Introduction
There is a famous and widely-quoted hadith that says the Ummah will split into 73 sects and that all but one of those sects go to the fire. Most people quote this hadith without knowing exactly how authentic it is and build their lifestyle and manners around it.
Based on this hadith, many people emphasize the importance of specific Aqidah differences that do not have anything to do with the basic pillars of Iman and highlight the differences between different sects of Islam.
This article analyzes the authenticity of the different transmissions of this hadith, and the analysis will serve to determine how seriously Muslims should take this hadith when teaching or studying Aqidah.
Major Transmissions of the Hadith
Hadith of Abu Hurairah
The strongest hadith on this topic is the hadith of Muhammad ibn Amr from Abu Salamah from Abu Hurairah (RA). Muhammad ibn Amr was hasan in hadith, so this transmission is hasan In sha Allah.
Muhammad ibn Amr (d. 145) (Hasan) > Abu Salamah > Abu Hurairah:
The Prophet (SAW) said, “The Jews split into 71 or 72 sects, the Christians split into 71 or 72 sects, and my Ummah will split into 73 sects.”
Sunan Tirmidhi, Sunan Abu Dawud
Tirmidhi said, “Hasan Sahih”
Muhammad ibn Amr was criticized for some problems in his memory, and that is why his status was demoted to hasan.
This hadith only mentions the splitting of the Ummah, and it does not mention who will be in the fire.
Hadith of Muawiyah or Awf ibn Malik
The second strongest hadith on this topic is the hadith of Safwan ibn Amr through his chain to the Prophet (SAW). Because of the narrators, this transmission is a usable level of weak or a low level of Hasan In sha Allah.
Safwan ibn Amr (d. 148) >> Muawiyah (RA):
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Those before you, the People of the Book, split into 72 religions. This religion will split into 73, 72 in the fire and 1 in Jannah, and that is the Jama’ah. There will also arise a group from my Ummah whose desires will spread over them like rabies spreads over its victim, leaving no vein or joint untouched.”
Sunan Abu Dawud
The majority of Safwan’s students (including Abu al-Mughirah, Abu al-Yaman, Ismail ibn Ayyash, and Baqiyyah) narrated the hadith from Azhar ibn Abdullah from Abu Amir from Muawiyah (RA). Only Abbad ibn Yusuf narrated it from Safwan from Rashid ibn Saad from Awf ibn Malik (RA). Abbad probably made a mistake in this hadith.
The narrators of this hadith are graded as follows:
- Safwan ibn Amr: Reliable, but neither Bukhari or Muslim included a hadith from him.
- Azhar ibn Abdullah: Honest in hadith, but criticized for being anti-Ali (RA)
- Abu Amir ibn Luhay: Honest or reliable
In Abbad’s version, the narrators are as follows:
- Safwan ibn Amr
- Rashid ibn Saad: Mostly reliable, criticized for skipping his sources, and neither Bukhari or Muslim included a hadith from him
The authenticity of this hadith is mediocre because of its narrators, so it cannot reach the level of Sahih, but it may reach the level of Hasan In sha Allah.
This version adds the detail that 72 sects are in the fire while 1 is in Jannah. It also adds the detail that the 1 sect is the Jama’ah.
Hadith of Abu Umamah
Another transmission of this hadith is from Abu Ghalib from Abu Umamah. Because of Abu Ghalib, this hadith is weak or low Hasan but may be used for corroboration In sha Allah.
Abu Ghalib (d. 130):
Abu Umamah (RA) said, “Bani Israil split into 71 sects, and this Ummah will exceed them by one. All of them will be in the fire except the great multitude. They will have what they carry, and you will have what you carry.”
Some versions of this hadith say that someone asked Abu Umamah, “Are you saying this from yourself or from the Prophet (SAW)?” He said it is from the Prophet (SAW). Other versions do not clearly indicate this part of the hadith came from the Prophet (SAW).
Many narrators transmitted this hadith from Abu Ghalib, however, Abu Ghalib was relatively unknown. He was criticized by many scholars for narrating uncorroborated reports. Others were lenient with him.
Ibn Hibban said, “He was munkar in hadith despite narrating little. It is not allowed to use him as (independent) evidence except when he matches reliable narrators. He narrated the hadith of the Khawarij.”
The above passage about 72 sects is an excerpt from the longer hadith of the Khawarij that Abu Ghalib narrated from Abu Umamah.
Hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas
Another transmission is a hadith narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas. It is weak but may be used for corroboration In sha Allah.
Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 160) > Abd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad al-Ifriqi (d. 156) > Abdullah ibn Yazid > Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas:
The Prophet (SAW) said, “There will happen to my Ummah what happened to Bani Israil, as closely as one sandal resembles another […] and Bani Israil split into 72 religions, and my Ummah will split into 73 religions, all of them in the fire but one religion.”
They asked, “Who are they, Messenger of Allah?”
He said, “What my companions and I are upon.”
Sunan Tirmidhi
Tirmidhi said, “Hasan Ghareeb”
Al-Ifriqi was an honest man but heavily criticized for his memory in hadith.
Abu Hatim al-Razi said, “His hadith are written down, but he is not considered (independent) evidence.”
Imam Ahmad was harsher and said, “I don’t write his hadith.”
The rest of the chain is reliable.
This hadith also includes the detail that all the sects are in the fire but one. Contrary to the previous hadith, this hadith claims the one saved sect is the one that the Prophet (SAW) and his companions are upon.
Hadith of Anas ibn Malik
There are several transmissions of this hadith from Anas (RA), but all of them are unacceptable and weak. However, some of them are early so they may be used for corroboration.
Yazid al-Raqqashi’s Transmission
Awza’i, Ikrimah ibn Ammar, and Ma’mar narrated from Yazid al-Raqqashi (d. 119) (weak) from Anas (RA) a long hadith (summarized here):
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Bani Israil split into 71 sects, and my Ummah will split into 72 sects. All of them will be in the fire except one.”
People asked, “Who is this one?”
He said, “The Jama’ah.”
Sunan Ibn Majah, Tafsir Tabari, Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq
Ma’mar narrated the hadith by skipping Anas (RA) from the chain.
Ibn Majah narrated this from Hisham ibn Ammar (who made mistakes) from Walid ibn Muslim from Awza’i from Qatadah from Anas (RA), but this is an obvious mistake. Other students of Walid ibn Muslim narrated it with the above chain of Yazid al-Raqqashi, and other students of Awza’i narrated it with the chain of Yazid, and none of the students of Qatadah narrated this hadith from him from Anas (RA).
Majishun’s Transmission
Wakee’ (d. 196) > Majishun (d. 164) > Sadaqah ibn Yasar (d. 132) > Ziyad al-Numairi (d. 130) (weak) > Anas ibn Malik (RA):
The Prophet (SAW), “Bani Israil split into 72 sects, and you will split similarly. All of them will be in the fire except one sect.”
Musnad Ahmad
Ibn Lahee’ah’s Transmission
Ibn Lahee’ah (d. 174) (weak) > Khalid ibn Yazid (d. 139) > Saeed ibn Abi Hilal (d. 130) > Anas ibn Malik:
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Bani Israil split into 71 sects, and 70 sects were ruined and 1 sect was saved. My Ummah will split into 72 sects, and 71 sects will be ruined and 1 sects will be saved.”
They said, “Messenger of Allah, who is that sect?”
He said, “The Jama’ah, the Jama’ah.”
Musnad Ahmad
Ibn Lahee’ah was weak in his memory and mixed up chains, and Saeed ibn Abi Hilal likely never met Anas (RA).
There are two or three other chains to Anas ibn Malik (RA) for this hadith that are much worse than the mentioned chains.
Qatadah’s Mursal
Qatadah (d. 117), one of the major students of Anas (RA), narrated without mentioning his source:
The Prophet (SAW) asked Abdullah ibn Salam, “How many sects did Bani Israil split into?” He said, “71 or 72 sects.” He (SAW) said, “And my Ummah will split into a number like them or exceed them by one. All of them will be in the fire but one.”
Abd al-Razzaq
This narration is Sahih to Qatadah, but it is mursal.
However, Yahya ibn Saeed al-Qattan used to regard the irsal (missing-link transmission) of al-Zuhri and Qatadah ibn Di’amah as nothing of value, and he would say: “It is like the wind.”
And he would say: “These are people who were huffaz (memorizers); when they heard something, they would suspend it (‘allaqūhu).” Meaning, they learned a lot of things, even baseless transmissions, and would narrate these statements without chain.
However, this does prove the narration traces back very early.
Hadith of Awf ibn Malik
There is a transmission of this hadith from Awf ibn Malik, and this transmission is fabricated and unacceptable.
