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:

Dear Brother Burhan

In an authenthic hadith narrated by Imam Thabrani, Rasullah saw ,said that my Ummah will be divided into 73 Firqahs and only one Firqah will enter Heaven and the others into Hell. When asked which Firqah will not enter Hell, Rasullah saw, replied " Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah'

You cannot say I have no Madzab for to say that you may be unwittingly inventing a new Madzab.

I am no expert in  the tafseer of the Quran and Hadith. And we must rely on the teachings of the great Imams like Imam Hanafi, or Imam Maliki or Imam Sya'fi  or Imam Hambali who devoted their lifetimes to the understanding, writing and teaching of Islam.

These great Imams and their followers are the Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah.

We cannot rely on the literal transalations of the Quran and the Hadith and use it as guides for daily life. There is more to it.  

Yours in Islam

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Answer:

No madhab

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever 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.

The hadith that you have quoted is not entirely correct! Please find below the exact words of the Messenger of Allah (saws) as related by Hadrat Abdulla ibn Amr (r.a.).

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 171 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “There will befall my Ummah exactly (all those) evils which befell the people of Isra'il, so much so that if there was one amongst them who openly committed fornication with his mother there will be among my Ummah one who will do that, and if the people of Isra'il 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.” They (the Companions) said: ‘Allah's Messenger, which is that?’ Whereupon he said: “It is one to which I and my companions belong.”

The Prophet (saws) never mentioned the words, ‘Ahle-Sunnah wal-Jamaah’, but rather he (saws) said, “It is the one to which I and my companions belong.”

And it would be absolutely incorrect to say that Prophet Mohamed (saws) and his noble companions were Hanbali, or Shafei, or Maaleki, or Hanafi, or even Shia or Sunni… because all these imams were born, and the sect names invented, long after the death of the Messenger of Allah (saws)!

The Messenger of Allah (saws), and his noble companions were honored to be recognized by the name that Allah Subhanah had Himself chosen for the believers: and that is, ‘muslims’; and that is exactly what the true believers must strive to be.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse 77-78:O you who have believed, do ‘rukooh’ (bow down) and do ‘sajdah’ (prostration), and worship your Lord Allah Alone, and do righteous deeds: it may be that you attain true success! Exert your utmost for the cause of Allah, as one should. He has chosen you for His service, and has not laid on you any hardship in your religion. Therefore, be steadfast in the religion of your father Abraham. Allah had named you ‘muslims’ before this, and has named you (muslims) in this Quran also, so that the Messenger may be a witness in regard to you, and you may be witnesses in regard to the rest of mankind.

Your Statement: You cannot say I have no Madzab for to say that you may be unwittingly inventing a new Madzab.

Brother, we apologize if our statement has led to this misunderstanding that we want to (Allah forbid) invent a new madhab! What we mean to say is that we wish to follow the exact same deen as the Messenger of Allah (saws); and he was a ‘muslim’.

Your Statement: I am no expert in  the tafseer of the Quran and Hadith. And we must rely on the teachings of the great Imams like Imam Hanafi, or Imam Maliki or Imam Sya'fi  or Imam Hambali who devoted their lifetimes to the understanding, writing and teaching of Islam.

These great Imams and their followers are the Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah.

We not only believe, love, honor and respect the teachings of the above four mentioned Imams, but as true believers, we believe in the teachings and works of all the true imams who guided mankind towards the commandments of Allah and His Messenger (saws). Rather than choose and follow one imam, and thus help in inventing a sect, a believer, who truly believes in Allah and the Last Day, must study and take advantage of the teachings of all the noble Imams to bring them closer to the understanding of the Quran and Sunnah.

The mission and objective of a true muslim must be to follow the Deen that was followed by the Messenger of Allah (saws), his noble companions, and his noble family….and they were all ‘muslims’ as mentioned in the Quran; not to create a sect in the name of the noble Imams!

Your Statement: We cannot rely on the literal transalations of the Quran and the Hadith and use it as guides for daily life. There is more to it.  

Allah says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 7:It is Allah, Who sent down this Quran to you. (There are two kinds of verses in the Book.) In it are verses Basic or Fundamental (of established meanings which can be easily understood), and they are the essence or foundation of the Book. And the other verses are Allegorical or Ambiguous. Those in whose hearts is perversity will always go for the Allegorical or Ambiguous verses, seeking discord and trying to search for their hidden meanings. None, except Allah, knows their real meanings (Ta’aweel)! In contrast to them, those who are firmly grounded in knowledge, say: “We believe in them all, because all of them are from our Lord.

Allah Subhanah Himself revealed the Glorious Quran for the guidance of all mankind, and declared that the majority of the verses of the Quran are ‘muhkamaat’, or basic, or fundamental, of established meanings which can easily be understood by the one who reads them with understanding. Furthermore, He Himself states in the other aayahs of the Quran, that the Quran is plain, direct, makes its object perfectly clear, and that He has assigned nothing crooked to it!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 12 Surah Yusuf verse 1-2:These are the verses of the Book that makes its object perfectly clear. We have sent it down as a Quran in Arabic, so that you may understand it well.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 89:We have sent down to you this Book, which makes everything plain, and is a guidance, blessing and good news to those who have surrendered themselves entirely.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 1-3:All praise is for Allah Alone, Who has sent down this Book to His Servant (Mohamed (saws), and assigned nothing crooked to it. This Book says everything directly, so that he may warn the people of the severe chastisement of Allah and give good news to the believers, who do righteous deeds, that they will have an excellent reward.

It is the duty of every believer to read and understand the Revelations of Allah himself, for that is what Allah will question us about on the Day of Judgment. What is important is that we use the works of all the noble Imams to increase our understanding of the Quran and Sunnah, which will enable us to be better believers and muslims. And rather than rely on the works of any one Imam, and invent a sect in their name, we must take advantage of the works of all the noble Imams, and strive to be united in the One Brotherhood and Ummah of Islam.

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 in Islam,

Burhan