The Saved Sect

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Al-Firqat al-Nājiya (Arabic: الفِرْقَة الناجِيَة, literally: the saved sect, or the sect that received salvation) is a term appearing in Hadith al-Iftiraq, which is interpreted as referring to the Imami Shi'a. According to a hadith attributed to the Prophet (s), the Islamic nation after him would divide into diverse sects, only one of which would be saved or would attain salvation. There are remarks transmitted from the Prophet (s) and Imam Ali (a) to the effect that the saved sect is the Shi'a of Imam Ali (a). There are works written about instances and characters of the saved sect.

Significance of the Saved Sect

Main article: Hadith al-Iftiraq

The "saved sect" in the sense of the sect or group that attains salvation on the day of resurrection is a term used in a hadith attributed to the Prophet (s) as the Hadith of Division. On this hadith, the Prophet (s) predicts that his nation would divide into 73 sects, only one of which will be saved.[1] Each Islamic sect has tried to offer criteria on which it counts as the instance of the saved sect.[2]

Validity of Hadith al-Iftiraq

There are controversies over the validity or authenticity of the Hadith of Division. Some researchers of Islamic sects, such as Ibn Hazm al-Zahiri (d. 456/1063), held that the hadith is unreliable[3] and Ibn Wazir believed that the last part of the hadith (i.e. "72 of which are in the Hell") is fabricated.[4] However, some Shiite[5] and Sunni[6] books of hadiths and some early sources of sects and creeds (al-milal wa l-nihal)[7] as well as more recent researchers of Islamic sects have cited the hadith. Thus, contrary to the first group, there is another group of scholars who believe that Hadith al-Iftiraq is not only well-known,[8] but also mutawatir.[9] It is said that since this hadith is an instance of khabar al-wahid (a hadith that is not frequently transmitted), it cannot be relied on in the case of beliefs and determination of the saved sect.[10] However, according to Ja'far Subhani, the weakness of its chain of transmission is compensated by its being mustafid (being transmitted by many people, although falling short of being frequent) and its widespread citation in Shi'a and Sunni sources of hadiths. Its transmission through different, albeit non-frequent, chains of transmission ensures its authenticity.[11]

Which Sect is Saved?

There are disagreements over the instance of the saved sect among scholars of various Islamic denominations. They often tend to specify their own denomination as the saved sect and the other 72 sects as being in the Hell.[12] Jamal al-Din al-Razi, an Imami scholar, in his Tabsirat al-'awamm,[13] Ja'far b. Mansur al-Yaman, an Isma'ilist scholar, in his Sara'ir wa asrar al-nutaqa',[14] and Shahristani, a Sunni scholar, in his al-Milal wa-l-nihal,[15] refer to their respective denominations as the saved sect.

To identify the saved sect, sometimes various versions of the hadith of 73 sects are adduced,[16] where each sect chooses a version which confirms its salvation.[17] On 'Ali Aqa Nuri's research, there are fifteen versions of this hadith in which the saved sect can be specified,[18] eight of which are concerned with the imamate of Imam Ali (a) or compliance with the Prophet's Household (a) or the Shi'a of Imam Ali (a),[19] although there are versions of the hadith in which no criteria for salvation are mentioned.[20]

Shi'a Point of View

The well-known Shi'a scholar of hadith in the fourth/tenth century, al-Shaykh al-Saduq, appeals to Hadith al-Thaqalayn in his Kamal al-din wa tamam al-ni'ma to demonstrate that the saved sect is the one that makes resort to the Qur'an and the Prophet’s Household (a).[21] Moreover, al-'Allama al-Majlisi cites a hadith from Imam Ali (a) in his Bihar al-anwar to the effect that the Imam's followers will attain salvation.[22] al-'Allama al-Hilli cites certain hadiths on which he identifies the saved sect as followers of the Twelve Imams,[23] and then he brings evidence for the rightfulness of Shiism.[24] Furthermore, Hadith al-Safina has been adduced by those who identify the saved sect as the followers of the Prophet's Household (a) since it says that those who follow Ahl al-Bayt (a) will be saved.[25]

Nevertheless, there are other hadiths cited by Sunni scholars to the effect that the saved sect is the community[26] or majority[27] or followers of Rashidun Caliphs.[28]

There is a version of Hadith al-Iftiraq to the effect that all Islamic sects, except Zindiqs, will attain salvation.[29]

Bibliography

There are works written about the saved sect. In his al-Dhari'a, Aqa Buzurg Tihrani mentions some of the Shi'a works on the saved sect:[30]

  • Al-Sawarim al-madiya fi l-firqa l-najiya : by al-Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi al-Husayni al-Qazwini al-Hilli,[31] this book establishes the idea that the saved sect is the Twelver Shi'a.[32] It contains about 25000 verses of poetry.[33] Shi'a scholars admire the book,[34] and al-'Allama al-Majlisi refers to it as one of the best works on the matter.[35] It is also titled al-Sawarim al-madiya li-radd al-firqat al-hadiya wa-tahqiq al-firqat al-najiya.[36]
  • Ithbat al-firqa l-najiya : by Muhammad Hasan Shari'atmadar Astarabadi, in this book, the author tries to identify the saved sect as well as the other 72 sects.

