The division of Muslims into 73 groups: Fiction or reality?, by Abdallah Haloui

We observe today, among young people, a desire to return to the values of Islam. This return is characterized by the desire to learn about religion in order to conform to the teachings of Islam and make it a way of life.

In the absence of an adequate response to their aspirations, young people naturally direct their research towards other sources of information: the Internet and encounters with individuals who preach a simplistic and attractive “vision” of Islam. A vision that advocates direct access to the Texts and warns against misguided groups based on the hadith of the division of the Muslim community into “73 groups which will all be in hell except one”.

Based on this hadith, young people radically change their vision of things, harbor mistrust of religious referents, and erect a rampart between themselves and the rest of the community in order to preserve the purity of their belief.

To better understand this upheaval, we will first study the admissibility of this hadith at the level of its chains of transmitters. Then, we will compare its statement (matn) to the fundamental principles established by the Quran and the authentic Sunnah. Finally, we will discuss the consequences of a misunderstanding of this hadith.