Me And Islam (Episode No.4)

Me And Islam
Writer: Taimoor Ajmal
Episode: 4

(Read Today's episode carefully, it contains details and reasons of Muslim sects)

Nisar and Kaleem now come to Muneeb with Salman. Nisar and Kaleem wink at Muneeb.Muneeb gestures to Salman to sit down. And then he said Salman to write something on the paper. And then he asks him about his date of birth and some other things. Then Muneeb tells Salman about his problems. Salman is shocked because the problems that Muneeb tells him are exactly what he is facing. Suddenly there is the sound of gunfire, and some people enter the room where Salman and the others are sitting. They shoot Kaleem, Nisar, and Muneeb. Seeing this, Salman tries to move forward. So one of the armed men shows the gun to Salman and tells him to stop where he is, otherwise, he too will be shot. In the meantime, Salman starts shouting, "You have killed the saints of Allah, you will surely be punished for it."Another person enters the room laughing and says who are the saints of Allah(Allah)?, These who have revealed your past to you, these who have told you your nature, do you consider them as the saint of Allah?, Immature boy! Come on listen, I'll tell you all about you too, and then that person will tell Salman all the things exactly as Muneeb told him. Salman is shocked to see this whole scene and asks this person, who are you? And who are those who have just died? That person says my name is Aqil and those who have died here are followers of Satan.

Salman: So how did they tell me the truth about me?

Aqil: He did not do any magical miracles but with the help of some human sciences he told you a lot about you.

Salman: What are these human sciences? And what did they want from me?

Aqil: They would first teach you some human sciences then take you to magic, then fill you with devilness so that you forget the difference between good and bad. Then they would get their goals from you. And as far as this knowledge is concerned, by acquiring it, one can tell a great deal about anyone, and they are:

1. Palmistry
2. The science of morphology
3. Astrology
4. Character recognition from writing
5. Numerology

Salman: Will you teach me this science?

Aqil: This knowledge can only be used to a limited extent. It is foolish to believe them, you will find thousands here who will teach you this knowledge.

Then Aqil says to his companions, "Let us catch this devil "Abid". If he stays out too long, he will cause more destruction." As soon as Aqil starts to come out, Salman falls at his feet so that he can take him with him. Aqil agrees and takes it with him.
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In the distant mountains, Abid had received news of the death of his comrades. His network of informants was spread everywhere. From which he could easily get the news of the outside world and its agents. He now addressed his colleagues. "My brothers, now our path is getting difficult. Because some of our enemies have been born. But our path is still very easy. Let me tell you about "Hassan bin Sabah", how he shook the pillars of Muslims by beautiful girls and "hashish"(A special type of drug that paralyzes your brain and senses from reality). Now the time is different but these two things are easily available everywhere. We just have to use them. Abid addresses a colleague named Tayyab and explains all the details. How and when to do what. And he also says that Ayesha will help you with all these tasks.
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Now Saad asks Waleed. Why there are so many sects among Muslims? Who is true and who is false? Who is a Muslim and who is not? Which Muslim did we become? Which sect do we choose?

Waleed: Man has a mind and intellect which is different for each person and his ability to understand is also very different and due to this characteristic of man, differences arise. When a person meets a like-minded person, a group is formed, and when the group finds a leader who can organize and present its ideas, the group takes the form of a "school of thought." Later it becomes a "cult"(Fiqahi Maslak) and then if the differences are more than other "schools of thought" or "cults"(Fiqahi Maslak) it becomes a sect. And the true one is the one who is on the true religion and the true religion is the Qur'an and Hadith. The one whose beliefs and ideologies do not conflict with the Qur'an and Hadith is true and the one whose beliefs and ideologies do conflict with the Qur'an and Hadith is false. And be a Muslim, as Allah has commanded you to be, the practical example of which is the Sunnah(Way of Life) of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). You should choose the sect that is on the truth, means on Qur'an and Hadith. And yes, there are many sects of one "ummah"(Nation) and many sub-sects(Fiqahi Maslak) in one sect and many schools of thought in one sub-sect. And the intensity of their differences makes them hateful.

We first look at a brief history of Muslim sects.

After the death of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Islam spread very fast. During the time of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Islamic Empire spread from present-day Balochistan (province of Pakistan) to Morocco. The empires of Rome and Iran also could not stand in the way of the power of Islam. And this whole process was completed fifteen to twenty years after the death of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The swords of the Muslims defeated the armies of Rome and Iran but the hearts of the people living in these areas could not be conquered. Because Allah commands:
 لَاۤ اِکۡرَاہَ فِی الدِّیۡنِ (Surah Al Baqarah, 1-256) 
 Translation: "There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion".
 Almost all the Arabs converted to Islam, but the non-Arabs did not convert so quickly. They could not leave their centuries-old religion so easily and the Muslims could not force them to convert to Islam. Those who converted to Islam also brought with them the ideas of their previous religion, due to which differences began to emerge in the time of Sahaba (companions of Prophet Muhammad), and the process of becoming a sect began. In the beginning, it was limited to politics but gradually it became a religious sect. With time, "Khowarij", "Karamiya", "Marjia", "Majsma", "Qadriya", "Jabriya" and many other sects were formed and disappeared.
There are still three sects of this period, one of which is the "Shia" (sect) or "Ahl-Tashee", which constitutes about 10% of the total Muslim population. The second sect is "Sunni" (sect) or "Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'ah", which comprises about 90% of the total Muslim population. Apart from these two, there is still a small sect that is separated from the Khowarij sect, which is called "Ibadi". Over time, these sects became more sub-sects. This practice was more prevalent in "Khowarij", with fewer among the "Shia's" and less among the "Sunnis" whose sub-sects remained relatively local.

