hadith of 73 sects - authentic?

Nawazuddin

Nawazuddin

sunniport user
Below is a work in progress about 73-Sects Hadith and by no means the final analysis and the conclusions are provisional. It was a reply to a dear brother via pm on fb. I thought, I may as well share it with you all though the complete version will be published on my blog when it is ready.
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The 73 sects hadith appears in numerous hadith books and save a couple of reports, all have a problem of authenticity. As an example, Let us study how it is reported in al-Tirmadhi-one of the six sahih books. It has two reports on the matter, one from Abu Hurayra (r) and the otherfrom abdullah ibn amr(r).

1.[Abu Hurayra: Jews were divided into 71 0r 72 sects and similarly Christians were also divided into a similar number and my Ummah will be divided into 73 sects]

At the end Imam Tirmazi comments that this hadith is sahih hasan. He grades it as authentic. There is no mention of one will go to jannah and others will go to hell in this authentic version of the hadith.
link: http://hadith.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=192&TOCID=1671&BookID=26&PID=2564

2.[ Abdallah ibn Amr: The same will happen to my ummah as it happened to jews and Christians, Bani Israel were divided into 72 sects and my ummah will be divided into 73 sects. All will go to hell except one. The sahaba asked: who are they? He(S) replied: they will be upon which I am and my sahaba.]

Imam Trimazi then comments: this hadith is Gharib (strange in terms of narrators) meaning there is only one route of it, etc. We do not know any other route of reporters except this unique one!
link: http://hadith.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=192&TOCID=1671&BookID=26&PID=2565

Now, the first one, from abu hurayra is authentic but mentions NO HELLFIRE for all 72 sects except one and the one that mentions hellfire for 72 is considered Gharib even according to imam al-tirmadhi. Whats more is that the reason it is a strange one is because it has a reporter abd al-rahman al-ifriqi in it who is considered to be a weak one according to many. In rijal literature, he is a rejected reporter. For example Imam ibn Hanbal says that he is munkar al-hadith meaning a rejected reporter, and Imam Yahya ibn maeen, the great rijal imam, says that he is a weak reporter. There is more but this makes the point sufficiently.

So now, in Jami` al-Tirmadhi, we have only two reports in this matter and only the first one is authentic and the second one which has Hell-fire for 72 is weak and problematic.
Also consider that the Qur`an Paak says that You are the best Ummat and the sahih version of this hadith in trimazi says that my ummah will be divided into 73 sects so 73 sects also belong to the best ummat!
However, let me just give you two references from the great hadith masters who have dismissed this addition in various reports which say 72 for hell-fire and one for paradise.

1. Imam Ibn Wazir al-Yamani in his al-awasim wal-qawasim says: Beware! Do not be deceived by this addition ‘all in hell fire except one’ because it is a baseless fabrication.
إياك أن تغتر بزيادة كلها في النار إلا واحدة فإنها زيادة فاسدة ، ولا يبعد أن تكون من دسيس الملاحدة
2. Imam al-shawkani in his fath al-qadeer says: that this addition of 72 in hell-fire except one has been weakened by a large number of hadith scholars and so much so that Ibn Hazm has declared it as a fabrication!
ما زيادة كلها في النار إلا واحدة ، فقد ضعفها جماعة من المحدثين ، بل قال ابن حزم إنها موضوعة

So here you have it. Many prominent hadith scholars considered the ‘addition’ at most a fabrication and at least a weak hadith. This in turn makes a sufficient case for the rejection of the addition whilst accepting that the sahih report is the one that mentions My Ummah will be divided into 73 sects. Full stop. And there is no judgment on them in the authentic hadith, In Quran kareem, the Ummah is called as the Best Ummah and all 73 sects are the ummah as the sahih hadith says. No doubt the sectarian judges are desperate to save jannat for themselves and throw everyone else into fire!
 
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so you're saying that Ahlus Sunnah is equal in guidance to the rafidis (such as yourself), ismailis, khawarij, wahabis, etc.

so who are all these "sectarian judges" who are desperate to save jannat for themselves and throw everyone else in the fire? can you name some names please?
 
