and
his family and all those that follow him doing good works until the Day
of Resurrection.
1.1
All the Praises are for Allah and Salutation is for the Messenger and
his family and all those that follow him doing good works until the Day
of Resurrection.
The very first generation of Muslims that lived and established Islaam
in their lives with Muhammad , the son of Abdullah, had glory and
triumph that no nation that existed before them or any that came after
them achieved. This is a reality which no one denies.
Thus we find that every conscious Muslim dreams about this reality and
so in his own way tries to work for this glory to return within his life
and the life of those around him. However, to dream is one thing and the
reality is another. The Muslims although they are now the fastest
growing nation, are also the most divided. This division was predicted
by the messenger , who said: The Jews were divided into seventy one
(71) groups and the Christians were divided into seventy two (72) any my
ummah (nation) will divide into seventy three (73), each of which would
be in the Fire except one...
Although this prediction is established in the Hadeeth above, yet it is
not approved by Islaam. On the contrary, Allah had commanded the Muslims
to unite, He said: 
Hold fast all together to the rope of Allah and
be not 
[Al Quraan 3:103]
The division of this ummah started very early after the death of the
messenger of Allah . After Islaam became strong and its enemies found
that they could not defeat it physically they started to attack it by
undermining the faith of the common people and those newly converted to
Islaam by introducing new concepts that were alien to the Islaam brought
by Muhammad . This wave of attack brought about an almost total
standstill to the quest for sound knowledge and facilitated the easy
spread of deviant concepts and new innovations in this deen. The vast
majority of Muslims are now totally lost and their understanding of
Islaam was very much diluted with deviant ideas which allowed anyone who
wanted to captialize on the ignorant to do so with ease. People now
lost the correct way and so they did not know what method to use to
understand this deen. Therefore, instead of referring matters of belief
('Aqeeda) to the Quraan and the Sunnah they turned to the books of
philosophy which, although written by Muslims, were all affected by the
Greek, Persian and other prevelant thoughts of that time.
Issues of fiqh on the other hand were completely restricted to the four
Imaams. And so as time went by the people became totally fanatical about
their Madhab (school of thought). This caused the noble Imaams to be
treated by their followers as the prophets ought to be treated (i.e. as
if they were protected from errors). Whatever any of them said was taken
as totally correct by those who followed them (as if it were
revelation). Even if a verse from the Quraan or an authentic saying of
the Messenger was brought as an argument against what the Imaam said,
their followers left what Allah or the messenger said and followed
their Imaams. This dangerous state of affair led to blind following
(Taqleed) of humans at the expense of revelation.
Blind following of other than Allah and His messenger along with
widespread ignorance was definately the major sources of all the
division that occurred in the Deen. This was now what Islaam became to
the people. And this attitude closed the doors of Ijtihad. Proof were no
longer looked into to understand anything in the Islaam and the Quraan
and the sunnah of the messenger which must be used for our guidance
now became means for the Muslim of acquiring blessings (Barakah).
This further led to the state where anyone could now give Fatawas (Legislative rulings in Islaam) and also say anything he felt like saying about Islaam because there was no threat that anyone would ask for proof from the Quraan or the Sunnah. On the other hand the people who were listening to him had no basis to determine whether what they are hearing is correct or not because they themselves have lost any attachment to sources of Islaamic law.
This condition of ignorance and blind following was also predicted by
the messenger , who said: Verily, Allah does not take away
knowledge by snatching it from the people, but (this is done) by causing
(the death) of the scholars until none of them is left alive. People
would then appoint ignorant leaders for themselves who would be
consulted in matters of religion and they would give Fatawas without
knowledge, falling into misguidance and misguiding others. [Muslim].
The messenger of Allah said: O mankind, I am leaving two things
with you, if you cling to them you will never go astray. The Book of
Allah and my way of life. [Al-Haakim and Al-Baihaqi]. This hadeeth
is laying the bases for the Muslim if he does not want to go astray. It
follows, therefore, that if at anytime some one finds himself going
astray, then he is not holding on to one or both of these sources. The
problem we face, however, is that every Muslim stand by this claim that
they are holding on to the Quraan and the Sunnah So how can anyone
determine whose claim is correct?
The messenger of Allah left this way very clear for us as he said:
I am leaving you on a clear way, its night is like its day and none
turns away from it except that he would be destroyed.
He told us that the way he left is very clear and then in the following
Ah-Hadeeth he explained for us what it is. He said: The Jews
were divided into seventy one groups and the Christians were divided
into seventy-two and my ummah will be divided into seventy three and
each of them will be in the fire except one. The companions asked:
"Who are they, O messenger of Allah?" He said: They are those
who are on the like of what I and my companions are on. And in
another Hadeeth, he said: The best people is my generation then
those that follow them, then those who follow them.
is telling us the way to understand
the Quraan and the Sunnah is the way the sahabas understood and practised it.
in all issues, then that group
would be the one that is on the truth.
The saying of Allah further emphasises that there is only one way. He
said: Whoever opposes the messenger after the guidance has been
clearly shown to him, and follows other than the way of the believers,
We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in hell, and
what an evil [Al-Quraan 4:115]
Who were the believers during the time the Quraan was being revealed?
Were they not only the messenger and the first generation of
believers? So Allah is also making it very clear that there is only
one way i.e. the way of the messenger and his companions. My
brothers and sisters, life is short so we must make sure that before we
die we serure the key that will take us to Al-Jannah(Heaven). Let us not
follow Allah's religion based on customs and based on our desires but
let us keep an open mind and beg Allah to guide us to the Truth that was
left very clear for us by Him and His messenger . May Allah guide us
all to the straight way of Islaam. Ameen!