teachings of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

One of the most important beauties of Islam is the preservation of scripture, The Holy Quran [which is still being memorized and recited in the exact form and language {Arabic} as it was over 1400 years ago) and authenticity of references known as Hadeeth [verified teachings of Muhammad, peace be upon him]. We can with a certainty offer explanations from the two Holy Sources * which will provide answers to any questions regarding Islam

Think for a moment and then ask yourself:
Question: “Do the words; ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslim’ appear in the scripture of Islam [Quran]?”
Answer: YES

We as Muslims, have been instructed in the Quran itself to resolve any of our differences according to these two sources or otherwise to be considered as non-believers, by our Lord. As He has mentioned in the Quran:
“But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith until they make you [Muhammad] as a judge between them in all their disputes, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept with full submission [Islam].” [4:65]
Incidentally, the word for ‘submission’ in Arabic is ‘taslima’ which is one of the 5 meanings of the word ‘Islam’.

Now let us begin by mentioning what Allah mentioned.
In His Holy Book, The Quran, Allah has called those who follow His Straight Path (Al Mustaqeem) of Islam: “Muslims”.
He also says that we should not die except as “Muslims.”
3:102 “O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared. and do not die except as Muslims.” (state of Islam, i.e.; complete submission to Allah)
3:19 “Truly the only religion acceptable to Allah is Islam.”
3:85 “And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of them.”
6:125 “And whoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam; and whoever Allah wills to misguide, He makes his breast constricted as though he is climbing up in the sky. Thus Allah puts the wrath on those who believe not.”
39:22 “Is he whose breast Allah has opened to Islam, so that he is in the light from His Lord (like the one who does not believe)? So woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah! They are in plain error!”
61:7 “And who does more wrong than the one who invents a lie against Allah, when he is being called to Islam?”
6:162 “Verily, my Salat, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the Alamin.”
6:163 “He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims.”

   9:100 "And the foremost to embrace Islam of the Muhajirun and the Ansar and also those who followed them exactly (in faith). Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success." 

   39:12 "And I am commanded in order that I may be the first of those who submit themselves to Allah as Muslims."  
   22:78 "And strive hard in Allah's Cause as you ought to strive. He has chosen you and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship: it is the religion of your father Ibrahim. It is He Who has named you Muslims both before and in this (Quran), that the Messenger (Muhammad, peace be upon him) may be a witness over you and you be witnesses over mankind! ...."

   33:35: "Verily, the Muslims, men and women, the believers men and women, the men and the women who are obedient (to Allah), the men and women who are truthful, the men and the women who are patient, the men and the women who give Sadaqah, the men and the women who fast, the men and the women who guard their chastity and the men and the women who remember Allah much with their hearts and tongues Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward."  
   Additionally, the prophet, peace be upon him, said that as the Jews and the Christians divided into 71 or 72 sects, that you (meaning the Muslims) would divide into 73 groups and all of them would be in HELL, except for ONE.

And the “saved sect” would be those who remained on what he and his companions were on: “Quran and Sunnah.”

   We see clearly from the above that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has named us as "Muslims" alone.

Additionally, when we consider that the deviant groups always have to have a name of some kind in order to distinguish themselves from the others, we begin to see the pattern. If someone feels that it is necessary to describe himself as a certain kind of “Muslim” then this is his or her problem.

Now of course one could say that: “I am a tall Muslim.” or “He is a fat Muslim.” and then this type of description is for the purpose of identifying physical characteristics.
Additionally, a person might use someone’s country or nationality to describe a Muslim for the purpose of determining their heritage such as a “Pakistani Muslim” or an “Arab Muslim.”
These types of descriptions do not put a person out of the fold of Islam.

   Where the problem comes in is when the adjective related to the word "Muslim" or the word "Islam" has to do with FAITH or BELIEF.  
   We must understand that Allah Subhannah wa Ta'ala has made it perfectly clear both in the Quran and in the sayings of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, that the religion of Islam was perfected and completed during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and that no new religion would come until the Last Day and that those who followed Islam were called by Allah, MUSLIMS.