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I wondering when this was going to be next on the list after the door to this fitna was opened by Shaykh Ninowy. Btw he considers the ENTIRE narration to be FORGED not just weak. I personally heard this from him in Cape Town. As usual he tried to give some elaborate explanation that as usual led to nothingness then caught himself out. I firmly believe that he and his gang here, led by Fakhrudin Owaisi and a certain Jahil called Mehmood Khatib are the new fitna of South Africa.
 
@AQ: you lose your temper needlessly. you should perhaps be reminded of the saying that, do not open a door that cannot be closed.
 
huh? I didn't lose my temper, was quite calm in fact. I just hope nawazuddin's list of names of "sectarian judges" doesn't include any modern bloggers or forum members (or admins) but rather someone from the first few centuries.

I would also appreciate some condemnation of such ill-fated sectarian judges from the words of celebrated greats of the ummah like Imam e A3zdham or Ghawth e A3zdham or Imam Ahmad or Malik or other such people.
 
So here you have it. Many prominent hadith scholars considered the ‘addition’ at most a fabrication and at least a weak hadith. This in turn makes a sufficient case for the rejection of the addition whilst accepting that the sahih report is the one that mentions My Ummah will be divided into 73 sects. Full stop. And there is no judgment on them in the authentic hadith, In Quran kareem, the Ummah is called as the Best Ummah and all 73 sects are the ummah as the sahih hadith says. No doubt the sectarian judges are desperate to save jannat for themselves and throw everyone else into fire!
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research paper has already concluded, thus.
 
ibn al-wazir (with his anti-madh'hab ranting and zaydi slant) and shawkani (the mujtahid muTlaq) are his proofs. you must be foolish to doubt the quality of the paper.

btw, ibn al-wazir (in his awaSim, thus cited) mentions the hadith in the praise of SaHabah: "when you see someone insulting my companions, say: may Allah's damnation be upon your evil" [1/181]. he says so many things, which may not be palatable to nawaz anyway; and one can get carried away that he must be a sunni.

but he also acknowledges his own taqiyyah [1/225]:

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nawaz's citation below is on 1/186:

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and ibn wazir's reliance is on ibn Hazm [ibid.] that it is fabricated.

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perhaps nawaz refers to these "prominent" hadith scholars:
Many prominent hadith scholars considered the ‘addition’ at most a fabrication
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note that ibn wazir is quoted by salih al-maqbili and ali al-shawkani. coincidentally all three are accused of being zaydis. and perhaps tafDilis...
 
a bit on shawkani's, ibn al-wazir's and maqbili's objection (there is actually a compiled work of these including ibn al-amir san'ani on hadith iftiraq al-ummah). perhaps nawaz can make use of that book in his paper. i am sure there is some scope for all this in the academic definition, unless of course, the paper is not meant to be an academic one.

link: https://archive.org/details/abuyaala_rasael_haditfirak

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the major argument about iftiraq, and all being in fire save one is no better than the logic of present day bloggers and tweeters. apparently,
In Quran kareem, the Ummah is called as the Best Ummah and all 73 sects are the ummah as the sahih hadith says. No doubt the sectarian judges are desperate to save jannat for themselves and throw everyone else into fire!
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all of them have the same logic(al fallacy) - the qur'an says, "khayra ummah" and therefore splitting in 73 and all in fire save one does not behoove a "khayra ummah". what kind of a khayr ummah is it?

now this fallacy is based on the premise that:

being 71, 72 is less worse than being 73. what they did not perhaps think about is, the reason why this is "khayr ummah" is because, even if they split MORE than that of yahud, naSara, there will STILL be a jama'ah always on Haqq. which is also corroborated from various hadith such as "the ummah will not unite on heresy, waywardness, corruption (baTil)". whereas, in the other two cases yahud,naSara - they split such that eventually NONE remained on Haqq.

maqbili dutifully quotes ibn al-wazir - who cites ibn Hazm - for this part of hadith to be fabricated. apart from anti-madh'hab ranting and the lamenting of loss-of-love between different firaq - the classic sulH kulli. no wonder, ninnowy pipes this, (and karam college principal enjoys his company and asim is beside himself with glee). perhaps yaqubi sahib also read the books of these people and therefore sings that tune.

someone was asking about sulH kulli, and we have new definition: they are similar to zaydi anti-madh'habi maqbili sana'anis.