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Ḥanbal, al-Musnad, vol. 3, p. 145; Ibn Māja, Sunan Ibn Māja, vol. 2, p. 364; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 28, p. 4; Ḥākim al-Nayshābūrī, al-Mustadrak, vol. 1, p. 281; Tirmidhī, Sunan al-tirmidhī, vol. 5, p. 26; Haythamī, Majmaʿ al-zawāʾid, vol. 1, p. 260; Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-kabīr, vol. 17, p. 13; Dānī, al-Sunan al-wārida, vol. 3, p. 624.
  2. ↑ Āqānūrī, Ḥadīth-i iftirāq-i ummat, p. 133.
  3. ↑ Ibn Ḥazm, al-Fiṣal, vol. 3, p. 292.
  4. ↑ Ibn Wazīr, al-ʿAwāṣim wa al-qawāṣim, vol. 3, p. 170-172.
  5. ↑ See: Ṣadūq, al-Khiṣāl, vol. 1, p. 584-585; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 28, p. 13.
  6. ↑ See: Ibn Ḥanbal, al-Musnad, vol. 3, p. 569; Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim, al-Sunna, vol. 1, p. 75-80; Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-kabīr, vol. 18, p. 51.
  7. ↑ See: Baghdādī, al-Farq bayn al-Firaq, p. 5-8; Subḥānī, Buḥūth fī l-milal wa l-niḥal, vol. 1, p. 25-26.
  8. ↑ Subḥānī, Buḥūth fī l-milal wa l-niḥal, vol. 1, p. 23; Muẓaffar, Dalāʾil al-ṣidq, vol. 5, p. 289.
  9. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Ṭarāʾif, vol. 1, p. 287, vol. 2, p. 74, 259; Munāwī, Fayḍ al-qadīr, vol. 2, p. 20.
  10. ↑ Āqānūrī, Ḥadīth-i iftirāq-i ummat, p. 136.
  11. ↑ Subḥānī, Buḥūth fī l-milal wa l-niḥal, vol. 1, p. 25.
  12. ↑ Baghdādī, al-Farq bayn al-firaq, p. 11-21; Isfarāyinī, al-Tabṣīr fī al-dīn, p. 23-25; Milṭī Shāfiʿī, al-Tanbīh wa al-radd, p. 12.
  13. ↑ Rāzī, Tabṣirat al-ʿawām, p. 194-199.
  14. ↑ Yamanī, Sarāʾir wa asrār al-nuṭaqāʾ, p. 243.
  15. ↑ Shahristānī, al-Milal wa al-niḥal, vol. 1, p. 19-20.
  16. ↑ Āqānūrī, Ḥadīth-i iftirāq-i ummat, p. 133.
  17. ↑ Āqānūrī, Ḥadīth-i iftirāq-i ummat, p. 133.
  18. ↑ Āqānūrī, Ḥadīth-i iftirāq-i ummat, p. 134.
  19. ↑ Āqānūrī, Ḥadīth-i iftirāq-i ummat, p. 134.
  20. ↑ Āqānūrī, Ḥadīth-i iftirāq-i ummat, p. 131.
  21. ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, p. 662.
  22. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 28, p. 11.
  23. ↑ See: Ḥillī, Minhāj al-karāma, p. 50.
  24. ↑ Ḥillī, Minhāj al-karāma, p. 35-111.
  25. ↑ See: Muẓaffar, Dalāʾil al-ṣidq li-nihaj al-ḥaqq, vol. 2, p. 28; Ḥusaynī Mīlānī, Tashyīd al-murājiʿāt wa tafnīd al-mukābirāt, p. 439.
  26. ↑ Ibn Māja, Sunan Ibn Māja, vol. 5, p. 128-130.
  27. ↑ Āmidī, al-Iḥkām fī uṣūl al-aḥkām, vol. 1, p. 219.
  28. ↑ Ibn Māja, Sunan Ibn Māja, vol. 1, p. 28-29.
  29. ↑ Daylamī, al-Firdaws bi-maʾthūr al-khiṭāb, vol. 2, p. 63.
  30. ↑ Āqā Buzurg al-Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 1, p. 98-99.
  31. ↑ Ḥakīm, al-Mufaṣṣal fī tārīkh al-Najaf, vol. 5, p. 191.
  32. ↑ Nūrī, Khātima al-mustadrak al-wasāʾil, vol. 2, p. 131; Āqā Buzurg al-Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 1, p. 98-99.
  33. ↑ Ṣadr, Takmila amal al-āmil, vol. 6, p. 108.
  34. ↑ See: Nūrī, Khātima al-mustadrak al-wasāʾil, vol. 2, p. 131; Āqā Buzurg al-Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 1, p. 98-99.
  35. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 53, p. 292.
  36. ↑ Amīn, Aʿyān al-Shīʿa, vol. 10, p. 146.

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