In one hadeeth of the prophet, peace be upon him, drew a straight line in the dirt with a stick. He said, “This is the straight path to Allah [meaning the Way of Islam].” Then he drew angles right and left off of the straight line and said, “These are the deviant groups (or sects of Islam) and each one has a devil calling to it.”

he mentioned that there would always be a main body of Muslims who would be on the straight path until the Last Day.

Each of the “faith groups” that you mentioned have been labeled by the main stream scholars of Islam as deviant groups in degrees from border line to completely out of Islam.

   Let us ask the question,

“What does the term ISLAM actually mean, anyway?”
Before we begin trying to gain an understanding of who is right or wrong on this issue it might be quite advantageous to spend a moment in reviewing the meanings of the actual words which will be using in our discussion.
First of all the words “Islam” and “Muslim” are Arabic, not English. They do not easily translate into one word.

The word " MUSLIM " is derived from the Arabic word ISLAM . So, let us begin by asking the question what does “Islam” mean anyway?

   Good question.

ISLAM comes from the root “slm” or “salama”

   The word   ISLAM  in reference to the faith is understood in Arabic as the:

  1. Surrender

  2. Submission

  3. Obedience

  4. Sincerity

  5. Peace

All of which come about only by giving up the Free Will of the nafs (self or ego) in favor of the Will of the Creator and Sustainer of All That Exists (ALLAH).

   Now we should ask the logical question,

“What does the word MUSLIM mean?”
Again, we must keep in mind that it is an Arabic word and is of course subject to the rules of the Arabic language. Actually, it is derived from the word ISLAM. Whereas, you might think of ISLAM as the verb or action and MUSLIM as the noun, or the one performing the action.
In English whenever we have a noun performing a verb, we add the two suffix letters; ER. But in the Arabic language many times you will find that the prefix letters of MU are used for the same purpose.

A few examples may help to better understand:

English Verb English Performer Arabic Verb Arabic Performer
Travel Travel ER Safar MUsafar
Call Call ER Adhan MUadhan
Pray Pray ER Salah MU salah
Submit Submit ER Islam MU slim*

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"Muslim" is one who follows or practices the action of "Islam."

In English we might say that any one who "Islams" is an "Islam-ER." Right?
So as we see in the chart above, in Arabic the "mu" preceding a verb indicates the same thing.

Therefore, we would understand that the one who is actively doing the verb of "Islam" [submission to God] is a "Mu"-Islam or "Muslim."

Make sense?

   Next,  we must ask when is it that person actually becomes a " MUSLIM  "?  
   Only when a person gives up his or her free will in order to obey Allah completely on Allah's terms does he/she become a " MUSLIM  ."

Following along the orders of Jesus in the Bible when he tells his disciples to "Pray thus.... Thy Will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven."

Also, Allah has told us in His Book that all of the creation is in submission to Him ( MUSLIM ).

So, how would it be if the sun asked the moon, "Hey moon! What kind of Muslim are you? A Shia' or a Sufi?"

That just doesn't make any sense.

   Let us take our religion from the original sources: the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him.  
   There is a famous story I like to use to help give a clear picture of what petty things can do to separate and divide the Muslims that might be appropriate to use here in helping to establish a better understanding.

The story goes something like this:

= "What Color Was The Dog?" =

Once there was a community of Muslims who were small in number yet large in iman and strong in action. So much so that, the kufaar [non-believers] could not defeat them in battle even though they had the Muslims out numbered.

One day a young man from the kufaar pretended to enter into Islam and he went to the big sheik [learned man] in one part of the city and listened to his teaching of the Quran. The subject happened to be on the chapter of the Quran called Al Kahaf (the Cave, #18].

When the sheik completed his talk he offered a chance for the brothers present to ask some questions. When it came the turn of the kafar, he asked the sheik the question:

“Sir, in the story of the ‘sleepers’ in the cave, there is mention of a dog. And I was wondering if I might inquire as to what color the dog might have been? I hope you don’t mind my asking, especially if it is something that maybe you don’t know the answer to.”

