Why Have Any Madhab When Not Mentioned In The Qur'an

[ummtaalib]

Question

Why have any madhab or any "sunni" "shia" when niether of these concepts are in the quran? There is only one thing and that is muslims.

If anybody thinks they have an answer then please share whatever thought you have.

 

Answer

Bismillahi Ta'ala,

At the outset, "Sunni" and "Shia" are not schools of thoughts. Shia differ in their beliefs. The term "sunni" is used to differentiate Ahl Sunnah Wal Jama'a from those deviated beliefs which are ascribed by the "Shia" or "Rafidhi".

Understand it as an easier way of communicating one's belief. When one is asked, "What is your belief?", Then instead of saying We are Ahl Sunnah Wal Jama'a , or We are non-Shia, it is more convenient to say we are "Sunni". Please read the following for more information on Ahl Sunnah Wal Jama'ah:

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1. How any sects of the ummah has created till now as Prophet (saw) stated in a hadith that there will be 73 sects of his ummah? please mention the names.
2. Is ahle sunna wal jamaa is considered as one sect or four madhabs are considered 4 sect? as well as is ahle hadith are considered as different sect? are salafis and ahle hadith same?


Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

1) At the outset, the Hadith referred to in your query is as follows:

أخبرنا أبو العباس قاسم بن القاسم السياري بمرو ثنا أبو الموجه حدثنا أبو عمار : ثنا الفضل بن موسى عن محمد بن عمرو عن أبي سلمة عن أبي هريرة : أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال : افترقت اليهود على إحدى و سبعين فرقة أو اثنتين و سبعين فرقة و النصارى مثل ذلك و تفترق أمتي على ثلاث و سبعين فرقة (المستدرك)


“Abu Hurayrah (RadiyAllahu Anhu) relates that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said: ‘The Jews were divided into 71 or 72 sects as were the Christians. My Ummah will be divided into 73 sects.” (Al-Mustadrak)

After Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) left this world, many ikhtilafaat (differences) began to arise amongst the Ummah. Within a period of time, the Aqeedah (religious creed, belief) of some who were misled changed from the haq (truth) and in turn they misguided others. As a result, different groups were formed. Those which had differences amongst themselves branched out into several other groups. The prediction of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) became true. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) clearly mentioned that 72 of these sects will go to the fire of jahannam whilst 1 will be admitted to paradise. The successful group will be the one who follows the Jama’ah. This group is the followers of Ahle-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, which will be explained further below.

Hereunder are some of the known main groups and their branches (in no particular order), most of which do not exist anymore. The following is taken from the kitab Al-Farq baynal Firaq” (The Difference Between the Differences) by ‘Abd-al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (Rahimahullah) (d. 429 AH). This book should be referred to for a further, detailed explanation on the abovementioned Hadith and the various groups with their sub-groups, including their founders and differences in beliefs.

Firstly, the Rawaafid after the time of Ali (RadiyAllahu Anhu) were divided into 4 groups: Imaamiyyah, Zaydiyyah, Kaysaaniyyah, and Ghulah. These 4 groups had sub-groups:

1) Imaamiyyah-Divided into 15 sects:

a) Muhammadiyyah
b) Baqiriyyah
c) Nawusiyyah
d) Shamaytiyyah
e) Ammariyyah
f) Ismailiyyah
g) Mubarakiyyah
h) Musawiyyah
i) Qatiyyah
j) Hishamiyyah
k) Zarariyyah
l) Yunusiyyah
m) Shaytaniyyah
n) Kamiliyyah
o) Athnaa Ashriyyah


2) Zaydiyyah-Divided into 3 sects:

a) Jarudiyyah
b) Sulaymaniyyah (also known as Jaririyyah)
c) Butriyyah

3) Kaysaniyyah-Divided into 2 sects

4) Ghulah-Divided into 6 groups:

a) Bayaniyyah
b) Mughiriyyah
c) Janahiyyah
d) Mansuriyyah
e) Khattabiyyah
f) Haluliyyah

The Khawaarij were divided into 20 sects:

a) Al-Muhkamatul Ula
b) Azaraqah
c) Najadaat
d) Safriyyah
e) Ajaradah
f) Khazimiyyah
g) Shu’aybiyyah
h) Khalfiyyah
i) Ma’lumiyyah and Majhuliyyah
j) Sultiyyah
k) Hamziyyah
l) Thaalabah
m) Akhnasiyyah
n) Shaybaniyyah
o) Rashidiyyah
p) Mukarramiyyah
q) Ibadiyyah
r) Hafsiyyah
s) Harithiyyah
t) Shabibiyyah