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now ibn al-amir san'ani has a few objections [see p.99]: [summarised for brevity]

first objection is that "it would mean that majority of the ummah will perish and will be in fire, which contradicts the hadith that this is a ummah upon which there is mercy and this will be the most in jannah (compared to other umam/nations)."

he states the ta'wil of some ulama and says, fine, but it has problems. and states many counter objections to the ta'wil. until he reaches [p.103]: "the hadith that talk of the expanse of mercy and the most who enter jannah will be from this ummah; which means, those who perish are fewer."

he implies, therefore the 73 = 72+1 do not add up. [there is a lot of awful reasoning, but they are anyway literalists so blaming them for logic is like accusing the rawafid of loving the saHabah too much].

moreover, lateral thinking was not invented at that time, so we will just highlight that if there are 1000 people in the ONE najiyah firqah and 10 people each in each 72 firaq, it still means that 720 < 1000.

to be fair, he does mention other ta'wil and even approves of them. but eventually, falls back to the ibn al-wazir quote citing from ibn Hazm.

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perhaps someone could send the bbc article AQ linked on literalism to modern maqbili/shawkani/ibn wazir admirers.

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now, nawaz in his diligent analysis of hadith mentioned the hadith of tirmidhi. but we must pause to get an insight into the mujtahid's mind. (i don't mean nawaz btw.)

shawkani is hailed as the mujtahid muTlaq, the mujaddid, etc. etc. in his analysis of the hadith (btw, he was erudite; but learning cannot be equated with discerning or wisdom):

someone asks him about the hadith of mu`awiyah (btw, it is a conspiracy theory, but i suppose most of these people get into knots because it is narrated from sayyiduna mu`awiyah raDiyallahu `anhu. whom we respect as a SaHabi just as mawla ali raDiyallahu `anhu, though in superiority there is no question of who is who.)

and qaDi shawkani says [summarised]: "the hadith of mu`awiyah is extracted by abu dawud in his sunan and with the following chain: narrated to us aHmad ibn Hanbal & muHammad ibn yaHya ibn faris, both said: narrated to us abu mughayrah: narrated to us Safwan; (second route) and narrated to us `amr ibn uthman, narrated to us baqiyah narrated to me Safwan: narrated to me az'har ibn abdAllah al-Harazi from abu `aamir al-hawzani from mu`awiyah ibn abi sufyan that he stood giving a sermon....[the hadith]

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shawkani's take is that baqiyyah and az'har ibn abdAllah (or sayid) al-Harazi are not thiqat and therefore this narration is weak (because al-Harazi is weak). he goes on to evaluate the narrators and says that in such an important matter, the hadith of such a weak narrator shouldn't be admitted.
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however in the same analysis he pays glowing tributes to imam aHmad ibn Hanbal:
shaw3.jpg



shawkani: "aHmad ibn Hanbali is an imam and a prominent hafiz (of hadith); friend and foe are agreed upon his being trustworthy; bukhari, muslim and others have narrated from him. his rank is so high and prominent that he is beyond evaluation (of his being trustworthy as a narrator) and far above any criticism - rather, he is the imam of hadith criticism (approving, evaluating narrators and deeming them trustworthy or otherwise - jar'H wa't ta'dil) and the imam in memorising and accuracy (of reporting)."

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what i don't understand is, ibn al-wazir (d.840 AH) reporting from ibn Hazm is far more reliable than imam aHmad ibn Hanbal. shawkani, maqbili, san'ani all of them parrot ibn al-wazir that this is a "fabrication".

in other words, imam aHmad narrates fabricated hadith, and which is found in sunan abu dawud.

secondly, i don't know about you - but, if imam aHmad deems it narratable, i could gladly dump a thousand ibn wazir, ten thousand shawkani-maqbilis and a million ninnowys. my ears are deaf to hadith critics of our age who squeak otherwise:
No doubt the sectarian judges are desperate to save jannat for themselves and throw everyone else into fire!
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Allah ta'ala knows best.