Immediately the sheik says to the young man, “That’s no problem at all, everyone should know that the dog was YELLOW.”
The young man said, “Are you sure? I mean, could it have been another color?”
“No.” replied the old sheik, “It was definitely YELLOW.” Once again the young man thanked him and when on his way.
The next night the young kafr man went to the other side of town and sat in another gathering of knowledge and they too were discussing different things about verses in the Quran.

So when it came time for the teacher to give each person attending, the opportunity to ask a question, the kafr man raised his hand and then asked the question, “In the chapter about the “Cave”, the sleepers are mentioned in different numbers but each time there is a reference to their dog as being counted along with them. Now I was wondering whether or not anyone of knowledge has ever made any reference to what the color the dog might have been?”
The sheik immediately said, “Yes! The dog in this story in the Quran was BLACK.”
The young kafar man was pleased and continued, “Sir, are you quite certain that the color of the dog mentioned in the story was BLACK?”
“Young man,” he quickly replied, “I’ll stake my reputation on that as a fact.”
“Thank you, sir.” Said the young man.

The next night the kafar posing as a Muslim went back to the first sheik and then when it came time for the questions and answers he raised his hand and asked, “Sheik, may Allah reward you for all your effort and knowledge and for sharing it with us. Could you maybe remind me about the answer to the question the other night about the color of the dog in the cave in Surah Al-Kahaf?” (Holy Quran: Chapter 18).
The sheik said, “There is no doubt whatsoever amongst the great scholars of Islam on this question. The dog was YELLOW. And anyone who says other than this has no knowledge.”
With that the young man spoke up again and said, “Sir, what would you say if someone else said that he would stake his reputation of being a scholar in Islam on the fact that the dog is not yellow, but rather that the dog is most certainly BLACK?”

The sheik quickly replied, “Then his reputation is not that of a scholar but one of a fool.”
Now the next time the kafr man went to the sheik that was upholding the idea of the dog being BLACK, he told the sheik that the sheik on the other side of town was calling him names and saying that he had no knowledge of Islam and that for sure that the dog was YELLOW.
The old sheik became angry and shouted, “You tell him, that I said he is the one without knowledge. I’m the one who graduated from the greatest of schools of Islam, while he is but a fool.”
The plan was working. Before long the community was divided into two groups. Each group was claiming that their sheik was the one with the correct answer. Fighting broke out in the streets and the Muslims began attacking each other all over the city. Everyone became involved to the extent that there was not a single person who was excluded from this terrible situation. Screaming, shouting, hitting and fighting were everywhere.

And then it happened. The kafr went back out to his people and told them,
“Let us go to fight them now. You will now find them most easy to defeat.”

And that is exactly what they did.

May Allah save us from such fitnah [tribulations]. Ameen.

   So, now let us consider that same concept and apply it to the various groups, which come along claiming to be the “saved sect.” If it was not revealed during the time of the prophet, peace be upon him, and it was not something done by his companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, then why would we want to incorporate it into our deen [way of life in Islam]? While Allah has already made it clear in His Book:

   {Inna deenah innda lahi, Islam.} (3:19)

“Certainly, the only way [deen] acceptable to Allah is the submission to Him in Islam.” 

   And again in Chapter Mayadah (5:3), when Allah Subhannah wa Ta’ala says:

   {Al yawmal akmal tu lakum deenakum wa atmumtu alaykum ni'mati wa raditu lakum al Islam adeena}

“On this day have I perfected your way of life [religion] for you, completed My Favor upon you and have chosen for you ISLAM as your way of life.
(sometimes translated as [religion].” 

   And may Allah make us avoid at all costs, the dividing and the separating of the real "Muslims." Ameen.

If you would like more information on this subject, please do not hesitate to write me. If I have made any errors then please advise me and ask Allah to guide me to do better.

Jazakalah khair wa salam alaykum wa Rahmatulah,
Your brother in Islam,

Yusuf Estes

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Whether we call it castes, sects, groups ... it's all the same. One group thinking they're better than others. It is ironic that the only two things common to all religions are:

  1. They all beseech faith in God
  2. They all are, in practice, hypocratic - pots calling kettles black