The Qadariyyah-Mu’tazilah ‘anil Haq were divided into 18 sects:

a) Waasiliyyah
b) Umrawiyyah
c) Hadhliyyah
d) Nizamiyyah
e) Aswariyyah
f) Muammariyyah
g) Bishriyyah
h) Hishamiyyah
i) Murdariyyah
j) Jafaerriyyah
k) Iskafiyyah
l) Thamamiyyah
m) Jahidhiyyah
n) Shahamiyyah
o) Khayyatiyyah
p) Ka’biyyah
q) Jabaiyyah
r) Bahshamiyyah

The Murjiah were divided into 5 sects:

a) Yunusiyyah
b) Ghassaniyyah
c) Tawmaniyyah
d) Thawbaniyyah
e) Marisiyyah


The Najariyyah were divided into 3 sects:

a) Barghuthiyyah
b) Za’fraaniyyah
c) Mustadrakah




Finally, the 73rd group is the Ahle-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, which is the group on haq. Towards the end of the kitab, Abd-al-Qahir al-Baghdadi (Rahimahullah) defines the Ahle-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah as follows:

Those who have completely mastered the principles of belief (Ash’aris and Maturidis), the mujtahid Imams of fiqh and their followers, the scholars of Hadith that steered clear of deviation, the scholars of Arabic grammar that steered away from deviation, the scholars of Tafsir that steered away from deviation, the Sufis, and the general masses of Muslims.

Most define Ahle-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah as those who follow the Ash’ari and Maturidi schools of Aqeedah, which includes the followers of the 4 Imams of fiqh.

Since every sect claims to be on the true path, the criterion to determine the true sect is as follows:

a) Adherence to the Quran and Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)

b) To believe in Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) as the final Messenger

c) To have love for every companion of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)

d) To follow the Shari’ah through the guidance of any of the four Imams of fiqh-Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi’ee, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (Rahimahumullah)
(Al-Farq baynal-Firaq, Maktabah Darul-Turath)


2) The second part of the query has been answered above.

And Allah knows best

Wassalam u Alaikum

Ml. Asif Umar,
Student Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

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You may also read further at : http://www.deoband.org/2013/08/hadit...ing-of-jamaah/

Wallahu A'lam

Taken from sunniforum.com

[anisafatima]

Salam thanks for an interesting and striking topic. I have a question to ask when no sect is mentioned in Holy Quran then what tend us to follow it? As we know on Day of Judgment we will recognized by our Faith and Aqeedah not by sect. It is also said that there is no contradiction between four Imams but reality is that we see it our daily life we see people abusing each other. Kindly grant me assistance in this regard. JazakAllah Khair.

[ummtaalib]

Assalaamu 'alaykum sister

Before going any further perhaps some points need to be clarified InshaAllah

 

1. the madhabs are not separate "sects"

2. between the four imams are DIFFERENCES ON JURISTIC MATTERS. They are not "contradictions"

3. every ruling of fiqh in the four madhaahib are based on the four sources of Islam - Qur'an, Sunnah, Ijmaa and Qiyaas

4. people who adhere to the madhabs do not "abuse each other" - or SHOULD NOT in case they are. As far as I know from personal experience there is no abuse whatsoever among those who adhere to one of the madhabs

 

 

InshaAllah this is of help

[ColonelHardstone]

Salam thanks for an interesting and striking topic. I have a question to ask when no sect is mentioned in Holy Quran then what tend us to follow it? As we know on Day of Judgment we will recognized by our Faith and Aqeedah not by sect. It is also said that there is no contradiction between four Imams but reality is that we see it our daily life we see people abusing each other. Kindly grant me assistance in this regard. JazakAllah Khair.

 

Asslamo Allaikum Sister,

 

That’s because Madhab isn’t a sect. A sect is something with a fundamental creedal (Aqeedah based) difference and the four (4) Madhabs have effectively the same set of beliefs. They differ in some practical aspects e.g. should Ameen be uttered loudly or silently during Salah. Whether you utter Ameen loudly or silently, it neither takes a person out of Islam nor condemns them to heresy; both opinion are valid and proven from Qur’aan and Hadeeth.

 

Please read the text above and come back with any further queries and will be happy to help, Insha’Allah.