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Whilst we are at it here is another version of the hadith cited by Imam al-Ghazali in his faysal al-tafriqa which states: My Ummah will be divided into seventy odd sects and all will go to paradise except one!
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abul hasnayn, the copy-paste source of your reply below also admits to the fact that, at most, the version of hadith with addition " all in hell except one" , given the weakness in its chains, can be classified as hasan. A hasan hadith is that which falls between Sahih and Daeef. So even then it is not strong enough to sentence 72 sects of the Ummah to hell. To send Muslims en masse to hell, on evidential basis, you will have to do better than that!
 
So even then it is not strong enough to sentence 72 sects of the Ummah to hell. To send Muslims en masse to hell, on evidential basis, you will have to do better than that!
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there really should be a ban on straw-men arguments.
 
So even then it is not strong enough to sentence 72 sects of the Ummah to hell. To send Muslims en masse to hell, on evidential basis, you will have to do better than that!
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basic 3aqidah lessons are due your way.

even someone from the Ahlus Sunnah can go to hell for sins like robbery, drinking, adultery etc.

Ahlus Sunnah scholars have made it very clear that those whose bid3ah reaches kufr and they become murtads, they will be in hell for ever

those whose bid3ahs are waywardness but not reaching the extent of kufr, they are not kafirs and they will be in hell temporarily, just like the rest of the Muslim fussaq. fisq in 3aqidah is worse than fisq in deeds.

a mubtadi3 deviating from the Ahlus Sunnah can be a mere fasiq due to his erroneous beliefs, or he can be a kafir. not every mubtadi3 is the same
 
AbdalQadir said:
basic 3aqidah lessons are due your way.

even someone from the Ahlus Sunnah can go to hell for sins like robbery, drinking, adultery etc.

Ahlus Sunnah scholars have made it very clear that those whose bid3ah reaches kufr and they become murtads, they will be in hell for ever

those whose bid3ahs are waywardness but not reaching the extent of kufr, they are not kafirs and they will be in hell temporarily, just like the rest of the Muslim fussaq. fisq in 3aqidah is worse than fisq in deeds.

a mubtadi3 deviating from the Ahlus Sunnah can be a mere fasiq due to his erroneous beliefs, or he can be a kafir. not every mubtadi3 is the same
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Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-Saaani alayhir-rahma has also given an explanation for this hadith.
What AQ has written is similar to that.
 
No doubt the sectarian judges are desperate to save jannat for themselves and throw everyone else into fire!
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i would really like to know who these "sectarian judges" are.

i hope nawazuddin pinpoints them by name and doesn't keep us in the dark and helps us on the path of knowledge.

it is his duty towards towards the ummah to warn against people who spread misguidance.
 
The Necessity for identifying oneself as Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah

The Holy Quran has stressed and emphasized on it that we maintain our identity as Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah or Sunnies. Allah Azzawajal mentioned in the Quran:


وَ اَنَّ ہٰذَا صِرٰطِیۡ مُسْتَقِیۡمًا فَاتَّبِعُوۡہُ ۚ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِکُمْ عَنۡ سَبِیۡلِہٖؕ ذٰلِکُمْ وَصّٰکُمۡ بِہٖ لَعَلَّکُمْ تَتَّقُوۡنَ ﴿۱۵۳﴾


And that, this is My straight path, then follow it and follow not other paths for they will deviate you from His path. This He has ordered you that haply you may be self-restrained.