Nuaim ibn Hammad narrated from Isa ibn Yunus from Hariz ibn Uthman from Abd al-Rahman ibn Jubair from his father from Awf ibn Malik:
The Prophet (SAW) said, “My Ummah will split into seventy something sects, and the most harmful one among them will be people who make analogies (qiyas) between things by their opinion, making the haram halal and the halal haram.”
Musnad Bazzar
Bazzar said, “We don’t know anyone who narrated this hadith except Nuaim ibn Hammad. He had no corroboration for this.”
The problem in this hadith was that Isa ibn Yunus was a major teacher of hadith with many students, so it was very surprising how only Nuaim narrated this hadith from him. Nuaim ibn Hammad was known to mix up hadith a lot. He made so many mistakes that some even accused him of fabricating hadith.
Abu Zur’ah was asked about this hadith, and he rejected it and said, “This is the hadith of Safwan ibn Amr from Muawiyah (RA).” Meaning, Nuaim ibn Hammad mixed up the chain of the hadith of Muawiyah (RA) mentioned before.
Abu Zur’ah said he asked Yahya ibn Maeen about this hadith of Nuaim ibn Hammad, and Yahya ibn Maeen rejected it. Abu Zur’ah asked him, “How did he come up with it then?” Yahya said, “He mixed it up.” (Tarikh Abu Zur’ah)
Ibn Adi narrated something harsher from his teacher Ibn Hammad. Ibn Hammad said, “This hadith was fabricated by Nuaim.” (Kamil by Ibn Adi)
Authenticity of Parts of the Hadith
Splitting Into 73 Sects
The idea that the Ummah will split into 73 sects is transmitted by one inherently Hasan hadith and several weak or low Hasan hadith:
| Hadith | Year of Death of Root Narrator | Authenticity of Chain |
| Hadith of Abu Hurairah | 145 AH | Hasan |
| Hadith of Muawiyah | 148 AH | Weak or low Hasan |
| Hadith of Abu Umamah | 130 AH | Weak or low Hasan |
| Hadith of Anas | 119 AH | Weak |
| Hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr | 156 AH | Weak |
| Mursal of Qatadah | 117 AH | Mursal |
It is possible to combine all these to the grade of Sahih li-Ghayrihi, especially considering how early some transmissions are.
However, there is weakness in all the transmissions, and there is no transmission of the hadith free of at least some problem.
All Are in the Fire Except One
The inherently Hasan hadith has no mention of all the sects being in the fire except one, however, many early weak or low Hasan transmissions mention this part of the hadith:
| Hadith | Year of Death of Root Narrator | Authenticity of Chain |
| Hadith of Muawiyah | 148 AH | Weak or low Hasan |
| Hadith of Abu Umamah | 130 AH | Weak or low Hasan |
| Hadith of Anas | 119 AH | Weak |
| Hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr | 156 AH | Weak |
| Mursal of Qatadah | 117 AH | Mursal |
It is plausible to argue the addition is weak, but it is also possible to argue the transmissions corroborate each other and rise to the level of Hasan li-Ghayrihi.
Who is the Saved Sect?
Several transmissions mention that the saved sect is the Jama’ah or great multitude.
| Hadith | Year of Death of Root Narrator | Authenticity of Chain | Wording |
| Hadith of Muawiyah | 148 AH | Weak or low Hasan | Jama’ah |
| Hadith of Abu Umamah | 130 AH | Weak or low Hasan | Great Multitude |
| Hadith of Anas | 119 AH | Weak | Jama’ah |
| Hadith of Ibn Amr | 156 AH | Weak | What my companions and I are upon |
All of these are weak, so this can rise to the level of low Hasan li-Ghayrihi at best.
Only the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr (RA) says the the saved sect is the one that follows what the Prophet (SAW) and companions follow. This contradicts the more reliable transmissions that say the saved sect is the Jama’ah, and is also very weak in itself.
Meaning of the Hadith
Splitting Into 73 Sects
This is the most authentic part of the hadith, so its meaning is the most important to understand.
It is part of human nature that humans never agree. Religion is no exception, and even the true religion is no exception. As a result, even Islam has divided into a number of sects despite the fact that a majority of Muslims have maintained a generally orthodox understanding of the religion.
The fact that there will be sects is proven by what Allah said in the Quran ⟪And if your Lord had willed, He could have made mankind one community; but they will not cease to differ.⟫ (11:118)
Muslims split into sects when a question arose that divided the community, some following the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah and some misunderstanding the Quran in some way or reinterpreting it in line with their ideology.