The history of these sects is such that Greek books were translated into Arabic during the Umayyad (Banu ummaya) and Abbasid (Banu Abbas) eras. The books, which contained Greek sciences and other sciences, contained everything they thought about religion and theology. From which he also moved to Arabic. Due to this new ideas were born and a new way of thinking was started. Due to this different sects like "Mu'tazili", "Ash'ara", "Matridia" were born. With time, when their problems, in which they used to differ, ceased to exist, then these sects lost their usefulness, and their discussion was buried in books. Over time, many more sects were born and disappeared.

Two hundred years ago today, when the Muslims were politically degraded and their large territories were overrun by the Western powers, these Western powers adopted a policy of divide and rule. On the other hand, the decline led to a moral decline among the Muslims, which led to more groups and sects that still exist. Many political, military, da'wah (Preach), and intellectual movements arose against the Western powers which gave rise to more groups. It would be wrong to call them a sect, but because they are an organized group, they can be identified as a "privileged group" within the Muslim Ummah (nation). 

Let me tell you about the sects of Muslims and also explain the differences between them.

Those who call themselves "Muslims" can be divided into different sects on different religious grounds. These foundations include religious beliefs, discriminatory religious practices, religious movements, and Jurisprudence (Fiqh).

Distribution based on religious beliefs and practices:

There are two main sects of the Muslim Ummah based on religious beliefs and practices: Sunnis and Shiites (Shia). Then there are sub-sects and groups.

1. Ahl as-Sunnah(Sunni): We can divide them into different groups in three ways.

1.1. Salafi and non-Salafi groups (in the subcontinent this division is seen in the form of Barelvi, Deobandi, and Ahle Hadith. And in the rest of the world as Salafi and non-Salafi).

1.2. Sufi and non-Sufi groups (The Sufi group includes their various sects, besides them there is a group that does not consider the prevailing Sufism to be compatible with Islam).

1.3. Traditional and modernist groups (there are several groups)



2. Shiites(Shia): They have several groups.

2.1. Ithna Asharis (Twelvers or Imamis)
2.2. Ismaili or Agha Khani
2.3. Zaidi 
2.4. Alvi, Druze, and other sects
2.5. Ibadi: They are different from both Sunnis and Shiites.


3. Deniers of Sunnah and Hadith


4. Other religious groups who consider themselves Muslims but Muslims consider them out of Islam, such as Qadianis (Ahmadis), Baha'is, etc.
Groups based on religious movements:


The history of the Muslim Ummah (nation) is replete with reform movements. Many of these movements arose in different periods and ended by playing their role. The decline of Muslims over the last two hundred years has provoked a strong reaction. Movements in the Muslim world at the moment can be divided in this way.

1. Movements and parties for the revival of Islam.

1.1. Revolutionary movements such as the Iranian Revolutionary Movement, the Old "Ikhwanul Muslimeen", "Hizb ut-Tahrir", etc.

1.2. Political movements within the current system, such as the modern "Ikhwanul Muslimeen" in Egypt and the Levant (Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon), Jamaat-e-Islami of the subcontinent, Islamic Movement of Turkey, Muhammadan Movement of Indonesia, etc.

1.3. Military movements that believe in armed struggle, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Armed groups from Indonesia and the Philippines, the Chechen movement, etc.


2. Tablighi and Da'wah movements (Preaching movements) such as "Tablighi Jamaat" of the subcontinent and "Da'wat-e-Islami" etc. {Jamaat means Group}

3. Academic, intellectual and educational movements in the subcontinent such as "Tehreek-e-Aligarh", "Nadwat Ulema", "Madrasat-ul-Islah" etc. {Tehreek means movement}.

Groups formed based on Jurisprudential schools: 

They cannot be called sects, but they are different schools of thought. Which took the form of sects in different periods of history but over time they learned to coexist. Nowadays they are not a sect but a school of thought and their differences with each other are not very intense. The first five of them belong to "Ahl-e-Sunnat" (Sunni) while the rest belong to "Shia" and "Ibadi" groups.

1. Hanafi 
2. Maliki
3. Shafi`i (Shafei)
4. Hanbali 
5. Zahiri
6. Ja`fari
7. Zaidi
8. Ibadi

(To be continued....)