(Al-An’aam 6, Verse 153)


Mufassireen say in the commentary of this verse on the accord of the following Hadeeth:


Ibn Hibbaan in His Sahih Vol. 1, p. 181, Hadeeth No. 6


Imam Nasaai in his Sunan Kubra Vol. 6, p. 343, Hadeeth No. 11174


Imam Baghwi in his Sharhus Sunnah, Baab al-I’tisaam


Imam Bazzaar in his Musnad, Hadeeth No. 1694


Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal in his Musnad Hadeeth No. 4142


Daarimi in his Sunan Vol. 1, p. 78, Hadeeth No. 202


Imam Abu Dawood Tiyalisi in his Musnad Vol. 1, p. 33, Hadeeth No. 244


Marwazi in his Sunnah


Imam Hakim in his Mustadrak ‘Alas Saheehain. He said this is a Sahih chained Hadeeth Vol. 2, p. 349, Hadeeth No. 3241


Imam Dhahbi in its annotations agrees that it is a Sahih Hadeeth


Ibn ‘Aasim in his book Al-Sunnah


Ibn Batta in his book Al-Ibaanatul Kubra and also in his book Al-Sughra


Al-Ajurri in his book al-Shariah


Imam Al-La’lakaai in his book Sharhus Sunnah and even nasiruddeen albaani authenticated this Hadeeth.



The Hadeeth is narrated by the great Sahaabi Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood RadiAllahu anh:


عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ ،رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ، قَالَ : خَطَّ لَنَا رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عَلَيه وسَلَّم خَطًّا ، فَقَالَ : هَذَا سَبِيلُ اللهِ ، ثُمَّ خَطَّ خُطُوطًا عَنْ يَمِينِهِ ، وَعَنْ شِمَالِهِ ، فَقَالَ : هَذِهِ سُبُلٌ عَلَى كُلِّ سَبِيلٍ مِنْهَا شَيْطَانٌ يَدْعُو إِلَيْهِ ، ثُمَّ تَلاَ وَ اَنَّ ہٰذَا صِرٰطِیۡ مُسْتَقِیۡمًا فَاتَّبِعُوۡہُ ۚ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِکُمْ عَنۡ سَبِیۡلِہٖؕ ذٰلِکُمْ وَصّٰکُمۡ بِہٖ لَعَلَّکُمْ تَتَّقُوۡنَ ﴿۱۵۳﴾


Hazrat Abdullah RadiAllahu anh narrated, “The Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alayhiwasalam drew a straight line for us, the He Sallallahu Alayhiwasalam said, ‘This is Allah’s path.’ and then He r drew some lines towards his right and some towards his left then said, ‘These are the paths on each of them there is shaitaan inviting towards him, then He r recited:


And that, this is My straight path, then follow it and follow not other paths for they will deviate you from His path. This He has ordered you that haply you may be self-restrained.”


(Al-An’aam 6, Verse 153)



For further commentary on the Hadeeth let us refer to Imam Nasafi who mentioned the finer details of this narration in his famous Tafseer Madaarik al Tanzeel:


روي أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم خط خطاً مستوياً ثم قال " هذا سبيل الرشد وصراط الله فاتبعوه " ثم خط على كل جانب ستة خطوط ممالة ثم قال " هذه سبل على كل سبيل منها شيطان يدعو إليه فاجتنبوها " وتلا هذه الآية. ثم يصير كل واحد من الاثني عشر طريقاً ستة طرق فتكون اثنين وسبعين ، وعن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما : هذه الآيات محكمات لم ينسخهن شيء من جميع الكتب.


It’s narrated that the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alayhiwasalam drew a straight line then He Sallallahu Alayhiwasalam said, “This is the path of guidance and the path of Allah, so follow it.” And then He r drew six line on the either sides and said, “These are the paths on which the shaitaan is inviting towards him, so refrain from it, and then He Sallallahu Alayhiwasalam recited this verse. Six lines were added to each of the 12 line on both sides so they became 72 on both sides, and it is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbaas RadiAllahuAnh, “These verses are the clearest of verses, no other part of the entire Quran can cancel it (i.e. No Ayah of the Quran can make it Mansookh).