Some people interpret the number 73 to be literal, and others interpret the number to be figurative to mean “a lot of sects.” Those who interpret 73 to be literal have tried to list out 73 sects of Islam to match the hadith, however, it is usually quite arbitrary what is considered a sect and what is only a subsect.
Brief History of Sects in Islam
The first sect to split in Islam were the Khawarij who arose in the time of the companions themselves. The Khawarij fought the Muslim community and excommunicated normal Muslims and made their blood permissible to shed. They justified this by saying any ruler who does wrong goes outside Islam and thus anyone who follows him goes outside Islam as well.
As for normal Muslims, they did not excommunicate people for sins or fight Muslim leaders without basis.
Then, after the massacre of Husain (RA), the Prophet (SAW)’s grandson, and his family at Karbala, another sect arose: the Shia, who claimed to be ardent followers of the Prophet (SAW)’s family. They claimed to follow Ali (RA) and Fatimah (RA) and their descendants to the exclusion of other companions. Many later groups even excommunicated the major companions of the Prophet (SAW), like the first three Caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman (RA). Many of them claimed these companions stole the right of rulership from Ali (RA).
As for normal Muslims, they followed all the companions of the Prophet (SAW) including his family and did not believe his family had a special right to rule after him.
The first two sects of Islam originated in politics.
However, after relative political stability was achieved, the concern of many Muslims turned to philosophy. Because of philosophy, there arose many sects: the Mutazilah, then the Asharis and the Maturidis. They did not find many of the descriptions of Allah mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah to be philosophically accurate in their conceptions of God, so they resorted to interpreting them as metaphors.
As for normal Muslims, they believed the Quran and Sunnah in its plain language without overthinking Allah’s descriptions about himself.
Then, many sects kept forming until today.
All Are in the Fire Except One
This part of the hadith can be considered Hasan li-Ghayrihi at best, so it should not be taken extremely seriously. However, if it is authentic, what does it mean?
This can be divided into two questions:
- How generous is the inclusion of the one sect?
- Are people of the other sects guaranteed to be in the fire?
As for the first, when we say one of them is saved, how broad is that one group?
Is it only one specific school of Aqidah, like the Atharis? Or even more specific, the Athari Salafis?
Would the Atharis, Asharis, and Maturidis all be included because they all generally accept the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) as transmitted in hadith?
Or would all Muslims, including the Mutazilah and many of the Shia and Khawarij, be included and hence the other 73 sects are only those sects that directly take one out of Islam?
These questions are too unclear from the direct wording of the hadith to answer, however, Allah is merciful and we hope in his mercy. The broader definition may be favored by the description of the saved sect as the Jama’ah.
As for the second, if we choose the more specific view of the saved sect, it is unlikely that individuals or even scholars from the excluded sects are necessarily destined to punishment. It is possible the meaning of the hadith is only that those sects are misguidance and thus lead to the fire of Hell, just like sins, but Allah forgives sinners whenever He wishes.
The idea that there is at least one group of Muslims that will continue to be on the right path is supported by the Quran and other more authentic hadith.
Allah says ⟪It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion⟫ (48:28). The Prophet (SAW) also said, “There will continue to be one group from my ummah manifest [on the truth] until the command of Allah (i.e. the Day of Judgement) comes to them while they are manifest [on it].” (Sahih Bukhari)
The Saved is the Jama’ah
On the surface, Jama’ah means the congregation or the main group. This is supported by the transmission that says “great multitude.” This would entail a broader definition of the saved sect.
However, many scholars have instead argued that the Jama’ah refers specifically to those who follow the commands of Allah properly, not generally those who claim to be Muslims. Possibly, it refers to the companions themselves and those who follow them. This is supported by the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr (RA).
People asked Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, “Who are the Jama’ah?” Ibn al-Mubarak said, “Abu Bakr and Umar.” They said, “But, Abu Bakr and Umar have passed away.” Ibn al-Mubarak said, “Then, X and Y.” They said, “But, X and Y have passed away.” Ibn al-Mubarak said, “Then, Abu Hamzah al-Sukari is a Jama’ah.” Abu Hamzah was a pious teacher in the life of Ibn al-Mubarak.
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْوَهَّابُ
Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.
رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ جَامِعُ النَّاسِ لِيَوْمٍ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ
Our Lord, surely You will gather the people for a Day about which there is no doubt. Indeed, Allah does not fail in His promise.
(Quran 3:8-9)