(Tafseer Al-Nasafi below the Verse No. 153, Surah An’aam 6)



The philosophy of drawing 6 lines on either sides was a clear indication that all the 72 deviant groups of the Ummah will emerge from within these 6 groups. Imam Azam Abu Hanifa Rahmatullah Alayh gives us further understanding of that when replying to a question, which is recorded in the book Tamheed of Allamah Abdush Shakoor Saalimi Rahmatullah Alayh:


سُئِلَ اَبُوْ حَنِیْفَۃَ رَحِمَہٗ اللّٰہُ عَنِ السُّنَّۃِ وَالْجَمَاعَۃِ فَقَالَ لَا نَصْبٌ وَّلَارِفْضٌ، وَلَا جَبْرٌ وَّلَا قَدْرٌ، وَلَا تَشْبِیْہٌ وَتَعْطِیْلٌ


When Imam Abu Hanifa Rahmatullah Alayh was asked about the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah He t replied, “It’s neither 1. Naasibies nor 2. Raafizies, nor 3. Jabriyyah nor 4. Qadriyyah, nor 5. Mushabbihah nor 6. Mu’attilah.


It now becomes important to know the reality of these six groups individually in order to grasp a thorough understanding of the quoted concept given by the Noble Imam.


1. Naasibies are the Khawaarij who went against Hazrat Ali KarramAllahu wajhul Kareem and branded him kaafir, yet whoso does that becomes a kaafir himself.


2. Raafizies are called Raafizies because they went out of the folds of Islam and Allah I called them kaafir, though according to their beliefs, some of them are kaafir and some are bid’atees etc. e.g. some of them believe that Hazrat Ali KaramAllahu wajhul kareem was God and descended from heaven, some believe that He KaramAllahu wajhul kareem was parallel to the Nabi Sallallahu Alyhiwasalam in Nubuwwah and some believe that the Nubuwwah was meant for Hazrat Ali KaramAllahu wajhul kareem but Hazrat Jibreel made a mistake. These and the likes of these articles are just nonsense.


3. Jabriyyah believe that the entire creation will be rewarded for their good deeds while there will be no punishment on the one who commits any evil. All the kuffaar and sinners are helpless so they will not be questioned about anything, because all the deeds are created by Allah I and the servants are absolutely helpless.


4. Qadriyyah believe that the intellectual perception supersedes the divine laws of Shariah even though it has been revealed by Allah and similarly, the intellectual perception is superior than the famous Sunnahs, therefore they rejected to believe in the “fate the bad thereof” to be from Allah I.


5. Mushabbihah are the ones who believe that all other besides four attributes of Allah Azzawajal


1) ‘Aalim (All-Knowing),


2) Qaadir (All-powerful)


3) Khaliq (The Creator)


4) Shaa’i (The one who wills)


are created, which is kufr.


6. Mu’attilah, the first of them is Saufistaaiyah, they are further divided into three groups. Some of them believe that nothing has a reality of its own, for example, the objects that are named fire and water, it is very possible for the water to become fire and vice-versa. This belief of theirs is kufr, for it goes against the Allah’s laws, and this beliefs also will lead to oppose the Shariah laws and Nubuwwah as well as opposing the concept of worshipper and the one who is worshipped, because then it will become for the sender (Mursil, who is Allah) to become the appointed one (Mursal, Rasool), and also that the one who worships (the servants of Allah) may (Allah forbid!!!) take over the opposite side.


(Al-Tamheed p. 190)



Imam Qurtubi states in his Tafseer:


The base of all the sects are the six groups, and then each group is divided into 12 sects, and when 6 is multiplied by 12 it equals to 72 sects. Imam Azam actually indicated towards the statement of the Prophet Sallallahu alyhiwasalam about the division of Ummah into 73 sects and then only one group will be saved while the rest in hell. The saved sect is the (Major Group) Siwaaade Azam i.e. Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah which Allah I has described in the Quran as حَبْلُ اللّٰہِ “A rope from Allah”.


(Tafseer Qurtubi part 4, p. 103)


Conclusion: The only central body and the straight line or path (Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah) is the way of salvation and the remainder 72 on either sides are the groups of shaitaan!



All the Sahaba RadiAllahuAnhum were Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah. There was no other sect at that time among the Muslims, apart from the hypocrites that were even in the time the holy Prophet Sallallhu Alayhiwasalam. There was no division among the Muslims at the time of the Khilaafah of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddeeq RadiAllahuAnh nor at the time of Hazrat Umar RadiAllahuAnh nor at the time of Hazrat Uthmaan RadiAllahuAnh but the first division among the Ummah emerged at the time of Hazrat Ali t and this was the group of Khawaarij who were the first ones to deviate from the true path of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah. The main culprit Abdullah Ibn Sabah who was a jew, a hypocrite, took advantage of the controversies Hazrat Ali RadiAllahuAnh had with other Sahaba Sahaba RadiAllahuAnhum which we are not supposed to comment on, because we believe that all the Sahaba are our stars of guidance. He stirred between the two parties of the Sahaba and caused discord among the Ummah. Both the groups of the Sahaba were on Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah in creed but the dispute occurred on some legal issues. It was at that time when there deviated the first group from the way of Rasoolullah Sallallahu alyhiwasalam and the way of Sahaba RadiAllahuAnhum and their Aqeedah. The next group to deviate from Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah was the group of Shiites (Rawaafiz). Historically, these were the first two group to move away from the path of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah, the Khawaarij followed by Shiites.



Sayyiduna Hazrat Ali Karamallahuwajhul kareem was the first one to engage in debate to refute the Khawaarij and He Karamallahuwajhul kareem instructed Hazrat Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Abbaas RadiAllahu Anh to go to the Khawaarij and debate with them. That is why Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Abbaas RadiAllahu Anh is known as the first scholar that debated with the deviant group of the Khawaarij who moved away from the path of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah. Imam Ghazaali AlayhiRahma when he mentioned the importance to debate with the deviant people to bring them back to the way of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah and also for the people to know and get a declaration to stay away from those people after their falsehood has been revealed and if they still haven’t come back to the path.


He writes in his Ihya Uloomiddeen, “The first to initiate the invitation of the innovators back to the folds of truth through debate and refutation is Sayyyiduna Ali Ibn Abi Taalib Karramallahu wajhul kareem who sent Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Abbaas RadiAllahu anh to speak to them.”


(Ihya Vol. 1, p. 96)

Please note: that this too is work in progress and is not copy and pasted from any website any person who alludes otherwise to please present their proof with a valid working URL .
 
Brother abu l-hasanayn, with reference to 6:153, I think, you have suppressed a crucial transition or extension to your argument from the ayah mubarakah. Let me explain. The straight path mentioned in the verse is Islam and other paths are other religions. As we know all prophets preached the same message, i.e., Islam, etc. The first hadith you present with various references also imports that idea. Even al-nasafi in his tafsir, whom you mention, also says that الطرق المختلفة في الدين من اليهودية والنصرانية والمجوسية وسائر البدع والضلالات the various paths are Judaism, christianity, majusis and all innovations and dalalaat... so there was a staright line and from that line many other lines separated. Here is the first hadith in explanation of the verse that you present:

The Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alayhiwasalam drew a straight line for us, the He Sallallahu Alayhiwasalam said, ‘This is Allah’s path.’ and then He r drew some lines towards his right and some towards his left then said, ‘These are the paths on each of them there is shaitaan inviting towards him, then He r recited:
And that, this is My straight path, then follow it and follow not other paths for they will deviate you from His path. This He has ordered you that haply you may be self-restrained.
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I do not have a problem with what has been said above so far by you. However, then you also present another hadith which in my opinion is doubtful. Here is that hadith:

These are the paths on which the shaitaan is inviting towards him, so refrain from it, and then He Sallallahu Alayhiwasalam recited this verse. Six lines were added to each of the 12 line on both sides so they became 72 on both sides
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From what I understand is that the path drawn was one then 72 paths were separated from it. This means that 72 misguided muslim sects and the one straight line is firqa najiya. However, what happened to jews and christians, etc. as al-nasafi says and furthermore, there is only room for 72?
Anyway, perhaps you could reconcile that in order to make your research clearer. However, the main point with which I have a problem as a student is with the hadith mentioned by al-nasafi: رُوي أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم خط خطاً مستوياً ثم قال " هذا سبيل الرشد وصراط الله فاتبعوه " ثم خط على كل جانب ستة خطوط ممالة ثم قال " هذه سبل على كل سبيل منها شيطان يدعو إليه فاجتنبوها " وتلا هذه الآية. ثم يصير كل واحد من الاثني عشر طريقاً ستة طرق فتكون اثنين وسبعين

The simple point here is that al-nasafi begins the report with sighah al-tamrid 'ruwiya' (it has been reported) which clearly means according to usul al-hadith that when a report is reported with tamrid then it is a weak report. al-Nasafi also indicates that it a weak hadith. It is this part alone that has a bearing on our discussion and it is this extension to your argument that matters and unfortunately it is inadmissible for our discussion.
 
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JazakAllah for bringing it to my attention that passage and insha Allah I will include the entire Tafseer.
Below are the Tafseer texts copied from Tafseer Al-Nasafi:
{ وَأَنَّ هَـاذَا صِرَاطِي } [الأنعام : 153] ولأن هذا صراطي فهو علة الاتباع بتقدير اللام ، { وَأَنْ } بالتخفيف شامي ، وأصله وأنه على أن الهاء ضمير الشأن والحديث.
{ وَأَنْ } على الابتداء : حمزة وعلي { مُّسْتَقِيمًا } حال { فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ } [الأنعام : 153] الطرق المختلفة في الدين من اليهودية والنصرانية والمجوسية وسائر البدع والضلالات { فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ } [الأنعام : 153] فتفرقكم أيادي سبأ عن صراط الله المستقيم وهو دين الإسلام.
روي أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم خط خطاً مستوياً ثم قال " هذا سبيل الرشد وصراط الله فاتبعوه " ثم خط على كل جانب ستة خطوط ممالة ثم قال " هذه سبل على كل سبيل منها شيطان يدعو إليه فاجتنبوها " وتلا هذه الآية.
ثم يصير كل واحد من الاثني عشر طريقاً ستة طرق فتكون اثنين
وسبعين ، وعن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما : هذه الآيات محكمات لم ينسخهن شيء من جميع الكتب.
So yes, all the other false religions as well as all the other false (Ahl Al-Bid'ah Wal-Dalaalah) sects are the objective of the Tafseer. فلا خلاف so there is no dispute, alhamdulillah.
Imam Hakim says in His Mustadrak Ala Al-Saheehain هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد This a Sahih chained Hadeeth, also Imam Ibn Hibbaan has included it in the collection of his Sahih Ahadeeth. Below is the Hadeeth with the chain of narrators that Imam Hakim Nishapuri has mentioned:
حدثنا أبو العباس محمد بن يعقوب ثنا أحمد بن عبد الجبار ثنا أبو بكر بن عياش ثنا عاصم بن أبي النجود
و أخبرني الشيخ أبو بكر بن إسحاق أنبأ إسماعيل بن إسحاق القاضي ثنا سليمان بن حرب ثنا حماد بن زيد ثنا عاصم عن أبي وائل عن عبد الله رضي الله عنه قال : خط لنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم خطا ثم خط عن يمينه وعن شماله خطوطا ثم قال : هذا سبيل الله و هذه السبل على كل سبيل منها شيطان يدعو إليه { وأن هذا صراطي مستقيما فاتبعوه ولا تتبعوا السبل فتفرق بكم عن سبيله }
Please do not confuse this with Fiqh when the Fuqaha say قیل "It is said" it always means a weak view, but many times when an author does not want to mentioned the full chain of the Hadeeth and would like to get to the point straight, he uses the approach of روی "It is narrated" istead. Therefore the "passive case" does not necessarily point out the weakness of the narration. Allah knows best.
JazakAllah again for your humble contribution of this valuable suggestion.
Was Salam
 
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